Toxic work culture is a problem. Furthermore, toxic work culture in cultural and entertainment products is even a bigger problem because the things we consume to chill and entertain us are not supposed to have the kind of backstage woes and troubles that we’re about to describe, like NBC’s The Kelly Clarkson show, who recently was the subject of an exposé in a popular circulation magazine in America after a group of workers described the working conditions of that daytime show as toxic, quoting bullying, harassment, low wages, and favoritism that come from the producers.
These kinds of accusations in entertainment are not the first of their kind; the popular Ellen DeGeneres show was also at the center of a controversy when the staff complained about how much of a hellish experience it is to work there. It’s very sad to see how some of our favorite shows and entertainers have been revealed in this light, but it’s also a reminder that the entertainment we consume is not always without its dark side. As consumers, we must be aware of what goes on behind the scenes before making decisions about what to watch and support because we have a responsibility to ensure that the entertainment we consume is fair, ethical, and equitable.
What Is The Controversy In The Kelly Clarkson Show?
When a group of workers for NBC’s The Kelly Clarkson Show told a magazine how nasty it is to work behind the scenes, people were shocked, even Kelly Clarkson herself, who wasn’t aware that working on her show was a nightmare. The workers don’t put the blame on her but rather on Alex Duda, the executive producer who also worked with Tyra Banks and Steve Harvey in their respective shows. According to them, Duda fosters a low-wage environment and a traumatizing work experience; they felt overworked and described Duda as a monster.
The exposé goes on to describe that the former employees —ten of them— and a current one have filed complaints to NBC’s Human Resources department without any response and that the show, currently in its fourth season, only gets more toxic as the seasons progress. The exposé goes further to describe how the executive producers got raises even after being reported to HR; it describes that the producers have had irrational demeanor, that they yell, curse, and throw massive tantrums.
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Kelly Clarkson Says She Didn’t Know
When the popular American entertainment magazine dropped the exposé, it caught host Kelly Clarkson by surprise, who then went on to her social media profiles to express that in more than two decades in showbusiness, she always did what she thinks is right, she finds unacceptable that the producers are having that kind of behavior and encourages the employees working at her show to voice their concerns if they feel like they’re being unheard. She commits to fostering a healthy work environment, more so when the show is moving from Los Angeles to New York, which is also something that the employees of the show were informed of very late after the decision was made, giving them little time to make arrangements for relocation.
It’s also important to remember that not all celebrities or producers are bad people – some of them may be just trying their best in an environment with limited resources; Kelly says she didn’t know what was going on in her show, and judging from her social media posts, she seems concerned and determined to do something about it. We should also be mindful of our own biases when judging these people; we can’t judge someone based on one incident. We should also keep in mind that the entertainment industry is a complex web of politics and power dynamics, which can make it difficult to implement real change.
Finally, we should be open to listening to those who are affected by the decisions of producers and celebrities; their voices deserve to be heard and respected. With this in mind, hopefully, both NBC and Kelly Clarkson can get together, punish the producers and make amends with those who were affected by that kind of toxic behavior.
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