WarnerMedia is "concerned and disappointed" with reports of toxic cultures at Ellen and TMZ, announces third-party investigation

The Hollywood Reporter

This morning, The Hollywood Reporter ran an in-depth investigation alleging that Warner Bros. TV subsidiary Telepictures has long had shows with toxic workplaces. Telepictures is the production company behind The Ellen DeGeneres Show and TMZ, which Buzzfeed reported this summer to have toxic and abusive workplace cultures. WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar and Warner Bros. CEO and chairperson Ann Sarnoff sent a memo this afternoon saying that it has hired a "third party" to review its production business, will be recirculating its Standards of Business Conduct internally and with current and upcoming business partners and is encouraging employees to report unacceptable conduct. Kilar added that as a result of the investigation, some staffers may lose their jobs if they are found to have not have held the company's values. "I anticipate that there will be situations where we choose to terminate business relationships," he wrote. "I also anticipate that there will be situations where a person may choose not to work with us because of these rigid expectations. That’s fine. While there may be companies that will do business with those people, we do not need to be one of them."