Hey everyone, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. here with Clevver News, and another major brand
is being called out for its toxic work environment.
Rumors have been swirling around the past couple of weeks about TMZ’s toxic culture
and now it has come out that TMZ’s newsroom is just as harsh as employees claim.
In a new article by Buzzfeed News, the article highlights the abusive and toxic work culture
created by the company that was founded in 2005.
The article spoke with 23 ex-employees who all corroborated the same stories, including
one who went as far as filing a lawsuit claiming discrimination and retalitation.
TMZ responded to the lawsuit claims saying it is a “blatant attempt to use negative
publicity and inaccurate claims to force” a monetary settlement.
A current employee for the company called TMZ an “unchecked abuse of power,” all
beginning with the men in charge.
The employee added that there are very few women in leadership roles and that they only
hire people of color “because they know that they need to, as opposed to appreciating
and valuing them.”
The same employee continued, “If you’re talking about the rights of Black people,
if you’re talking about misogyny, if you’re talking about equality amongst everyone, it’s
never reflected in the workplace.
We’re reporting on all of that stuff, but we’re not doing it ourselves.”
Many of the former employees who spoke out asked to remain anonymous in order to avoid
any retaliation with one expressing “How they treat women in a demeaning manner transcends
to how they represent women on their site.
The two go hand in hand.”
Former employees also explained that creator and front-runner of the publication and show
Harvey Levin called employees “re***ded” and “morons,” on a consistent basis including
comments such as “talking to you guys is like talking to a room full of special ed
kids” and “My dog takes better direction than you.”
One former employee explained that they felt threated by executives at TMZ and said they
were called a “fu**ing re***d,” “fu***ng piece of s**t,” and “fu**ing dummy.”
Veronica Barriga explained that she began working as a TMZ Celebrity Tour guide in 2018
and even appeared on TMZ on TV for two years.
And when asked about transitioning into a more full-time role in the TMZ newsroom she
was told she didn’t have enough experience.
She said, “I was told I did not have the experience to be an associate producer, so
I called them out and I said, ‘You just hired a male associate producer who had significantly
less experience than I do who’s straight out of school, how do you explain that?
And they chalked it up to nepotism.”
Back in 2014, a former employee named Ryan Naumann, filed a complaint with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission after Harvey outed him for being gay to his collegues.
Another employee explained that she filed a complaint with HR about gender discrimination
from an executive producer but was later told there was no merit to her claims.
Warner Bros. and Levin did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment,
but a second current employee told BuzzFeed News “the word ret**d has never and would
never be used within TMZ by anybody in authority,” and that “it’s not true that our hiring
or firing practices are based on race and gender.”
In the article, Harvey was also called out for getting two black women mixed up when
they looked nothing like one another.
The employee says that Harvey would get the two women confused, and when asked about his
treatment towards the two women, Harvey did not have a comment.
And while it may seem like the obvious next step is to kick Harvey to the curb, well,
let’s just say that there are lots of people turning a blind eye to the problem.
One former employee pointed out the obvious saying, “Are you surprised that the person
who has made a career off of getting everyone’s dirt… are you surprised when that guy is
not being cast out?”
Another employee said that they even took a medical leave due to the stress of the job
saying “I got screamed at so often I felt like a scared dog.
Nothing was rational.
The things that [Levin] would decide that he liked were based on his feelings that day.
It wasn't based on a formulaic structure, so there’s no way that you could anticipate
what he was going to like and what he doesn’t like.
It was insane.”
Now, if this all sounds kind of familiar to you, that’s because it kind of is!
Recently Ellen DeGenerous came under fire for the toxic work culture on her daytime
talk show.
Both The Ellen Show and TMZ have the same parent companies, Telepictures and Warner
Bros., and as a former Warner Bros employee pointed out, “There doesn’t seem to be
HR oversight over what happens.”
The article concluded with the former employees saying they feel sad that even during the
Me Too era that this still became a growing issue.
One former employee released a statement saying, “Even though other entertainment companies
and other studios in Hollywood are held to a higher standard, it’s almost like people
think if you choose to work at TMZ, then you're choosing to be in a toxic environment.”
And upon this not-so shocking news finally coming to surface, users online took to Twitter
to share their thoughts with one writing, “A company whose business is having people
stalk celebrities at the airport and accost them while trying to get to their cars is
toxic?
WHAT!”
Someone else added, “Just shocked tmz is a toxic workplace!
Shocked.”
And, another person added “Are we surprised?
TMZ embodies the word "toxic."
Let’s hope this reckoning means a safer work environment for our fellow news reporters
and their coworkers over at TMZ.
But If you’re loving Clevver and want to hang out for a bit be sure to check out this
Clevver video right here:
And be sure to let us know your thoughts on the latest Hollywood company to come under
fire for their mistreatment of employees.
We can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this one.
Once again, I’m Emile Ennis Jr and I’ll see you all real soon.