Ellen Degeneres’s former DJ Tony Okungbowa says claims he experienced ‘toxicity’ on talk show

Ellen Degeneres’s former on-air DJ is the latest person to come forward and share his experience about the allegations rocking the talk show.

DJ Tony Okungbowa appeared on hundreds of episodes from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2013 and used an Instagram post to claim he experienced “toxicity” on the show.

“I have been getting calls asking me about the Ellen DeGeneres Show and I would like to address the time I spent there,” Okungbowa wrote.

“While I am grateful for the opportunity it afforded me, I did experience and feel the toxicity of the environment and I stand with my former colleagues in their quest to create a healthier and more inclusive workplace as the show moves forward.”

It comes as several former employees have alleged that the show condoned sexual harassment and misconduct.

DeGeneres last week wrote a letter to her staff promising to “do better”. But only hours later, a disturbing report published by Buzzfeed alleged some senior executives were sexually explicit, and “handsy” towards both junior and fellow senior staff members.

At the centre of the allegations are outgoing executive producer Ed Glavin and head writer and executive producer Kevin Leman.

Accordingly to a former staff member, Leman asked him if he could give or receive oral sex at a work party in 2013.

Leman has also been accused of inappropriately groping a production assistant. He would also allegedly also make crude remarks asking questions if male employees were a “top or bottom”.

“It’s masked in sarcasm, but it’s not sarcasm,” a former employee told Buzzfeed.

Five former employees spoke out against Glavin, expressing their disdain at how he would rub their shoulders and their back and would place his hand around their waist.

“You could definitely see the creep factor and the creepy touching. That was out in the open for everybody to see,” a former employee told Buzzfeed.

“Obviously, no one wants that and no one wants to be uncomfortably touched by someone … but you didn’t want to piss them off or you would be fired, so it was just that culture of fear”

Leman has vehemently denied the allegations and “any kind of sexual impropriety”, however admitting he did sometimes “push the envelope” in a statement.

“I started at the Ellen Show as a PA more than 17 years ago and have devoted my career to work my way to the position I now hold. While my job as head writer is to come up with jokes — and, during that process, we can occasionally push the envelope — I’m horrified that some of my attempts at humour may have caused offense,” he said.

“I have always aimed to treat everyone on the staff with kindness, inclusivity and respect. In my whole time on the show, to my knowledge, I’ve never had a single HR or inter-personal complaint made about me, and I am devastated beyond belief that this kind of malicious and misleading article could be published.”