Ellen DeGeneres tweet about how it ‘felt good’ to make ’employee cry’ goes viral

An old Ellen DeGeneres tweet about making a colleague ‘cry like a baby’ from 2009 went viral on Tuesday, after fans began re-tweeting it saying that the remark hadn’t ‘aged well’ in light of her toxic workplace scandal. 

‘I made one of my employees cry like a baby on today’s show. Honestly, it felt good,’ the tweet read, which was posted on June 5, 2009. 

However, it turns out that they were tears of joy, as Ellen’s tweet was made in jest, after she surprised her employee Jeannie Klisiewicz with a cruise.

In context: However, it turns out that they were tears of joy, as Ellen’s tweet was made in jest, after she surprised her employee Jeannie Klisiewicz with a cruise back in 2009

A source tells DailyMail.com that Jeannie is a ‘huge presence’ on the show, and got a job as a receptionist on the series after writing to Ellen.

Ellen is said to have surprised Jeannie because she was ‘always making everyone feel so good when they come into the office.’

It turns out Ellen was tweeting about Season 6 Episode 6107 from 2009, when she surprised Jeannie with a generous prize which made her become emotional.

Overcome with emotion: Ellen’s employee Jeannie began crying as her boss gave her a cruise

In the emotional clip, Ellen is seen praising Jeannie for her hard work on the show, which she returns with a gift.

This comes after Ellen was forced to apologize to staff in a Zoom call on Monday, following an investigation into the show regarding a toxic workplace environment.   

Executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman, were all fired Monday as a result of the investigation.

Still a part of the show: Jeannie (left) was recently seen on a lockdown edition of Ellen, along with exec producer Andy Lassner (right) 

Lucky! In 2018, Jeannie was also gifted a car by Ellen, a year before she was given a cruise

Shocked: Jeannie looked stunned to be gifted her vehicle from Ellen on a segment of the show

According to Deadline, Ellen is alleged to have apologized to her staff during the call and opened up about being introverted and having ‘good days and bad days.’

She is said to have explained how this sometimes makes her want to be alone and have her own space on set, which she allegedly admitted could be misconstrued by staff as her coming across as mean or unfriendly. 

‘Does that mean I’m perfect? No. I’m not,’ Ellen reportedly said. ‘I’m a multi-layered person, and I try to be the best person I can be and try to learn from my mistakes.’

Embattled: This comes after Ellen was forced to apologize to staff in a Zoom call on Monday, following an investigation into the show regarding a toxic workplace environment

The report adds that Ellen’s in-house DJ on the show, Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, has been named co-executive producer, who recently appeared to defend his boss by saying there has ‘been love’ on the set. 

Meanwhile Variety reports that the host – who has herself been accused of of fostering a ‘toxic environment’ – admitted on the call that the show’s leaders had not been sensitive to ‘human beings’ as they instead focused on running the show as a ‘well-oiled machine.’

Ellen also admitted the show had alienated employees and guests by shifting shooting timetables at short notice and pledged that going forwards the show will stick to agreed-upon timetables.

The start date for the 18th season of the show has also been pushed back by a week to September 14, staff were told.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show has fired three top producers in the wake of claims of on-set sexual misconduct and workplace bullying