TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has been accused of "tormenting" her household staff with trivial complaints and "taking pleasure" in firing people.
The claims come amid allegations of a 'toxic' workplace at The Ellen DeGeneres Show with complaints of intimidation and racism.
On Wednesday, the Daily Mail UK spoke to a person who claimed to have worked at one of DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi's California homes for several months.
"Ellen was a hero of mine. I thought she was an amazing person. But before I took the position, people were warning me not to take it," the person, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
The source said they realised, after starting the job, DeGeneres' alleged behaviour at her talk show was nothing compared to how she treated her household staff.
"My belief is that someone's real personality comes out at home," the ex-staffer told the Daily Mail UK.
"So after everything that has been said about her at work, you can imagine how terrible Ellen is going to be at home when her guard is down."
The former staff member claimed DeGeneres would yell at staff members and "treated you like you were nothing".
"Ellen was the worst person that I've ever met in my life."
The ex-employee claimed DeGeneres is "terribly obsessive-compulsive" and gave staff a daily list of complaints from the previous day.
DeGeneres would begin "laying traps" for staff including leaving matchsticks behind cupboard doors, cushions and books to ensure staff were cleaning everywhere, the staffer claimed.
The former employee was reportedly fired from the job after a couple of months.
A representative for DeGeneres told Page Six the claims weren't true.
"This was one person [whose] employment [the Daily Mail] said they could not fully verify but they went ahead with the story anyway. Many of the claims in the story are things that had been out in the media previously by other 'sources' and in talking to people who work for Ellen are absolutely not true."
