A stand-up comedian who worked for Ellen DeGeneres said success caused turmoil between DeGeneres and her staff.

Comedian Greg Fitzsimmons said he worked on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in its first two years. The daytime talk show ran for 19 seasons from 2003 to 2022.

Fitzsimmons was hired as a writer and said he and other staff worked for about a month without DeGeneres before the show launched to figure out the upcoming format. Describing the feeling with the host as "good energy" with pranks and a ping-pong table, Fitzsimmons said that feeling changed when DeGeneres joined the production.

'She's a control freak.'

"She was rough. She was the 'C-word,'" Fitzsimmons said on the "We Might Be Drunk" podcast.

Wave bye-bye

Fitzsimmons said he took on the role of audience "warm-up guy" beca

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