Despite being two of the best game shows of all time, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune aren’t without its controversies. It was only a few years ago that Mike Richards was fired as executive producer of the series after past problematic behavior resurfaced when he named himself the new Jeopardy! host following Alex Trebek’s death. Now the Sony Productions game shows are facing big complains from two former employees, who say they experienced discriminatory behavior and were fired for reporting it.
Shelley Ballance Ellis and Monique Diaz were laid off from Sony Pictures Entertainment in April after working on Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! for 26 and 23 years, respectively, USA TODAY reports. While the issues reported to the California Civil Rights Department took place before Ryan Seacrest made his Wheel of Fortune debut, he had begun filming promos with Vanna White at least by February of this year, so the new host may have, in fact, crossed paths with Ballance Ellis and Diaz.
As the head of the shows’ clearance and licensing department — and reportedly the highest-ranking Black production executive on staff — Shelley Balance Ellis said in court documents:
The truth is that I and others were targeted by Sony because we opposed discrimination.
The former employee detailed a 2020 Wheel of Fortune production meeting as an example, where colleagues allegedly joked that a Black woman’s hairstyle reminded them of the movie The Elephant Man, to which Shelley Ballance Ellis reportedly asked them which part of the “joke” was funny.
She also reported that she had voiced concern over biased Jeopardy! clues and advocated for “more inclusive, nuanced clues about people from diverse backgrounds.” The former executive said she was not considered for promotions despite taking on extra work after three other producers left. She voiced her concern in 2023, per the complaint, which said:
I explained that I believe I had faced a glass ceiling at Sony as a Black woman, pushing back on my colleagues’ claim that having white women in leadership meant there was no glass ceiling for people of color or Black women like me.
Shelley Ballance Ellis reported other actions she experienced that affected her and other employees, including Wheel of Fortune’s 2017 “Southern Charm Week,” in which Pat Sajak and Vanna White were shown in front of a plantation and two slave re-enactors in antebellum dress. The show reportedly issued an apology at the time.
Monique Diaz, meanwhile, detailed other behavior she allegedly witnessed including the way contestants of color were treated in comparison to their white counterparts. Comedian Leslie Jones, for example, was mocked by a production supervisor for requesting to bring her own hairstylist for Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.
Employees’ concerns about racial bias were reportedly disregarded, such as when Diaz, who is Latina, learned she earned about $50,000 a year less than a new employee who was white and did the same work. No action was taken after she filed human resources complaint, so Shelley Ballance Ellis — who was Diaz’s supervisor — contacted Sony’s chief diversity officer. Diaz’s pay was adjusted but she reportedly still earned $15,000 less than her new colleague.
Sony responded to the complaints, telling USA TODAY that the leadership team at Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are “dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect." The statement continued:
Sony Pictures Entertainment takes all allegations of discrimination very seriously. Earlier this year there was a broad reorganization of our game show group that resulted in the elimination of several roles to address redundancies and evolving business needs of a 40-plus-year-old operation. Those eliminations were business efficiency decisions and not retaliatory.
We’ll have to wait and see if anything comes from these discrimination complaints, including if and how the game shows’ relatively new hosts — Ken Jennings and Ryan Seacrest — will be affected. In the meantime, check your local listings to see when the games air in syndication in your area.