Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, the long-time senior executive producer of Hollywood gossip show Extra, announced Friday that she will step down from her post in September. The news came just a few months after The Daily Beast reported about a “toxic” workplace culture at the tabloid TV show in which the top boss allegedly “bullied” staffers, including some of its stars.
“I'm proud to be the longest-running executive producer of any entertainment show in America, but it’s now time to move on,” she told The Daily Mail in an exclusive story published on Friday.
Gregorisch-Dempsey praised the “phenomenal team” from her “wonderful show,” adding that she will “leave with so many great memories.” Furthermore, the Mail announcement featured fawning quotes from both the show’s current anchor Bill Bush and former host Mario Lopez.
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“Lisa G is a trailblazing, glass ceiling smashing, inspiring person, woman and producer,” Bush declared. “Our partnership will always hold a special place in my heart. I admire her, thank her and love her.” Lopez added: “Lisa G is responsible for molding me, not just as a host but as the person I’ve become today. She's super smart, funny and clever and I will always love and respect her. We were a helluva one-two punch. I have such fond memories of my time at Extra.”
The Mail’s article made no mention of The Daily Beast report, which featured a dozen current and former staffers alleging Gregorisch-Dempsey ran Extra like the “mafia” and even allegedly “threatened” Lopez when he considered exiting the show.
Gregorish-Dempsey, via powerhouse lawyer Marty Singer, vehemently denied all of the accusations, branding them “reckless and defamatory.”
The Mail also did not mention Warner Bros. Television Group’s “thorough third-party investigation into the show” and how additional allegations arose during that probe. “We have already begun taking appropriate action based on our findings, and once the investigation has concluded, we will take additional measures as needed,” the studio noted earlier this year.
After Gregorisch-Dempsey leaves, Extra will be run by her current lieutenants, co-executive producers Theresa Coffino and Jeremy Spiegel, who have both been with the show for years. “I’m truly leaving the show in the best of hands,” she said.
Gregorisch-Dempsey claimed to the Mail that her exit came as the “pandemic made her reconsider what she wants to do with her life” and she decided to call it quits now rather than run out the final year of her contract.
She and her husband currently live in Naples, Florida, while the show continues to film in Burbank, California—an arrangement that was a point of contention with staffers, as The Daily Beast reported. “Lisa is so uninvolved,” one longtime employee said in April. “She literally puts herself on-air and then goes and flies around in her plane during the workdays.” Her bosses at WarnerMedia apparently agreed, sources said at the time, informing Gregorisch-Dempsey that she needed to appear at the Burbank studio at least once a month.
That requirement to appear more frequently in the California offices appears to have been what pushed Gregorisch-Dempsey to exit.
“Working remotely for almost three years has been a life changing gift. As employees begin returning to the office, I realized that returning to Los Angeles was a commitment I was no longer willing to make,” she told The Daily Mail. “I totally understand why return to work mandates make sense, especially for a day-and-date television show like Extra, but it’s no longer for me.”
“She didn't want to [return to Burbank] and leave her husband. That was her deal breaker,” one current Extra staffer told The Daily Beast. “So she’s retiring. Not sure how many people believe that.”
The employee added: “Consensus is she was forced out. Retire or be fired.”
