Steve Harvey Defends His 'Shocking' Memo to Employees
Steve Harvey is defending his decision to email his daytime talk show staff to share a new policy stating that they need to get permission before approaching him.
The email from the 60-year-old comedian-turned-host became the subject of media scrutiny when the leaked memo to his staff appeard on media personality Robert Feder's blog on Wednesday. The memo was very direct in telling his employees that they should not approach him without an appointment.
"My security team will stop everyone from standing at my door who have the intent to see or speak to me. I want all the ambushing to stop now," Harvey wrote. "That includes TV staff. You must schedule an appointment."
Harvey told "Entertainment Tonight" why he felt the need to write the memo.
"I could not find a way to walk from the stage to my dressing room, to sit in my makeup chair, to walk from my dressing room to the stage or to just sit and have lunch without somebody just walking in," he told "Entertainment Tonight." "I've always had a policy where, you know, you can come and talk to me. So many people are great around here, but some of them just started taking advantage of it."
Even though Harvey admitted that he "probably should've handled it a little bit differently" he said he wrote the letter in order to get more privacy and believes his memo has been blown out of proportion. Reports from AOL called the email "shocking," while Variety referred to it as "Harsh."
"Everybody wants the freedom to be able to move around. I just didn't want to be in this prison anymore where I had to be in this little room, scared to go out and take a breath of fresh air without somebody approaching me. So, I wrote the letter," Harvey explained. "I don't apologize about the letter, but it's kind of crazy what people who took this thing and ran, man."
After five years on television, Harvey's talk show is moving from Chicago to Los Angeles in September.
"As I embark on this new adventure, I'm excited to explore everything Los Angeles has to offer for this new show," Harvey said in a statement. "'Steve' is going to be different than my current daytime show. The new location will allow me to welcome more celebrity guests and more importantly let me do what I enjoy doing best, being funny."
