WASHINGTON — Comedian Steve Harvey says he’s not apologizing for a lengthy email warning staffers on his TV talk show to refrain from approaching him near his dressing room or in hallways.
“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,” Harvey told Entertainment Tonight in an interview Thursday. “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.”
The memo to staff, which was leaked to reporters, contained admonitions, such as:
There will be no meetings in my dressing room. No stopping by or popping in. NO ONE.
Do not come to my dressing room unless invited.
I want all the ambushing to stop now … You must schedule an appointment. I have been taken advantage of by my lenient policy in the past. This ends now. NO MORE.
When asked why he sent the email, Harvey explained: “I’m getting ambushed by people with friends that come to the show and having me sign this and do this. I just said, ‘Wait a minute.’ And in hindsight, I probably should’ve handled it a little bit differently.”
He added: “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,” he added. “I don’t apologize about the letter, but it’s kind of crazy what people who took this thing and ran, man. ”
Watch the full interview on Entertainment Tonight:
