Steve Harvey Confirms His ‘Leave Me Alone’ Staff Memo

The contents of the email were detailed in full in Feder’s blog post Wednesday with the headline “So Long, Steve: Not Everyone’s Sorry to See Harvey Leave Town.” Apparently it was sent ahead of the current season, which wrapped on Thursday, crafted in an attempt to lay out specific rules for how and when to approach Harvey.

“There will be no meetings in my dressing room. No stopping by or popping in. NO ONE. Do not come to my dress room unless invited. Do not open my dressing room door. IF YOU OPEN MY DOOR, EXPECT TO BE REMOVED,” it reads. “I have been taken advantage of by my lenient policy in the past. This ends now. NO MORE. … I am seeking more free time for me throughout the day. … Everyone, do not take offense to the new way of doing business. It is for the good of my personal life and enjoyment.”

In his ET interview, Harvey said it was a request for his staff to honor and respect his privacy. “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 continued. “Look man, I’m in my makeup chair, they walk in the room. I’m having lunch, they walk in, they don’t knock. I’m in the hallway, 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.”