Ellen DeGeneres to Leave Talk Show After 19 Seasons: ‘I’m So Proud of What This Show Stood For’

May
12, 2021

2 min read

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It looks like the end of the road for the Ellen Degeneres Show.

DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter that the show’s upcoming 19th season will be its last.

“19 years is a long time to do anything,” she said.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the “Ellen” show staff was informed on Tuesday, May 11 of the show’s cancellation.

DeGeneres maintains that the show is ending because “as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore,” though the fall out of her show’s ratings and reputation following a major scandal last year made the eventual cancellation almost seem inevitable.

A bombshell report by Buzzfeed this past July with 10 former “Ellen” show employees claimed DeGeneres fostered a “toxic” workplace, with accusations of racism, harassment and bullying being fired at the talk show host.

Still, DeGeneres claims that the investigation has nothing to do with the cancellation of her show.

“It destroyed me, honestly. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “It almost impacted the show. It was very hurtful to me. I mean, very. But if I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn’t have come back this season.”

The talk show, which has been on air since 2003, saw a harrowing loss of over one million viewers last season following DeGeneres’ public apology regarding the accusations against her.

“If I never do anything else ever again, I’m so proud of what this show stood for and still stands for and what we’ve made it through,” she said.

DeGeneres will sit down for a formal interview with Oprah Winfrey on “Ellen” on Thursday, May 13.

The TODAY show’s Savannah Guthrie also confirmed that DeGeneres will join her for a separate exclusive interview set to air on the 13th. 

Related: Ellen DeGeneres Is the New-Era Example Business Leaders Can Learn From