After more than 3,000 episodes and 19 seasons it is confirmed that Ellen DeGeneres is ending her talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ellen confirmed the news and said, ‘When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged – and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore.’
The announcement is not surprising given the amount of controversy the show has had over the years involving staff and the talk show host herself.
Several former and current employees accused Ellen, 63, of fostering a toxic work environment last year and turning a blind eye to bullying by executives.
Jonathan Norman, a co-executive producer, is accused of “grooming” a former employee by taking him to concerts and giving him gifts and other perks before attempting to perform oral sex on him.
Kevin Leman, the show’s head writer and executive producer is alleged to have solicited oral sex from an employee while others say they’ve witnessed Leman groping another colleague.
Ed Galvin, another executive producer, allegedly had a reputation for being “handsy with women”.
All three men were fired from the popular talk show following these accusations in July 2020 with DeGeneres addressing these issues in a memo to her staff which said she was “taking steps to correct issues with employees”.
Given these accusations the ratings for the show have taken a hit. Total households from February 2020 to February 2021 were down 40% in New York City and Chicago and in Los Angeles she lost 59% of viewers.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show got off to a strong ratings start last fall in her 18th season premiere when she addressed the scandal, but has seen a swift decline in the months since.
There will be one more season after this current season and the show will exit at the end of the 2021/2022 season which will be its 19th and final season.
