Ellen DeGeneres tells the Hollywood Reporter that she has decided to end her long-running show, Ellen, in 2022 amid “toxic” workplace allegations.
“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,” DeGeneres explains to the Hollywood Reporter.
The Daytime television host has battled with ending her show for years. In her 2018 New York Times profile, the comedian expressed the conflicting views between her wife Portia De Rossi, who urged her to quit the 180-show-a-year commitment. Still, her brother and Warner Brothers executive producers persuaded her to continue.
“My brother was like, ‘People look forward to this show every day, and there aren’t many shows out there that are just pure joy like this,’” DeGeneres tells Hollywood Reporter. “He’s always been my biggest advocate and — not that Portia isn’t, but she’s also selfish and wants me to do things that I’m challenged by, and she’s watched me come home every day saying, ‘I just feel like there’s something more I could be doing.’”
At the time, she decided to stay, signing on for another 3 seasons.
“Although all good things must come to an end, you still have hope that truly great things never will,” says Warner Bros.’ unscripted TV president Mike Darnell. Up until last April, Darnell has urged DeGeneres to reconsider her decision to leave the show. He refers to the series as “an absolute phenomenon.” To Darnell, the Ellen Show was “the premier destination for both superstars and incredible heartfelt human-interest stories.”
DeGeneres’s decision to end her daytime-award-winning show follows the public controversy about the “toxic” work environment behind the scenes.
In July 2020, Buzzfeed released an expose uncovering how DeGeneres’s “Be Kind” mantra is fluff for the camera. Behind the scenes, employees express that they have faced racism, micro-aggressions, forms of intimidation, and fear.
Although controversy evolving her show is not the reason for it’s ending, the public scrutiny did hurt her.
“It almost impacted the show,” says DeGeneres. “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. So, it’s not why I’m stopping, but it was hard.”
The famed talk show host opened season 18 of The Ellen Show with an apology to her staff.
“I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,” says DeGeneres. “I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.”
The biggest thing that the host will miss about her show, her staff.
“I’ll miss everything else,” DeGeneres confesses. “Listen, this is my family. They’ve become my best friends. I come to work, and I laugh every single day.”
DeGeneres will sit down with Oprah Winfrey for a special episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday, May 14th.