Ellen DeGeneres to End Her Long-Running Talk Show
Ellen has clarified that her decision has nothing to do with the toxic workplace allegations.
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On Wednesday, 12 May, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres announced that she will end her long-running talk show next year, as per a report by The New York Times. For 19 seasons, Ellen had anchored a TV staple that was tainted by toxic workplace allegations.
The 63-year-old host, writer, producer, actor and comedian won dozens of Emmy awards for the show and has been a pioneer of the LGBTQ community in the United States since she came out as gay in 1997.
Decline in Ratings
As per the report by The New York Times, Ellen's decision resulted in a sharp ratings decline for The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Since September it has reportedly lost more than a million viewers.
The decline seems to have affected the bottom line. Between September and February, the show brought in $127.6 million in advertising revenue, according to the research firm Kantar. That was down from $163.8 million in the same six months in the previous season, a 22 percent drop.
This downward spiral started after BuzzFeed reported in July that a number of former and current staff members said that they were subjected to 'racism, fear and intimidation' at work. There were allegations of sexual harassment against producers too. After an investigation by the show's producer Warner Bros, three high-level producers were fired.
Ellen apologised to her staff in summer and even addressed the allegations on air in September. That episode scored the biggest rating in four years for the show. Then viewers started fizzling out.
Ellen's Clarification
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter trade publication on Wednesday, Ellen clarified that her decision to bring the curtains down on the show had nothing to do with the allegations. The talk show host had built her brand on the motto 'Be Kind'.
"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 told the publication.
"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. All I cared about was spreading kindness and compassion, and everything I stand for was being attacked. So, it destroyed me, honestly", she added.
Ellen, who is married to actor Portia de Rossi, has reportedly been considering ending the show for quite some time. She is scheduled to have Oprah Winfrey as a guest on Thursday to speak about ending Ellen.
"Definitely people have been saying, 'Why don't we just try to go a little longer?' But 19 years is a long time to do anything," she told the Hollywood Reporter.
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