Daytime’s most recognizable face, Ellen DeGeneres, has confirmed that the upcoming season of her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, will be the last after 18 years on the air. For many of us, this news might come to a surprise, but for the Emmy Award-winning comedian and writer, best-selling author, actor, and television pioneer, it has been in her game plan since Season 16.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, DeGeneres shared, “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.”
“I was going to stop after season 16. That was going to be my last season and they wanted to sign for four more years and I said I’d sign for maybe for one,” she told the outlet. “They were saying there was no way to sign for one. ‘We can’t do that with the affiliates and the stations need more of a commitment.’ So, we [settled] on three more years and I knew that would be my last. That’s been the plan all along. And everybody kept saying, even when I signed, ‘You know, that’s going to be 19, don’t you want to just go to 20? It’s a good number.’ So is 19.”
The daytime talk show host brings her unique brand of hilarity and quirkiness to her show which fans just can’t get enough of. The show has seen dazzling array of celebrity interviews, eclectic mix of musical performances, stomach tickling adventures of fun and games, and also showcasing extraordinary talents to the world. Her witty humour and fresh unpredictable approach to a talk show gained immense popularity across the spectrum.
When asked during the same interview with The Hollywood Reporter about rumors that she was cruel to her staff. DeGeneres claimed it was all gossip, explaining, “That bugs me if someone is saying that because it’s an outright lie. The first day I said: ‘The one thing I want is everyone here to be happy and proud of where they work, and if not, don’t work here.'”
“No one is going to raise their voice or not be grateful. That’s the rule to this day,” she added. However, after 2 years, the show a subject for internal investigation following multiple reports of workplace misconduct. Though DeGeneres herself wasn’t the accused or did any wrongdoings, she added “My name is on the show and everything we do and I take responsibility for that.”
She took the matter seriosuly and addressed the issue to her staff in a letter last July. “On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness—no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect,” she acknowledged. “Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case.”
While disappointment is inevitable for fans following the bombshell news of the show ending, there are thousands of episodes to look back and binge over for some light-headed entertainment. This will surely not be the end of Ellen’s whacky humour and comedy. While we await news on her next on-screen appearance, we can indulge in The Ellen DeGeneres Show till 2022 and beat away the pandemic stress!
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