- Ellen DeGeneres is ending her US talk show after 19 years on air.
- The presenter announced the news earlier today (May 12).
- It comes months after the chat show faced claims of a toxic workplace culture.
Ellen DeGeneres has revealed she is officially ending The Ellen DeGeneres Show after its 19th season. The US chat show, which first started in 1994, will air its last episode next year.
The announcement follows after allegations of behind the scenes bullying and a toxic workplace environment.
She spoke about her decision with The Hollywood Reporter, explaining she's ready for a fresh start. "As great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore. I need something new to challenge me," the 63-year-old comedian said.
"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 added. "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."
DeGeneres, who will sit down with Oprah Winfrey to speak about her decision on May 13, also touched upon the workplace reports. Speaking about the claims, she said, "There was an internal investigation, obviously, and we learned some things but this culture we’re living in [is one where] no one can make mistakes.
"And I don’t want to generalise because there are some bad people out there and those people shouldn’t work again but, in general, the culture today is one where you can’t learn and grow, which is, as human beings, what we’re here to do. And I can see people looking at that going, 'You don’t care about what people [went through.]' I care tremendously. It broke my heart when I learned that people here had anything other than a fantastic experience—that people were hurt in any way."
The interview comes almost one year after the show faced accusations it was a toxic place to work. At the time, a Buzzfeed report carried claims of racism and intimidation on set among other workplace issues. Weeks after the report, Ellen sent round a memo to staff apologising to show staffers and the news broke that the show was under internal investigation by WarnerMedia.
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