'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' Is Finally Calling It Quits
Ellen DeGeneres has announced that the upcoming 19th season of The Ellen Degeneres Show will be its last, according to an exclusive new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"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," she told the publication.
Of course, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which premiered in September 2003, has been subject to a flurry of toxic workplace allegations in the past year, including allegations it is a hotbed of sexual harassment, bullying and racism. Allegations that Ellen herself is a nightmare to deal with also made the rounds. "That 'be kind' bullshit only happens when the cameras are on," one former employee told Buzzfeed News. "It's all for show."
After the accusations went public, Ellen reportedly struggled to book celebrity guests and the show's viewership plummeted by a whopping 43 percent.
While Ellen assured The Hollywood Reporter the allegations weren't the driving force behind her decision ("if I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn't have come back this season," she says) she added that the allegations were "very hurtful".
Ellen will apparently be having a yarn about her decision on Thursday's episode (LA time) of her show with none other than Oprah Winfrey. Damn. I wish I could discuss my decisions with Oprah Winfrey.
In the meantime, I'm just going to leave this Vulture tweet here.
Written by Reena Gupta, a Melbourne-based writer for MTV Australia. Follow her on Twitter @purpletank.
