Ellen DeGeneres is saying goodbye to her eponymous talk show, revealing Wednesday that the current 19th season of the daytime series will be its last. “As great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore,” DeGeneres said in a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter announcing the news.
DeGeneres has suggested in recent years that she was ready to move on, and insists her decision to do so has been a long time coming. Still, the announcement comes after a tumultuous year for the series and its host’s brand of gee-whiz geniality.
Allegations of on-set racism and sexual misconduct detailed in bombshell reports from BuzzFeed News resulted in an official investigation by WarnerMedia and the ousting of three top producers over the past 10 months. Though internal reports didn’t find evidence of systemic racism, and DeGeneres issued a series of shifty mea culpas to fans and staff, ratings for the series have plummeted.
Now, DeGeneres is opening up about how she really felt when the allegations surfaced, in a decidedly less apologetic tone. “I thought if I just don’t address it, it’s going to go away because it was all so stupid,” she told THR. “At first I didn’t believe it, because I know how happy everybody is here.” Sources close to the show have said they don’t buy such denials: “The fish rots from the head, and Ellen is the head,” one former producer told The Daily Mail, calling it “outrageous that she is trying to pretend that this is all a shock to her.”
DeGeneres went on: “I really, honestly, felt like, ‘I don’t deserve this. I don’t need this. I know who I am. I’m a good person.’” The host also decried what might be referred to as cancel culture while skirting around those exact words. “This culture we’re living in [is one where] no one can make mistakes,” she told THR. “And I don’t want to generalize 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.”
When DeGeneres, 63, famously came out on the cover of Time magazine in 1997, while starring in scripted series that also bore her name, she was both heralded as a trailblazer and faced intense criticism. “I was so publicly attacked during that time, it also really destroyed me, but then I got stronger and I learned and grew from it,” she said. “I’m emotional and I still care what people think and say about me, to a degree. At the same time, you have to learn from it, too.”
As for what’s next, DeGeneres said she’s not likely to sit still for long, describing herself as “a Ferrari in neutral” who’s “constantly needing to go.” On top of looking for a plum film role, DeGeneres said she’ll also continue to pursue her interests beyond Hollywood: “I care about the environment. I care about animals. I care about design and furniture.”
Expect more candor when Oprah visits Ellen on May 14 to discuss the host’s departure.
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