Ellen Degeneres announced that her daytime television talk show, "Ellen" would be ending in 2022 in an emotional announcement during her beginning of the show monologue after 19 seasons. She talked about how she always knew nineteen would be a good number, citing the nineteenth amendment giving women the right to vote, and that it felt like a natural end to the show.
This is coming in the midst of an investigation of the show based on allegations of a toxic work environment and sexual abuse, along with an onslaught of online hate for the star. It isn't new for someone in the spotlight to get hate, but since March of last year, the amount of hate for Ellen Degeneres has seemed steady and rising.
How the Hate Train Began
There are many instances where it could be said the whole Ellen Hate Train started, but the main one comes in the form of a tweet sent on March 20, 2020 by Keven T. Porter.
Holding money for a charity hostage as a means to get stories about someone being awful is a little odd, but Porter did specify they have to be able to be proven for him to match the donations. This thread grew in popularity, almost a year and a month later having nearly 3 thousand responses and over 60 thousand likes.
Ellen Faces Backlash After Comparing Being Stuck in Quarantine to Jail
In the next month Ellen would go on to share a tone-deaf take on being stuck in her multimillion dollar mansion being comparable to prison, but seeing as celebrities of every status were doing similar dumb things on social media, it's arguable that this offense could be looked over in terms of how it would've blown over if it hadn't been sandwiched between the controversies.
Ellen's Employees Complain After She Hires Outside Crew to Film Her Show While in Quarantine
On April 16th, employees of the show shared their outrage that were being completely kept in the dark by producers on their stance on the show. According to Variety, core crew members of the show were basically ghosted by producers, not being told what hours they would be getting, what the payment would be, or any concerns about their physical and mental health. The employees then learned that an outside non-union crew had been hired to film the show from DeGeneres' home.
Employees Anonymously Speak Out About Experiencing Sexual Harassment from Producer Kevin Leman and a Toxic & Racist Work Environment, But Failed to Notify Ellen Directly
In July, Buzzfeed issued a report speaking on behalf of anonymous employees who chose to stay anonymous, claiming that head producers of the show fostered a toxic environment of "racism, intimidation and fear." While Ellen wasn't named as one of the people that upheld this environment, a former employee pointed out that she should be responsible if she "wanted her name on the show."
Later that same month, Buzzfeed published 36 accounts from anonymous employees accusing former executive producer of the show, Kevin Leman of harassment, sexual misconduct and intimidation based on his status.
In the article it states that many of the victims were low-level or younger employees who felt like they didn't have the power to speak up.
While Ellen issued two apologies, one before the sexual misconduct that addressed the toxic workplace environment allegations, and one after, promising staffing changes, people seemed to already have their minds set.
Many people started looked back on instances where her style of comedy seemed more mean-spirited than joking (see her now infamous Dakota Johnson interview or the time she put Justin Biebers nude paparazzi photos in the background tv of her show during his interview). However, the show seems to be ending because of the numerous misconduct and abuse allegations circulating and being investigated, few of them having to do with the star herself.
Ellen shared her view of her past few months with Savannah Guthrie on the Today show, saying "she doesn't understand it," and how the attacks "felt orchestrated".
"People get picked on, for four months straight for me, and then for me to read in the press about a toxic work environment when all I ever hear from every guest that comes on the show is what a happy atmosphere this is and what a happy place it is." she said, though no guests had been reported claiming a hostile work environment, just former employees.
She continued, saying that she wasn't ending the show because of the hate that she has been getting for the past few months, if that had been the reason, she "wouldn't have come back this year.". Then goes on to say she wish someone had told her about what was happening behind the scenes of the show, because she couldn't have known with so many people in employment.
"I don't know how I could've known when there is 255 employees here, and there are a lot of different buildings, unless I literally stayed here until the last person goes home at night. It is my name on the show, so clearly it affects me, and I have to be the one to stand up and say, this can't be tolerated."
There is no set date for Ellen's last show.
Here is the full interview: