Ellen DeGeneres Shares How She Feels About The End Of Her Show

Ellen DeGeneres is finally ending her talk show at the end of this week after 19 seasons. In a wide-ranging new interview, she opened up about “crying every day” while filming the final episodes of her show. DeGeneres also touched on her infamous toxic workplace scandal, saying that it was a “very, very difficult” time for her.

DeGeneres Discusses Toxic Workplace Scandal

DeGeneres, 64, told  The Hollywood Reporter that she had initially planned to end her talk show three years ago, before the toxic workplace allegations came out. However, she added that she was talked into staying.

“They talked me into staying a little longer and I did and it’s fine,” DeGeneres said when asked if she has any “regrets” about staying on longer.

“There was a lot that happened during that time that was unfortunate but it is what it is — you go through stuff in life and you just keep learning and growing,” she added of the scandal itself. “That’s how I have to look at it.”

Daily Mail reported that the scandal broke in 2020, when “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was accused by staffers of having a toxic workplace that include allegations of racism, sexual harassment, bullying, and intimidation on set. The scandal culminated in the firings of executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman, and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman.

Backstory: Ellen DeGeneres Announces The End Of Her Show After Scandals Tank Her Ratings

DeGeneres Accused Of Being ‘Mean’ To Staffers

DeGeneres herself was accused of being “mean” to staffers, and while she said at the time that she was “so sorry to the people it affected,” it shattered her image in the eyes of many as the woman who ended every episode of her show by telling people to “be kind” to one another. 

“I have to just trust that whatever happened during that time, which was obviously very, very difficult, happened for a reason,” DeGeneres said this week.

“I think that I learned a lot, and there were some things that came up that I was shocked and surprised by,” she added. “It was eye-opening, but I just trust that that had to happen.”

Related: Ellen DeGeneres Tears Up After David Letterman Gives Her Advice On Ending Her Show

‘I Was Crying Every Day’

Though she firmly believes that this is the right time to end her talk show, she found the process of filming her final shows to be emotional.

“There was a time a couple of months out where I was crying every day,” she said. “I was really emotional, even though it was my choice, and it’s the right choice. I knew it was time to end this chapter and to do something different, but still it was really emotional.”

DeGeneres’ final guest is set to be the former “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston, who was her very first guest back in 2003. Once her final show airs this week, DeGeneres is planning to spend time with her wife, former “Arrested Development” star Portia de Rossi, in Rwanda, where she has launched an education campus that is trying to save wild mountain gorillas. 

DeGeneres’ talk show has brought joy to millions of fans for nearly two decades, yet it has also been mired in its own fair share of controversy. One can’t help but feel that now is the right time for DeGeneres to be hanging it up and calling it a day when it comes to her talk show.