Ellen DeGeneres to end US talk show

A promotion photo of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'.

Ellen DeGeneres, a staple of daytime American talk show culture, yesterday said she is ending her show after 19 seasons. The decision came amid slumping ratings following allegations by former and current staffers that ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ has been a toxic place to work. The 63-year-old host, writer, producer, actress and comedian won dozens of Emmy awards for the show. She yesterday insisted her decision to bring the curtain down on her afternoon talk show had nothing to do with allegations in the past year of a workplace environment rife with bullying, racial discrimination and harassment. “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,” DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter. When the complaints from people working on the show came out last summer, DeGeneres acknowledged there were problems, apologised and pledged to do better. DeGeneres herself was not accused of wrongdoing but she was blamed for allowing the issues to develop. But things got worse for her when the actor Brad Garrett, who appeared on her show six times, tweeted this last August: “Sorry but it comes from the top @TheEllenShow Know more than one who were treated horribly by her. Common knowledge.” DeGeneres downplayed the fallout from the allegations yesterday. “It almost impacted the show,” Ellen told the trade publication.”It was very hurtful to me. I mean, very. But if I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn’t have come back this season.”