 Ellen
DeGeneres to end TV show, says she needs 'break
from talking'
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[May 13, 2021]
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES
(Reuters) - Ellen DeGeneres, one of America's
best-known talk show hosts, said on Wednesday
she will end her daytime show in 2022, saying
that after 19 years it was time to do something
different. |
|
 DeGeneres, 63, told her virtual
audience that the show had been "the greatest
experience of my life" and thanked her fans for
watching. But she said she needed "to take a
break from talking."
"My instinct told me it's time. As a comedian,
I've always understood the importance of
timing," she said.
"Recently, I had a dream that a bird, a
beautiful bird with bright red feathers, came to
my window and whispered, 'You can still do stuff
on Netflix.' And that was the sign I was looking
for," she quipped.
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show," produced by AT&T
Inc's Warner Bros and syndicated to TV stations,
has won more than 60 Emmy awards.
But audiences have fallen in the past six months
following an internal inquiry into media reports
of a toxic work environment behind the scenes.
Three top producers exited the production in
2020, and DeGeneres apologized, promising "a new
chapter."
She told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday
that public attacks during that time "destroyed
me" but did not influence her decision to end
the show. That choice, she said, was made when
she extended her contract for three years in
2019.
[to top of second column]
|
 DeGeneres started her career in
stand-up comedy in her New Orleans hometown
before moving to television, starring in the
comedy "Ellen" in the mid-1990s.
In 1997, both she and her TV character came out
as a lesbian long before gay people were
accepted in mainstream America. "Ellen" was
canceled a year later, but DeGeneres returned to
television in 2003 with her daytime show.
An advocate for animals, gay rights and
anti-bullying campaigns, DeGeneres became known
for promoting kindness and compassion on her
light-hearted show.
DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter that her
future plans are uncertain. She said she is open
to movie roles and wants to be more involved in
environmental conservation efforts.
In addition to her talk show, the comedian
voiced the forgetful Pacific blue tang fish in
the animated movies “Finding Nemo” and “Finding
Dory,” and twice hosted the annual Oscars
ceremony.
(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru and
Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by
Marguerita Choy and Leslie Adler)
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