Why was Ellen DeGeneres’ show canceled?

Ellen DeGeneres went from one of television’s biggest stars to yet another discarded former favorite in a matter of months.

DeGeneres was among talk show’s biggest names from 2003 to 2022, during which time The Ellen DeGeneres Show was collecting awards and commendations left and right. It was long one of the most popular talk shows on the air, and DeGeneres was among Hollywood’s most treasured stars. That was largely due to the 65-year-old’s kind and humorous persona, a longstanding staple of her on-screen presence.

That is, until new revelations about the host started to emerge in 2020. A series of harrowing stories from the star’s former employees painted a very different picture of DeGeneres, and sparked widespread backlash against the host. Claims that, starkly opposing her sweet and bubbly demeanor, behind the scenes DeGeneres displayed cruel, vindictive, and even racist behavior. 

What followed was a slow but steady downfall. Those rumors circulated broadly in 2020, but weren’t quite enough to derail a career more than 20 years in the making. What followed, however, between 2021 and 2022, was enough to see the former television host ousted for good.

Why was Ellen DeGeneres canceled?

The fall of DeGeneres started in July of 2020, when ten of the host’s former employees made anonymous allegations of a “toxic” on-set atmosphere. They made a range of accusations, from bullying and racist micro-aggressions to ignoring, or even punishing, employees who spoke out about sexual harassment or medical issues, and the replacement of her crew with non-union members at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That was just the tip of the iceberg. It happened before the revelation of DeGeneres’ on-set behavior, but many people point to a specific interview as the start of the host’s downfall. During a 2019 interview with Dakota Johnson, DeGeneres attempted to chide the actress for failing to invite her to party, only for Johnson to call that statement out as untrue. She clarified that DeGeneres had, in fact, been invited, but had failed to attend due to a conflicting engagement. 

It may not seem all that controversial, but many fans point to that moment as the beginning of the end. They assert that it exposed DeGeneres’ more unlikable qualities, and started to turn audience favor against the longtime host.

DeGeneres apologized, at the start of her show’s 18th season, for the behavior her former employees laid out in their 2020 accusations, but didn’t step back from the spotlight. She held onto her spot as host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show for another season, only finally announcing the show’s cancelation after 19 seasons in 2021. The show officially ended in 2022, and DeGeneres largely disappeared from the spotlight.

What is Ellen up to now? 

In the time since her show ended, DeGeneres had worked hard to avoid the public eye. The harsh treatment she received ahead of her departure from The Ellen DeGeneres Show seemingly prompted the star to retreat completely, although it’s worth noting that she’s now back for one big comedic special before she bows out of the biz for good.

In the ever-growing Netflix landscape, DeGeneres’ latest comedy special, For Your Approval, officially released on the streaming platform on Sept. 24, 2024. The comedian wasted little time in confronting those long-standing rumors head on, joking that she got “kicked out of the business” after allegations surfaced about bullying against staff members and a poor workplace environment.

Apart from that, she remains occasionally active on Instagram and in the various pursuits she partakes in off-screen, but it seems DeGeneres is perfectly happy living a much more private life than she’s enjoyed in the past. And, as far as her many, many detractors are concerned, obscurity is exactly where she belongs.