Ellen DeGeneres has shared an emotional tribute after filming the final episode of her talk show.
For close to 20 years, the 64-year-old comedian has ruled daytime television with her top-rated talk show.
Over the course of 3,000+ episodes, viewers have witnessed unforgettable giveaways and celebrity guest appearances that have been etched into pop culture history.
However, back in May 2021, the Finding Nemo star announced that the 19th season would be the show’s last.
“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,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
With season 19 coming to an end, DeGeneres took to Instagram and reflected on the show’s last episode and its long legacy.
“Today we taped the final episode of The Ellen Show, which airs on May 26th. When we started this show in 2003, the iPhone didn’t exist. Social Media didn’t exist,” she wrote.
“Gay marriage wasn’t legal. We watched the world change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. But whatever was happening, my goal was always for the show to be a place where we could all come together and laugh for an hour.
“Being invited into your lives has been the greatest privilege of my life and has brought me incredible joy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
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Even though the show has been praised throughout its run, it has also been embroiled in its fair share of controversy.
Back in 2020, numerous reports went viral accusing the show of being a toxic workplace environment.
In a BuzzFeedNews exposé, an employee revealed that they were subject to a culture of racism, fear and intimidation, with one stating that the host’s mantra to be kind is “bullshit” and “only happens when the cameras are on”.
In an additional report from Variety, the core stage crew opened up about drastic pay cuts and poor communication from the show’s bosses during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the lack of transparency, the crew were allegedly left anxious and uncertain about whether they should apply for unemployment benefits.
Shortly after an internal investigation was conducted, a spokesperson for Warner Bros. revealed that executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman, as well as co-executive producer Jonathan Norman, were sacked over the allegations.
The last episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show is set to air on 26 May.
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