Ellen DeGeneres has announced her talk show will end after 19 years, following controversy over an alleged toxic environment on set.
The American TV host, 63, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter (THR) she was moving on because the programme was “just not a challenge anymore”.
According to the publication, DeGeneres had been considering the move for several years and informed staff of her decision on 11 May.
But the star has come under intense scrutiny in recent months after news reports detailed claims made about an allegedly toxic workplace.
In August last year three producers left after allegations made by former staff members.
US President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to DeGeneres in 2016
Ratings have also taken a hit. Nielsen (audience counting) data shows The Ellen DeGeneres Show viewership dropped by 1.1 million people this season, from 2.6 million viewers to 1.5 million.
She will sit down with long-standing friend and fellow talk show host Oprah Winfrey to discuss the news on her own show on 13 May.
“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 THR.
Last year DeGeneres, one of the most high-profile figures on US TV, apologised to staff after an internal review by Warner Bros found “deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management”.
The comedian and actress has historically been known for her bubbly on-screen persona and “be kind” mantra, often taking part in lavish giveaways or acts of charity.
Addressing the claims, DeGeneres told THR: “It almost impacted the show. 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.
DeGeneres accepting the humanitarian award at the People’s Choice Awards in 2016
“So, it’s not why I’m stopping but it was hard because I was sitting at home, it was summer, and I see a story that people have to chew gum before they talk to me and I’m like, ‘Okay, this is hilarious.’
“Then I see another story of some other ridiculous thing and then it just didn’t stop. And I wasn’t working, so I had no platform, and I didn’t want to address it on (Twitter) and I thought if I just don’t address it, it’s going to go away because it was all so stupid.”
The show has received 171 Daytime Emmy Award nominations and won 61 Daytime Emmy Awards.
DeGeneres’ departure coincides with the end of her contract.
In addition to her talk show, she has had a hand in Fox’s The Masked Dancer, NBC’s Ellen’s Game of Games and HBO Max’s Ellen’s Next Great Designer.
DeGeneres’s scripted TV show Ellen became a historic landmark in TV history in the 1990s when her character came out as gay.
