Will ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show”s final episodes discuss the toxic workplace?

The Ellen DeGeneres Show is set to kick off its final season in two weeks, with the first episode airing on Sept 13th which will see the return of a very famous “friend” for host Ellen DeGeneres, somebody who made their mark as one of the very first guests of The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in 2003. Of course, we’re referring to Jennifer Aniston, who will lead Ellen in her charge into the sunset. 

Many will recall how DeGeneres announced in May that the 19th season of her show would be the last, saying, “My instinct told me it’s time.” The announcement also came in the wake of allegations of a toxic work environment at the show, and a subsequent investigation. DeGeneres apologized, saying, “I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”

Just what can we expect from these upcoming farewell shows & episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show? Why is Ellen leaving behind her successful daytime talk show? Let’s delve into everything that we know and she knows . . . 

Ellen’s final season

While we already know that OG guest Jennifer Aniston is set to kick off the 19th and final season of the daytime talk show, making it the Friends star’s twenty-third visit on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, we’ve also learned about other guests that will be making appearances as guests in a scatter of shows & episodes. 

This list includes famous faces such as Jimmy Kimmel, P-Diddy, Kim Kardashian, Julianne Moore, and other surprises. The kickoff for Ellen’s final season will take place on Sept 13th, 2021. 

The end of an era

While The Ellen DeGeneres Show will be ending after its 19th season, Ellen still stands by that she’s not quitting her run because of any allegations, and that if it were the case, she wouldn’t have resigned at all. “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 had told the Hollywood Reporter in 2021.

Even with DeGeneres firing all three producers in August who were accused of sexual assault, the show was still losing advertisers and was struggling to book top Hollywood personalities, with former employees sharing with the Hollywood Reporter how the blame fell on the shoulders of Ellen, even though she claims she was oblivious.

“I think they did all the right things to make it look like they were making changes — they fired some people, they gave tWitch an executive producer position because they didn’t have a lot of diversity, and they made it look like they did all the right things,” one insider noted. “But it still wasn’t enough. It all comes out in the wash at the end and you realize this is really what she deserves and what the show deserves.”

Did Ellen know?

“I really didn’t understand it. I still don’t understand it. It was too orchestrated. It was too coordinated,” Ellen told Savannah Guthrie in a pre-taped one-on-one interview which aired this summer right after she announced the show’s ending. 

“People get picked on, but for four months straight for me, and for me to read in the press about a toxic work environment when all I’ve ever heard from every guest that comes on the show is what a happy atmosphere this is, and how — what a happy place it is,” DeGeneres said.

She continued: “I don’t know how I could have known when there are 255 employees here and there are a lot of different buildings. Unless I literally stayed here until the last person goes home at night,” she said. “I do wish somebody would have come to me and said, ‘Hey, something’s going on that you should know about.’”