NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Ellen DeGeneres is calling time on her long-running talk show.
The daytime host, who has seen a ratings hit after allegations of running a toxic workplace, has decided that the upcoming 19th season will be the last, ending in 2022. It coincides with the end of her contract.
鈥淵ou may wonder why I鈥檝e decided to end after 19 seasons. The truth is, I always trust my instincts. My instinct told me it鈥檚 time,鈥� a tearful DeGeneres said Wednesday during a taping for Thursday's show.
鈥淚 promise you that we鈥檙e going to have a fantastic final season. It will be a season where I truly get to say, 鈥楾hank You. Thank you all.鈥� Every day will be a celebration,鈥� she said.
She used humor to lighten the mood and the message.
鈥淚n 1997, I knew it was time to come out on my sitcom and live my truth," DeGeneres said, recalling a vivid, inspiring dream in which a bird escaped its cage because it had to be free.
鈥淩ecently, I had a dream that a bird, beautiful bird with bright red feathers, came to my window and whispered, 鈥榊ou can still do stuff on Netflix,鈥�" a deadpan DeGeneres said, drawing laughs from the virtual studio audience.
"The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which started airing in 2003 and is distributed by Warner Bros., has a mix of dancing, games and giveaways along with A-list celebrities. But the host, who built her brand on the motto 鈥淏e Kind,鈥� opened season 18 in September .
Three of the show鈥檚 producers exited over the summer amid allegations of a dysfunctional workplace that harbored misbehavior, including sexual misconduct and racially insensitive remarks.
While the allegations were 鈥渧ery hurtful to me,鈥� they didn't influence her decision to leave the show, DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter. "I wouldn鈥檛 have come back this season鈥� if they had, she said.
鈥淎lthough all good things must come to an end, you still have hope that the truly great things never will,鈥� Mike Darnell, president of unscripted TV for Warner Bros., said in a statement Wednesday. 鈥淚t was and is an indelible piece of the television landscape, and it will be sorely missed.鈥�
Nielsen data shows 鈥淭he Ellen DeGeneres Show鈥� viewership dropped by 1.1 million people this season, from 2.6 million viewers to 1.5 million viewers.
DeGeneres was the recipient of the Kennedy Center鈥檚 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom under Barack Obama in 2016. In addition to her talk show, she has had a hand in Fox鈥檚 鈥淭he Masked Dancer,鈥� NBC鈥檚 鈥淓llen鈥檚 Game of Games鈥� and HBO Max鈥檚 "Ellen鈥檚 Next Great Designer."
DeGeneres鈥� scripted TV show 鈥淓llen鈥� .
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
