Ellen DeGeneres Ends Talk Show After 19 Seasons After Toxic Workplace Scandal

Ellen DeGeneres has bid farewell to fans after over 3,000 episodes of her talk show Ellen in the final episode on Thursday.

DeGeneres was emotional and had some poignant thoughts about how long she’s been on the air. She noted at the top of her show that she, “Couldn’t say, ‘gay,’ on the show,” when it first premiered in 2003, or discuss her wife Portia de Rossi because gay marriage was illegal.

Her guests for the final episode included the show’s first-ever guest Jennifer Aniston, as well as musicians Billie Eilish and Pink, who also took the time to perform her song “What About Us” as the show’s final musical performance.

In her final comments on the show, Ellen thanked the whole crew of the show and especially highlighted her longtime executive producers Andy Lassner and Mary Connelly who she said, “nurtured me and you found a way to make me shine brighter than I could do it by myself. You helped me be my best.”

“Compassion is what makes the world a better place. Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. I feel the love, and I send it back to you, bye,” she said as she wrapped up. She then moved from her show chair to a living room set and sat on the couch to the audience’s applause, and hopefully started catching up on episodes of Ozark after the lights went down.

DeGeneres made no mention of the allegations of a toxic workplace that dogged the last season of her show. While it was never stated that this controversy motivated the decision to end the show, it certainly affected her viewership and standing as a positive figure in daytime TV.

The Kelly Clarkson Show is slated to take over the Ellen timeslot for all NBC-owned stations