This is how many viewers the Ellen DeGeneres Show actually lost following her ‘toxic workplace scandal’
Ellen DeGeneres at the 2020 Grammy Awards. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show lost almost half of its viewers following accusations of bullying, “racism” and general toxicity on set, according to numbers reported by the New York Times.
It was announced last month that the next season of Ellen DeGeneres’ long-running talkshow would be her last, as she claimed the show is “not a challenge anymore”.
But appearing on Australia’s Channel 7 show Sunrise, Hedda Muskat, a former producer on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, said that viewers had essentially “fired” DeGeneres.
She said: “Her ratings have been in the toilet for a long, long time now. Her show has not been fun, it has not been interesting, and she’s not really, by the way, stepping down. The viewers fired her.”
Recent reports have shown that the show has been haemorrhaging viewers throughout its 18th season, but now, eight months in, the full picture is emerging.
According to figures from Nielsen seen by the New York Times, the show’s viewership this season has been almost slashed in half.
While season 17 saw an average of 2.6 million viewers per episode, the current season has attracted 1.4 million per episode, a decline of 44 per cent.
Last month, speaking with Oprah about her decision to leave the show behind next year after the end of her contract, DeGeneres said: “It was hard. I told the crew and told the staff and there were tears, and it was really hard because I do love everyone here, we do have a relationship, and it’s every single day for me – I come in every day and this is my life, and theirs too.
“I wanted to give them a year, I wanted to give them enough time to know. I didn’t want to do it the last year I was here, I wanted to give them a year to celebrate with me and stay with me.”
