Ellen Degeneres recently celebrated the 3,000th episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" . . . but now, her run is coming to an end. On yesterday's show, she announced that the upcoming 19th season will be the FINAL one. That season will premiere this fall, so the show will end NEXT spring. The timing suggests that the decision MIGHT have something to do with the "toxic workplace" allegations that Ellen has dealt with over the past year . . . but Ellen said she always planned on ending after 19 seasons. She said, quote, "19 is a great number . . . the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote . . . also, on the Periodic Table, 19 is the atomic number for Potassium." She's joking, clearly. (See video below) But in an interview with the "Hollywood Reporter" she said it wasn't an abrupt decision. She wanted to end it back in 2019 . . . but she was talked into signing another three-year deal. She said she knew in her heart that was it. "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." Her wife Portia has also encouraged her to move on from the grind of the 180-episode seasons . . . especially considering all the other side gigs she has. However, Ellen did not shy away from the scandal. She admitted that the allegations last summer were "hurtful," and that they "destroyed" her. She said that the whole thing almost impacted the show . . . because she considered not coming back last fall. But ultimately, she did . . . and the whole thing made her a stronger person, and she learned a lot along the way. So what's next, after the show wraps? It sounds like she's up for doing movies and sitcoms . . . especially movies . . . but for now, she plans to devote more time to producing, as well as being more involved with conservation, the environment, and animals. She's also going to talk more about it with Oprah on today's show.She said, quote, "Oprah stopped, and she didn't have to work again, and she's done a tremendous amount since then."
So what do you think? Is she really ending it because she's been wanting to, or is it because of the "toxic" workplace stuff. Her ratings have crashed since those allegations. Let me know what you think on the TRY Facebook page.