It’s official—Ellen DeGeneres is ending her daytime talk show after the completion of its 19th season in 2022.
The popular daytime host has become known for promoting a “Be Kind” motto—only to then become thrust into a highly critical spotlight due to disturbing claims of a toxic workplace, including but not limited to sexual harassment and racism. The allegations resulted in an internal investigation by WarnerMedia and a third-party firm.
In her first interview since the big announcement was made, Ellen told The Hollywood Reporter, “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.”
Though Ellen had previously decided that the three-year contract she signed in 2019 would probably be her last, we all know damn well the backlash she received from that recent controversy and the show’s subsequent ratings dip (44 percent from last year!) was the elephant (or Ellen-phant?) in the room here. Thus, Ellen was prompted to discuss that correlation.
“I mean, I really don’t understand it. I still don’t understand it,” DeGeneres told co-anchor Savannah Guthrie during her recent appearance on Today. “It was too orchestrated. It was too coordinated. And you know, people get picked on, but for four months straight for me, and then for me to read in the press about a toxic work environment when all I have ever heard from every guest that comes on the show is what a happy atmosphere this is and what a happy place it is.”
I mean, if you can call allegedly abused workers finally becoming empowered enough to organize on something that had apparently been an open secret for years—in an industry that regularly blacklists people for speaking out—“too orchestrated” and “too coordinated”...sure, Jan!
“If it was why I was quitting, I would have not come back this year,” Ellen added. “I really did think about not coming back. It was devastating. I am a kind person. I am a person who likes to make people happy. I just kept saying to Portia [de Rossi] if I was a fan of somebody, and even though I loved them I would think there must be some truth to it because it is not stopping. And then right on the heels of that I hear that there is a toxic work environment, which I had no idea, never saw anything that would even point to that.”
Anyway, we’re on that “moving forward” energy! So, obviously Ellen’s daytime TV slot is a hot ticket. The question is, who would be able to fill her shoes? According to Page Six, one name that’s in the mix for taking over Ellen’s spot for their own show has been Tiffany Haddish. Along with the comedian’s mainstream popularity, this choice makes sense to insiders since Tiffany has guest-hosted on Ellen several times.
“Tiffany is a favorite, she has humor and empathy in spades,” an NBCUniversal source told Page Six. “She’s top of the list to get a daytime show—she’s a fresh voice.”
Now, Tiffany was recently at the center of her own controversy after she allegedly engaged in cyberbullying via the audio-based social media platform Clubhouse. Those allegations may end up coming back to bite her if she becomes a serious contender for the role.
Since Tiffany’s name is in the conversation, it also presents an opportunity for Black Twitter to chime in with their own potential options. The popular choice right now? Actor-singer Tituss Burgess, which I’d definitely be here for.
That brings me to...y’all! Who would you like to see take the daytime talk show host baton from Ellen? Drop your casting choices in the comments!