Winter may be coming for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but Ellen DeGeneres herself was in a “spring” state of mind on Wednesday (Aug. 4). Ellen, 63, was spotted pursuing the furniture section at The Well, an upscale garden supply store in Montecito, California, marking a rare public outing for the comedian and talk show host. Ellen reportedly spent around two hours making furniture orders. She kept it casual, sporting a pair of striped shorts and a blue-grey t-shirt. After she was done, Ellen and an unnamed friend left the store – but not empty-handed. Ellen seemingly purchased an old wooden box and a large book on sculptor Henry Moore. Both were loaded into her limited edition Porsche 911 Targa before Ellen, and her friend drove away.
Ellen announced in May that her show would end after season 19, which is set to begin in September 2021 and will likely conclude sometime in Summer 2022. “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,” she told The Hollywood Reporter when confirming the show’s end. Ellen also said she tried to end the show after season 16, but “they wanted to sign for four more years, and I said I’d sign for maybe for one. They were saying there was no way to sign for one. ‘We can’t do that with the affiliates, and the stations need more of a commitment.’ So, we [settled] on three more years, and I knew that would be my last. That’s been the plan all along.”
During the chat with THR, Ellen stressed that the decision to end Ellen was not in response to the allegations that the show fostered a toxic workplace environment. Ellen did acknowledge that the allegations were “very hurtful to me” and “destroyed me, honestly. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t.” However, she said that if she were quitting the show because of the scandal, she “wouldn’t have come back this season.”
“[The] past 18 years, you have to know, has changed my life,” a teary-eyed Ellen said during the monologue of the May 12 episode, the first since announcing the end of the program. “You all have changed my life, and I am forever grateful to all of you for watching, for laughing, for dancing… sometimes crying. This show has been the greatest experience of my life, and I owe it all to you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
After all the crying, dancing, and laughing is done, Ellen will be replaced by Kelly Clarkson’s talk show. NBC confirmed that The Kelly Clarkson Show would move into Ellen’s time slot. “We look forward to Ellen DeGeneres’ 19th season paired with Kelly Clarkson for what is sure to be a blockbuster year,” NBCUniversal Local’s president, Valari Staab, said in a statement. “By 2022, The Kelly Clarkson Show will be the star of our daytime entertainment schedules and an asset to our early afternoon newscasts.”