Ellen DeGeneres fought back tears as she made her final entrance onto the Ellen Degeneres Show stage for the May 26 show. A preview for the episode was released hours before the show aired. It began with a montage of Ellen walking onstage throughout the past 18 seasons of her show, and ended with her last walk out.
The crowd clapped and cheered for about 45 seconds, while Ellen took in the moment. At one point, she could be seen with tears in her eyes as she struggled to begin talking. She put her hand to her chest to acknowledge that she was touched by the crowd’s applause. Ellen’s wife, Portia de Rossi, was proudly cheering her on from the front row.
Ellen’s final show will feature appearances from Jennifer Aniston, P!nk and Billie Eilish, who will all help the comedienne close this incredible chapter. The Ellen DeGeneres Show began back in Sept. 2003. Before that, Ellen was a sitcom actress. She famously came out as a lesbian during the height of her show, Ellen‘s, success in 1997.
In May 2021, Ellen announced that the subsequent 19th season of her show would be its last, so fans have known this day was coming for more than a year. For her last season, Ellen had some of her closest friends and beloved guests appear on the show for final interviews. In the fall, The Kelly Clarkson Show will fill Ellen’s time slot on NBC owned television stations.
The show’s ending came following a controversial 2020 for Ellen and her team, when various employees alleged that the talk show was a “toxic workplace” environment. Ellen apologized to her staff amidst the crisis and investigation into the claims began. Ellen also addressed the situation publicly during the season 18 premiere of her show in 2020.
During summer 2022, The Ellen DeGeneres Show will continue to air new episodes with guest hosts. Re-runs featuring Ellen herself will also run in syndication.