New York- When Ellen DeGeneres returned from a summer break to open season 18 of her talk show in September, she arrived armed with an apology. “I learned that things are happening here that should never have happened,” he said. “I take it very seriously. And I want to say that I am very sorry for the people who have been affected. “These comments came as a result of reports of workplace misconduct on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Spectators apologized: The premiere of this year’s season had the highest ratings for an “Ellen” premiere in four years. And then they turned off the TV. “Ellen” has lost more than a million viewers since September, according to research firm Nielsen, by an average of 1.5 million viewers in the last six months, up from 2.6 million in the same period last year.
The decline came at a time when behavior in the workplace, in Hollywood and elsewhere, was under intense control in a context of protest and social change. It’s a surprising failure for one of the most successful franchises on day television and for DeGeneres, which was at the forefront of a previous cultural change when, as the star of a primetime sitcom in the 1990s, it announced that it was gay.
DeGeneres, 63, has publicly reflected on leaving the program in recent years, and attention to his workplace issues has added to questions about his future. His contract with the talk show ends next year. Warner Bros., which produces “Ellen,” has confirmed that the show will return for a season 19 in September, after the usual summer break. A spokeswoman for DeGeneres declined to comment on whether the 2021-22 television season will be her last.