Ellen Shares Emotional Message After Taping Final Talk Show Episode

Here it is, folks: we are witnessing the end of an era.

This week, Ellen DeGeneres shared an emotional Instagram post about recording the very last episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is scheduled to air on May 26. The longtime daytime talk show host wrote:

"When we started this show in 2003, the iPhone didn't exist. Social Media didn't exist. Gay marriage wasn't legal. We watched the world change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. But whatever was happening, my goal was always for the show to be a place where we could all come together and laugh for an hour. Being invited into your lives has been the greatest privilege of my life and has brought me incredible joy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

After receiving a lot of criticism for coming out as gay on her sitcom, Ellen, in the 1990s, DeGeneres' career did a complete 180 in the early 2000s. Most notably, she landed a self-titled daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews for her voice acting as Dory in Finding Nemo. Over the years, DeGeneres' hit talk show went on for 19 seasons and earned her 61 Daytime Emmy Awards.

Alas, everything changed in 2020 when BuzzFeed News published a story about the "toxic" work culture behind producing The Ellen DeGeneres Show and featured damning statements from former crew members. Since then, a slate of guest hosts filled in for DeGeneres throughout several episodes and it became clear that the talk show wouldn't be renewed past its final three-year contract, which would be concluded in 2022.

Despite these recent controversies, it was surely groundbreaking for an openly LGBTQ+ person to host one of the most successful daytime talk shows of all time. That era is now coming to an end with other celebrities landing their own talk shows and competing to fill the void left by The Ellen DeGeneres. Overall, this seems like DeGeneres is not only bowing out of her show but also from Hollywood -- at least for the time being.

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