After nearly 20 years on the air, Ellen DeGeneres has announced she is stepping down from her popular daytime talk show in 2022. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, she revealed the upcoming 2021-22 season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the program’s 19th, will be the last. 

“When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged,” DeGeneres said. “And as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore.” 

Ellen premiered in 2003 and has garnered over 60 Daytime Emmy awards. According to the Hollywood Reporter, since then the show has given nearly $70 million in charitable donations and over $300 million in audience giveaways. 

DeGeneres explained she had been thinking about quitting the show since at least season 16 but was convinced to sign for three more seasons. She had previously told the New York Times in 2018 that her wife, Portia de Rossi, had been encouraging her to step down from the show, while her brother and Warner Bros. executives pushed her to continue. When the 19th season wraps up, DeGeneres will have completed the whopping total of over 3,000 episodes and 2,400 celebrity interviews. 

The announcement comes nearly a year after the BuzzFeed News exposé on allegations of bullying, sexual harassment, racism, and overall a very toxic workplace by former employees of the show – which led to an internal investigation that resulted in the lay-off of three senior producers and a live apology from DeGeneres during the current season premiere. She explained to the Hollywood Reporter that she only learned about the accusations through the press and that it is not the reason why she’s leaving, though it was “very hurtful.” 

“I don’t look at this as the end at all. It’s the start of a new chapter, and hopefully, my fans will go with me wherever I go,” DeGeneres said. “That being said, if I never do anything else ever again, I’m so proud of what this show stood for and still stands for and what we’ve made it through.”