Ellen DeGeneres Reportedly Prepared to Quit Show After Apology for Accusations Is Scrutinized

The Ellen DeGeneres Show might not be long for this world. Reports have surfaced that host Ellen DeGeneres is ready to quit her daytime talk show as a number of both current and former staffers have spoken out about the toxic work environment.

“She feels she can’t go on and the only way to recover her personal brand from this is to shut down the show,” a source told the Daily Mail. “The truth is she knew what was going on, it’s her show. The buck stops with her. She can blame every executive under the sun — but Ellen is ultimately the one to blame.”

Some of the blowback comes from DeGeneres’ recent apology, which attempted to shift the blame toward the show’s executive producers, as one staffer revealed. “Don’t think for a minute anything she has said in that apology means anything. She created and then enabled this toxic culture to go on for so long,” the staffer revealed, who spoke under conditions of anonymity. “If anyone had come to her or those three vile [executive producers] to complain, they would’ve been fired.”

On Thursday, DeGeneres wrote a note to her staff, where she ultimately took responsibility while insisting that steps will be taken to “correct the issues” going forward. “As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t,” DeGeneres wrote. “That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.” The accusations had previously prompted an investigation by WarnerMedia, which has apparently been completed.

As more of the show’s staff come forward, others have also addressed the less-than-favorable treatment that DeGeneres’ program is becoming synonymous with. Including Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett, who called the mistreatment of her staff “common knowledge” on Twitter Thursday. “Sorry but it comes from the top ⁦[The Ellen DeGeneres Show],” Garrett wrote. “Know more than one who were treated horribly by her.⁩”

Garrett’s remarks echo those made by others, including a former bodyguard and Australian radio host Neil Breem, the latter recently explained the unusual process involved with arranging an interview back in 2013. “I didn’t get to talk to her. I wasn’t allowed to,” Breem said. “I don’t know if she’s a nice person or not. I wouldn’t have a clue. But I can tell you, the people who worked with her walked on eggshells the whole time.”