Has Ellen DeGeneres’ Replacement Already Been Decided?

Ellen DeGeneres announced this week that she’s ending her show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, after next season. The 19th and final season is already being said to go out with a bang. Still, there are already talks of a possible replacement. Tiffany Haddish, someone who’s filled in as host before on the popular daytime talk show, might potentially be getting a show of her own and she has some fellow celebrity backing.

“I think that could be fun,” CBS This Morning host Gayle King shared with Entertainment Tonight. “That would be great fun. They know she can do the job. Kelly Clarkson is doing great. So they’ve got some options, but there still is only one Ellen.” King admits that she was a little shocked the comedian decided to call it quits, but also understands considering that for two decades DeGeneres has dedicated so much of her life to the show. “But I also understand. Look, she’s been doing it for 19 years, she’s been at the top of her game for the 19 years,” she gushed.

“The work that Ellen has done, over $300 million has been given to audience members, over $70 million for charity, and she really was a show that just makes you feel good when you watch it,” she added. DeGeneres recently found herself in the center of a scandal after several former employees came forward to accuse her of aiding in a “toxic work environment,” causing her to take some time away from her show. After six months of silence from DeGeneres — though she did clarify that she was instructed to remain quiet for legal purposes — she did bounce back and dive right back into hosting.

King pointed out the positive qualities her show brought to her viewers, despite the negative things that have been said about her the last year or so. “I love her personality, I love her take on life and the way she would come out,” King confessed. “She always just wanted to make people feel better, always. And she has done that, she has done that to those of us who watch her show.”

While some speculate she’s ending her show due to the backlash she received after she was accused of creating a “toxic” work place, she did clarify that she always intended to end on Season 19. In fact, in 2018, her wife Portia de Rossi confessed how she felt about DeGeneres continuing the show saying she encouraged the Finding Dory actress to tap out and pursue other things. Although she chose to stay, she signed a three-year deal in 2018 and now that’s coming to an end.