Ellen DeGeneres is suffering the consequences of last year's controversy around the toxic workplace environment on the set of her long-running, self-titled talk show.
The viral report from BuzzFeed News detailed "a workplace culture of fear, racism, and intimidation" and ignited an avalanche of outrage at DeGeneres who positioned the series as an environment of kindness and laughter. She later apologized and promised to do better during the premiere of the show's eighteenth season.
While DeGeneres still has a core group of loyal fans, it's now clear some of her base has moved on.
According to Yahoo Entertainment, the show's ratings declined by over a million viewers in this last season. Episodes of the daytime talk show averaged 1.5 million viewers, down from 2.6 million during the same time last year. The show brought in $26 million less in advertiser revenue as well.
Yahoo acknowledges that while rival shows have seen a drop aligned with the pandemic, Ellen's took the steepest dive, dropping from ratings akin to Live: With Kelly and Ryan to viewership levels of Kelly Clarkson and Tamron Hall's daytime talk shows.
Earlier this year, rumors swirled that this could be DeGeneres's final season and Clarkson is being primed to replace her.
Time will tell.