Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.
The time has come for Ellen DeGeneres to take her final bow.
On Thursday, the comedian, 64, announced on Twitter that she had taped the final episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which will air on May 26.
DeGeneres then went on to praise her decades-long gig, calling it “the greatest privilege of my life.”
“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,” she wrote.
“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.”
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.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) April 29, 2022
On Thursday’s episode of the talk show, DeGeneres celebrated the 25th anniversary of her former sitcom’s iconic coming-out episode. DeGeneres reflected on her experience, saying “look at me now.”
On April 30, 1997, DeGeneres herself didn’t just publicly come out as gay — her character on the ABC hit sitcom Ellen did too. The episode titled “The Puppy Episode” was taped in front of a live audience.
“When I came out, people warned me that it was going to ruin my career, and they were right for a while,” she said during her opening monologue. “Actually, for exactly three years, I lost my career. But look at me now.”
DeGeneres, 64, was met with loud applause before stressing the importance of learning to accept and embrace people for their “authentic selves.”
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DeGeneres has been married to wife Portia De Rossi since 2008 when same-sex marriage was legalized in California.
Just months after the program was embroiled in controversy over allegations of workplace toxicity, DeGeneres revealed in May 2021 that the show would end with its 19th season. She told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that the scandal was not the reason behind the decision.
