American media personality and TV host Ellen DeGeneres during the two weeks in the run-up to the finale of her long-running talk show has been quite emotional. According to Page Six, a source has revealed that "Ellen's been crying a lot. The whole few weeks leading up to the finale were very emotional."
She had filmed her final episode of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' on April 28 and it is set to air on May 26, featuring an A-list lineup of guests, including Jennifer Aniston and Pink, both of whom appeared on the very first episode on September 8, 2003.
And while DeGeneres was sad to see the end of her 19-year run, she didn't want to go out with a bang. "She wanted to go out quietly. It was friends and family of the cast and crew in the audience," a highly-placed TV source told Page Six.
Since the show's debut, the comedian has welcomed tons of celebrity guests, many of whom became targets of her good-natured pranks. However, its reputation took a hit in 2020 after allegations of toxic set behaviour surfaced.
In a July 2020 letter to staff obtained by Us Weekly, the host said she'd always wanted the show to be a "place of happiness," and she apologized for the change that had taken place.
The Emmy winner later stated that the accusations were "very hurtful" to her, but claimed they weren't the reason she decided to end the show. "If I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn't have come back this season," she told The Hollywood Reporter.