Ellen DeGeneres insists those toxic workplace allegations and her dip in the ratings had nothing to do with her decision to end of her talk show.
The comedian told the Today show’s Savannah Guthrie that that if she was still “having fun, I would do this show with nobody watching,” and that if she was quitting over the toxic workplace allegations, “I would have not come back this year” for season 18.
Ellen told The Hollywood Reporter that she had planned to end after Season 19 three years ago.
On the Today show, she said she did think of quitting last year, adding that the personal attacks felt “orchestrated,” “coordinated” and “very misogynistic.” She admitted it “took a toll on me. No, I’m not bulletproof. And no, I don’t have thick skin. I’m extremely sensitive to the point of it’s not healthy how sensitive I am.”
As far as her tumble in the ratings, Ellen said, “Everything in television is down. It’s got nothing to do with why I’m leaving.”
That long-delayed Friends reunion special will debut on HBO Max on May 27th.
Friends: The Reunion, which was delayed several times because of the pandemic lockdown, will feature Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.
They’ll return to the show’s original soundstage on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank to remember and celebrate the sitcom. Each of the stars reportedly got at least $2.5 million for doing the special.
Guest stars include David Beckham, Justin Bieber, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Lady Gaga, Kit Harington, Mindy Kaling, Tom Selleck, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai.
Prince Harry tells Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast that being in the Royal family is a cross between ”The Truman Show” and being in a zoo. “Yep, it’s a mix between ‘The Truman Show’ and being in a zoo. I was in my early 20s and I was thinking, I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this. Look what it did to my mum, how am I ever going to settle down and have a wife and family when I know it’s going to happen again. I’ve seen behind the curtain, I’ve seen the business model and know how this operation works. I don’t want to be part of this.”
