'Ellen' Viewership Dropped Dramatically After Toxic Workplace Claims

Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show has been seriously suffering since she talked about the toxic workplace allegations against her and her staff.

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According to reports from The New York Times, which cites Nielsen ratings, The Ellen DeGeneres Show has lost more than 1 million viewers over the course of the show’s 18th season. The latest season of the long-running talk show kicked off in September 2020, leading with an apology from the comedian and host about claims of a toxic workplace that gained traction over the summer.

“I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,” DeGeneres said at the time. “I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.”

The season 18 premiere had the highest ratings of any season opener in the last four years, according to the Times, but over the last six months, the show has averaged just 1.5 million viewers. During the same period in the season prior, she averaged about 2.6 million viewers a day.

This season, Ellen is being outperformed by other daytime programs including Dr. Phil with 2.5 million viewers and Live: With Kelly and Ryan with 2.7 million. Other celebrity-hosted programs are maintaining similar numbers, like Maury (1.4 million), The Kelly Clarkson Show (1.3 million), Rachael Ray (1.2 million), Tamron Hall (1.1 million), and The Steve Wilkos Show (1.1 million).

While a few other daytime talk shows have also dropped in viewership this past year, none have been as high as DeGeneres’ 43% decline. Ellen’s primetime game show, Ellen’s Game of Games, has also lost 32% of its viewers this season.