Ellen DeGeneres Show loses over a third of audience after ‘toxic’ environment accusations

Photograph: Getty Images

The Ellen DeGeneres Show’s audience has dropped by 37 per cent following accusations of bullying and discrimination behind the scenes.

In September, the daily talk show returned after months of allegations of sexual misconduct, racism and bullying taking place in the workplace.

According to viewing figures seen by Variety, DeGeneres’ first week back drew in an average of 1.7m viewers per episode, marking a 37 per cent decrease from the same week in 2019.

However, while DeGeneres’s decrease was larger than most, the majority of syndicated talk shows experienced significantly lower viewing figures than this time last year.

During the show’s highly anticipated season premiere, DeGeneres opened with a lengthy monologue addressing the accusations of “toxicity” on the show.

DeGeneres apologised after her show was accused of having a ‘toxic work environment' (Getty Images)

“As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show. And then there was an investigation,” the 62-year-old said.

“I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously, and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.”

While DeGeneres was not personally accused in the allegations, she apologised to her staff, stating: “I know that I am in a position of privilege and power and I realise that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”