A Timeline Of The Brutal 'Cancellation' Of Ellen DeGeneres

The following article contains references to sexual assault.

After building out a career for herself as one of the most successful working standups of her generation, landing her own sitcom during the mid-1990s, and then making history by coming out publicly and also playing the first openly gay lead character on a network series, Ellen DeGeneres had already cemented herself as a Hollywood star by the start of the 21st century. However, she took her career to another level entirely at that point when she began her history-making second act as one of the most popular daytime talk show hosts of all time on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2003.

As big as her coming-out story was, and the high praise she received for iconic standup specials like "The Beginning" and "Here and Now" notwithstanding, it was her talk show that made her a household name and one of the most influential people in show business. At its height, during one week in February 2014, "Ellen" averaged nearly 4.6 million total viewers, putting it in rarefied air for daytime viewing. Meanwhile, DeGeneres' online footprint on YouTube and other social media platforms far outpaced her competition as the comedian embraced new delivery methods.

Fast-forward to 2025, though, and the show has been iced, DeGeneres has essentially left Hollywood, and the comedian has faced backlash in some circles as her family-friendly, kindness-first image has been shattered by scandal, including allegations of cultivating a toxic environment on her show. Here's our timeline recap of the downfall.

While much of the controversy surrounding Ellen DeGeneres over the years has centered on the perception that she treats people in an uncaring or rude manner — or that people were mistreated within her organization — one of the earliest scandals to break amid her ascent to daytime domination actually involved an animal (a dog to be specific). In 2007, DeGeneres and her future wife, Portia de Rossi, found themselves in a very public battle with a Pasadena, California-based rescue organization called Mutts and Moms when she adopted a dog, decided it didn't fit in with her family, and then rehomed it with another family herself. In doing so, they had broken their agreement with the organization, which boasted a stringent vetting process for prospective adopters to protect their animals.

Ultimately, Mutts and Moms had to take the animal away from its new family, which resulted in one of the group's organizers receiving death threats after DeGeneres tearfully addressed the situation on her show. And while her hardcore fans may have supported DeGeneres at the time, and even PETA praised her for trying to do the right thing, she caught flak for having given up on the animal to begin with (after having adopted and then returned another dog prior), leaving it with another family, and breaking her agreement.

After a few years of being beamed into living rooms around America and becoming the new gold standard for daytime talk, bubbly had become Ellen DeGeneres' new brand. Her show was fun, lighthearted; she danced, played games, and ingratiated herself with viewers and fans of all ages by creating shareable moments and getting them out and into the world using burgeoning online platforms. She was the kind of host regular people wanted to have a fun hang with or engage in conversation. Behind closed doors, though, DeGeneres' vibes may have been entirely different, and comedian Kathy Griffin was one of the first to pull back the proverbial curtain.

In her 2016 book "Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index," the comedian, who had guested on Ellen's sitcom, referenced a "beloved daytime talk show host" who had "a mean streak that all of Hollywood knows about," as noted by The Hollywood Reporter. Griffin told THR that DeGeneres was the only person to hit her back with negative feedback, and that she "sobbed like a baby" after her phone call with the comic-turned-mogul.

Dating back to her decision to come out publicly as a lesbian in 1997, Ellen DeGeneres has been something of an LGBTQ icon, having endured a media firestorm and career lull in order to be her authentic self in an incredibly public way. Over the years, she has continued to provide her voice and resources to causes of importance to her community, including becoming a special envoy for Global AIDS Awareness at the behest of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011. Given that background, it struck many of her fans and supporters as incredibly disappointing in 2019 when she championed Kevin Hart as host of the Oscars after the comedian's past homophobic tweets had resurfaced.

Hart had stepped down from the previously announced hosting gig of his own volition, tweeting amid the controversy that he didn't want to be a distraction and apologizing to the LGBTQ community. Instead of letting sleeping dogs lie, DeGeneres actively campaigned to get him back on the Academy Awards show. In the end, the show proceeded without an official host for the festivities, but people were nonetheless hurt, confused, and disappointed in DeGeneres' handling of the situation.

While being unfriendly or mean to others is a surefire way for celebrities to catch heat from fans and observers, sometimes being nice or chummy with the wrong person can be evaluated with an equally critical light in certain circles. Such was the case in October 2019 when Ellen DeGeneres was snapped sitting with former U.S. President George W. Bush during an NFL football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. As reported by Deadline, DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi had been invited to the game by the daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who seemingly invited the former president and his wife, Laura Bush, to the game. 

When footage of the unlikely foursome went viral online, some fans expressed dismay at DeGeneres for associating with the conservative leader. For them, George W. Bush's opposition to same-sex marriage, his involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other actions made him the kind of person whom DeGeneres, an LGBTQ icon, should not be making friends with. DeGeneres later defended her relationship with Bush, saying on her show (via the BBC), "I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs I have." Nevertheless, her controversial friendship with Bush continued to be a sore point for some fans.

If any individual moment has come to represent the downfall of Ellen DeGeneres or, at the least, her surprising transition from being America's favorite, fun-loving chat show host to someone who's known for their poor humor and prickly demeanor, it's DeGeneres' now infamous November 2019 interview with actress Dakota Johnson. Johnson was appearing on the show to promote her latest movie, "The Peanut Butter Falcon," when DeGeneres inquired about the actress' birthday. DeGeneres seemingly wasn't asking the question out of genuine interest or to get the story out, though. Rather, she was upset at not being invited to Johnson's birthday party and was taking the opportunity to publicly point out that she had been excluded.

Never one to back down, however, Johnson fired back, saying that DeGeneres' claims were untrue and that she had been invited. Johnson even called upon the show's staffers to back her up, resulting in the confirmation that DeGeneres had, in fact, been invited (DeGeneres ultimately remembered that she had been invited after her botched call-out attempt). Then later in the interview, Johnson name-checked Tig Notaro, not DeGeneres, as her favorite comedian. While the two performers played everything off during the segment, the damage was done in the court of public opinion, where many felt that DeGeneres had acted out in a petty and exceedingly needy manner. And it's probably safe to say Johnson is no longer a fan of DeGeneres.

As the years went by, Ellen DeGeneres' alleged prickly demeanor became more and more a part of the public discourse, but the floodgates were truly opened in March 2020 when Kevin T. Porter posted a tweet reading, in part, "Right now we all need a little kindness. You know, like Ellen DeGeneres always talks about! She's also notoriously one of the meanest people alive. Respond to this with the most insane stories you've heard about Ellen being mean." Porter promised to make a $2 donation to the LA Regional Food Bank for each story that was shared. Two days later, Porter shared a screenshot of a receipt revealing that he had made a $600 donation to the organization in DeGeneres' name.

While Porter confessed that he couldn't vet every story, the fact that so many people were willing to submit stories about DeGeneres' alleged bad behavior to the Twitter thread was eye-opening. For her part, actress-pop culture commentator Chris Farah relayed a story on X of having nearly been fired from a waitressing job when DeGeneres allegedly complained about her appearance. Meanwhile, "Mystery Science Theater 3000" star Hampton Yount chided DeGeneres on X for making Portia de Rossi "unfunny in public."

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic were difficult for people around the world, regardless of their backgrounds or social status, as uncertainty abounded and lockdown orders and social distancing guidelines created an isolating environment where people were unable to connect. All the while, people suffered and died as medical science struggled to catch up with the spread of the novel coronavirus. That said, some people were definitely better equipped to deal with pandemic life than others. So, when Ellen DeGeneres saw fit to complain about her own pandemic experience, it ruffled a significant number of feathers.

After an early pandemic break, DeGeneres' show returned when her wife, Portia de Rossi, filmed the comedian inside one of their homes to create a new episode. During the video, DeGeneres likened her quarantine experience to being in prison, despite her multi-million-dollar digs, the picturesque scenery around her, and the fact that her beautiful spouse was by her side. The comments came across as tone deaf when so many didn't have the resources the famous comedian had to deal with the situation. What's more, inmates in actual prisons were struggling to get care as COVID-19 spread through correctional institutions at the time.

Not long after Kevin T. Porter's viral Twitter thread fueled public suspicion about Ellen DeGeneres' off-camera behavior, BuzzFeed News blew the proverbial lid off the situation later in 2020 with a series of explosive reports on what was reportedly a toxic working environment at "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." In the first exposé, reporter Krystie Lee Yandoli detailed a litany of allegations from former employees who described a culture of fear, systemic racism, and other forms of intimidation and bullying on the show. One former staffer summed up the situation bluntly, describing DeGeneres' "be kind" mantra as "bulls***" that "only happens when the cameras are on."  

Yandoli's second article, which was compiled after she had spoken with 36 former employees, brought to light more serious allegations, as senior "Ellen" show producers were accused of sexual misconduct and harassment. "Former employees said that this culture started with executive producer Ed Glavin," Yandoli explained to NPR, "that he would touch them inappropriately in the control room and make them feel uncomfortable, that generally he led with fear and intimidation. Former employees also told me that head writer and executive producer Kevin Leman groped them, touched them inappropriately, and made sexually explicit comments in the office and at office parties." Executive producer John Norman was also accused of making unwanted advances toward a staffer.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In the wake of the BuzzFeed News exposé series, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" became the subject of an internal investigation by Warner Bros. and WB-TV. According to Variety, WarnerMedia's employee relations group and a third-party firm interviewed current and former staffers about their experiences. Although the investigation found no evidence of systemic racism on "Ellen," according to E! News, the show did ultimately cut ties with senior producers Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman, and John Norman. The show's popular DJ, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, was subsequently promoted to co-executive producer.

DeGeneres ultimately responded to the myriad allegations of toxicity and abuse on her show and the subsequent investigation during the program's Season 18 premiere in September 2020. During her monologue, DeGeneres apologized for her own poor behavior and vowed that difficult conversations about what transpired on the show had taken place, after which necessary changes were enacted. "I want to continue to help all the people that we help every day, and I'm committed to making this the best season that we have ever had," DeGeneres said, via Entertainment Tonight.

Despite Ellen DeGeneres' public apology about the toxic culture that was reportedly fostered behind the scenes of her show and her vow that things would be different moving forward, the damage was already done. While fans tuned in for DeGeneres' apology, making the Season 18 premiere the show's highest-rated opener in four years, per The New York Times, its viewership declined sharply from that point on. The outlet noted that "Ellen" lost more than a million viewers over the six-month period that followed, according to the research firm Nielsen, averaging just 1.5 million viewers per show after having pulled a 2.6 million average over the same period of the previous year. Between the allegations and DeGeneres' penchant for making guests feel uncomfortable, the writing was on the wall.

Meanwhile, DeGeneres seemingly grew weary of the incredible grind of producing an ultra-popular daytime talk show. So, in 2021, DeGeneres announced that the show's next season, its 19th on the air, would be its last. "When you're a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged — and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it's just not a challenge anymore," the comedian explained to The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "Ellen's" final episode aired in May 2022, a show that featured guests Jennifer Aniston, Pink, and Billie Eilish. Portia de Rossi also made an appearance as DeGeneres took her final bow.

Following her "Ellen's Last Stand...Up" comedy tour in 2024, Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, made the sudden and surprising decision to bid adieu to their life in California and move across the Atlantic Ocean to the United Kingdom. The power couple ultimately put down roots in the Cotswolds, purchasing a historic farmhouse for a reported $18 million. In July 2025, DeGeneres offered an update on her new, rural life in the U.K. while chatting with broadcaster Richard Bacon at the Everyman theatre in Cheltenham, noting that she and de Rossi made the move at least in part due to Donald Trump's return to the White House. She added that the two of them were looking into getting remarried in the U.K., too, amid threats to gay marriage in the U.S.

Regarding the scandals that rocked her show and career, and the growing perception that she's a mean person, DeGeneres told Bacon (via the BBC), "I don't think I can say anything that's ever going to get rid of that [reputation] or dispel it, which is hurtful to me. I hate it. I hate that people think that I'm that because I know who I am and I know that I'm an empathetic, compassionate person." More recently, rumors that she may already be eyeing a return to the U.S. confirmed her reputation is toast. 

Although her show has been off the air for years now and she has been keeping a significantly lower profile since relocating to the United Kingdom, Ellen DeGeneres hasn't been able to escape new drama or more controversial moments. In September 2025, the former chat host was sued for negligence after she allegedly t-boned another driver in Santa Barbara County, California, after ignoring a stop sign two years earlier. The other motorist claimed that she suffered "multiple serious personal injuries and damages" from the collision, according to People, including "significant income/business loss," "loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and anxiety."

Resolving the incident has reportedly been challenging due to DeGeneres living in the U.K., where it's difficult to serve her with court documents. In any case, the alleged victim in the case has requested a jury trial. Per People, though, only a non-jury trial was scheduled (for 2026).