Ellen DeGeneres during a taping on the Ellen DeGeneres Show

Brooks Kraft / Getty Images

Ellen DeGeneres’ long-running syndicated talk show on the day ends after 19 seasons this year.

The talk show host told The Hollywood Reporter that she informed her staff of the decision on Tuesday and that she will sit down with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday to discuss the news.

“When you’re a creative person, you have to be constantly challenged – and as great as this show is and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore,” DeGeneres told the magazine.

The announcement also comes after reports of toxic work culture, discrimination and sexual harassment at the fair last year. By that time, she admitted that the atmosphere had evolved into something that didn’t reflect the values ​​she started the show with and promised to do better.

“It almost affected the show,” Ellen told THR. “It was very hurtful to me. I mean, very. But if I had left the show because of it, I would not have come back this season.”

63-year-old DeGeneres has been a pioneer in the LGBTQ community since her 1997 cover story “Yep, I’m Gay” in Time Magazine nearly torpedoed her career. Since the start of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, the comedian has had more to do than 64 Daytime Emmys and helped normalize the queer representation on television.

In the Hollywood Reporter interview, DeGeneres said she planned to quit the show after season 16 but agreed to extend her contract for three years.

“That was the plan all along,” she said.

Read the full report from The Hollywood Reporter.