US presenter Ellen DeGeneres (64) welcomes former First Lady Michelle Obama in the last edition of her “Ellen DeGeneres Show”. Other stars from film, music and sports have also been invited to the farewell show on May 26, as the creators of the show announced yesterday (local time) to the US industry media Deadline.com and “Entertainment Weekly”.
Expected are Jennifer Garner, Channing Tatum, Zac Efron, Adam Levine, Behati Prinsloo, Gwen Stefani, David Letterman, Diane Keaton, Serena Williams and Kim Kardashian. DeGeneres’ wife, actress Portia de Rossi, will also be seen.
In May 2021, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter magazine, the presenter announced that the show would be discontinued following the current 19th season. “As a creative person, you have to be constantly challenged — and as great as this show is and as much fun as it is, it just isn’t a challenge anymore,” she said.
DeGeneres was criticized in 2020 following reports of a hostile work atmosphere and issued a public apology. Employees are said to have spoken of intimidation, racism and a poisoned work culture. The talk show has been broadcast by the US broadcaster NBC since 2003 and with the current season has more than 3,200 episodes and more than 4,000 guests.
