How Ellen DeGeneres won, and then lost, a generation of viewers

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-05-20/ellen-degeneres-show-end-dakota-johnson-kevin-hart-george-w-bush

The final chapter of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” set to conclude Thursday after nearly 20 years on air, began before this season’s farewell tour. Even before Buzzfeed’s July 2020 report on allegations of a toxic workplace culture on the show that belied its host’s “Be kind” mantra, or a follow-up on sexual misconduct and harassment by executive producers. For DeGeneres’ fall from favor runs deeper than poor management; such stories inflicted lasting damage because they rang true. Here was confirmation, after months of public-relations miscalculations, that DeGeneres was as out of touch as she appeared.

Consider Kevin Hart’s appearance in January 2019, shortly after past homophobic tweets sunk his chance to host that year’s Oscars. The segment performed the rituals of celebrity damage control, with DeGeneres, “as a gay person,” accepting Hart’s apology and demanding his reinstatement as the ceremony’s emcee.