Ellen DeGeneres season premiere garners underwhelming ratings

Ellen DeGeneres received some criticism after her lengthy opening monologue during the season 18 premiere on Monday, which addressed the allegations of mistreatment and misconduct behind the scenes at The Ellen Show.

And while it was expected the first show of the series would garner more viewers than usual due to the highly publicized scandal, it seems that the ratings were actually on a par with last year.

The season premiere scored a 1.9 Nielsen household rating, the same number as last year, according to Variety.

The View was comfortably the winner on Monday night with a 2.7 rating. 

In the key demographic of those aged 25-54 however, The Ellen DeGeneres Show gained from a 0.9 from a 0.8 in 2019. 

That makes it the show’s strongest premiere in the 25-54 demographic since the 2016-17 season. 

Ellen did lead in one major category however, topping all talk shows in the female 18 to 34 category, earning a 0.6, and also garnered an impressive 0.8 for ages 18 to 49.

The talk show tied with The View, with both shows scoring 1.1 among women 25-54.

Ellen DeGeneres ‘didn’t hold back’ when she addressed the ‘toxic’ work environment allegations surrounding her talk show during the season 18 premiere on Monday. 

The 62-year-old talk host told viewers on Monday morning she will ‘take responsibility’ for the allegations that have circled her chat show, after several executives – who have since been let go from the show – were accused of toxic behavior.

During her opening monologue, the TV star said she is ‘starting a new chapter’ with her talk show following the controversy. 

She said: ‘All right, let’s get to it. As you may have heard, this summer there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show. 

‘And then there was an investigation. 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. 

‘I know that I am in a position of privilege and power and I realize that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility at what happens at my show.’ 

Ellen also added that she is a ‘work in progress and I am especially working on that impatience thing…’ 

‘This is The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I am Ellen DeGeneres. We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show, our workplace and what we want for the future. We have made the necessary changes and today, we are starting a new chapter.’

And following her speech, a source has said she poured her heart into her message. The insider told People magazine: ‘She didn’t hold anything back. It was poignant and funny and very much a candid take on what happened over the summer. 

‘She understands her audience wants to hear from her and was looking forward to talking directly to them on Monday.’ 

The source also said Ellen was ‘connecting with the staff over Zoom’ ahead of the episode, and ‘knows that it’s on her to make sure everyone feels like they’re being heard and valued’.