Ellen DeGeneres may be replaced by Neil Patrick Harris or Kevin Hart if low ratings force her to quit show
As the ratings of 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' keeps sliding toward oblivion, it is dangerously close to being canceled. As a result, TV producers might try to salvage the reputation of the show by bringing in a new host in place of DeGeneres, removing her from the equation. Although DeGeneres has made the show one of the long-running ones on television, at present it continues to drop in ratings following scandalous rumors about the host, whom both guests, as well as employees on her show, have accused of being "mean."
As the 62-year-old talk show host refuses to address the rumors against her, the show's ratings reportedly fell 14% as the latest Season 17 recorded a low viewership of 1.2. This put her show behind 'Live with Kelly and Ryan,' which had a 2.0 and 'Dr. Phil' with a 1.5. Previously, it hit its lowest point when it tied with 'Dr. Phil' a few weeks ago at 1.5. But even after that, it showed no signs of improving and instead, continued to slide in popularity.
Hence, there remains a possibility that DeGeneres might be forced to resign from the show or take early retirement - something that she was rumored to be planning to do last year. Life & Style magazine had reported that DeGeneres was tasked to find her possible replacement as she was planning to leave the show permanently. “It’s not an easy decision, but it’s one that she’ll be making soon,” the source said, as per the gossip outlet.
Although DeGeneres never confirmed the rumors herself, celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris and Kevin Hart were pegged as the best candidates to replace the talk show host. Other names in the list of potential replacements included Ellie Kemper and Chrissy Teigen. But even after a year of the report, DeGeneres showed no signs of wanting to step aside from her role.
Instead, she informed her audience with glee earlier this year that she had renewed her contract with the showrunners for next three years. “It’s been a lot of fun and 16 years is a pretty run. Sometimes in a relationship, you need to take a break. But I don’t – you’re stuck with me because I just signed for three more years,” DeGeneres said. But at the time she made the announcement, the ratings were holding steady and scandalous rumors about her bad behavior had not come to the forefront. People came forward to make the allegations against the host only after several parts of the United States started observing "shelter at place" orders amid the coronavirus pandemic and DeGeneres was also forced to air her show from her home.
It all started in April when beauty YouTuber Nikkie de Jager accused DeGeneres of being “cold and distant” when she appeared on her show in January. In the same month, she incurred the wrath of social media by joking that being quarantined in her $27-million mansion during the coronavirus pandemic was “like being in jail.” There were also reports of crew members of the show facing a 60% reduction in pay even though the show continues to air amid the pandemic. The news drew a lot of criticism for the comedian. Social media, in fact, went on to call her "very nasty" and "a garbage human being" for not taking care of her employees.