'The Ellen Show' Loses Sponsors, Sees Ratings Drop Due To 'Toxic Workplace' Scandal

“The Ellen Show” has not been able to recover from the “toxic workplace” scandal that shook it earlier this year. The popular talk show has reportedly lost sponsors and viewers and has seen a significant drop in ratings since Ellen DeGeneres returned to the show over two months ago.

Two staffers revealed this week that the production of the digital content has been struggling due to a lack of advertiser funds, resulting in the daytime show re-airing some of its old episodes. Sources said the loss of sponsors could be blamed not only on the COVID-19 pandemic but also on the bad publicity received by “Ellen” in recent months.

“We’re trying to be a content house, but we have no content,” said one employee.

“Ellen” has dropped by 37 percent in ratings compared to season. While ratings for syndicated talk shows dipped by an average of 19 percent during the pandemic, “The Ellen Show” had the most significant drop.

Sources also revealed that the show has been struggling to book A-list guests due to the scandal. “For the first time, everyone was starting to ask us, ‘If you have an idea, tell us because we will listen. If you have an idea for a celeb, even if they’re not A-list or famous, we’ll take anyone who will bring us numbers and eyeballs,’” said the employee.

“That’s when they started to be real with us and essentially said, ‘Give us anything because we need help.’ Our old strategy doesn’t work anymore,” the source added.

This was confirmed by entertainment publicists who said their clients do not want to appear on the show, even over videoconference. They said they are also wary of booking their clients this season because they don’t want to be associated with the scandal-ridden show.

One publicist said she would not want to set up any of her clients on “Ellen” because it could only cause them more negative headlines. “You have to tread so carefully with your clients and your clients’ reputations, so you don’t want to put your client in any line of fire sympathizing with someone that any community or anyone would feel about,” the publicist said.