A little over twenty-four hours after longtime Today show co-anchor Kathie Lee Gifford announced that she was leaving the network, another host is considering following in her footsteps.
Ellen DeGeneres and her self-titled daytime show have been a part of our lives for decades now, so we nearly had a heart attack after she said that she is considering a departure from her popular talk show.
The beloved TV personality, comedian and actress, recently explained to The New York Times that she has been going back and forth about whether or not she should retire from her award-winning hit show.
Each year, DeGeneres is faced with the same dilemma, and it doesn't help that she has been getting conflicting advice from her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, and from her older brother, comedian Vance DeGeneres.
Vance believes that his sister still has so much to offer in a time when "the country needs her positive, unifying voice on television everyday."
But de Rossi would be happier if DeGeneres left because she is "such a brilliant actress and stand-up that it doesn't have to be this talk show for her creativity." She added, "There are other things she could tackle."
Of course, DeGeneres is already tackling plenty of other things, including going back to her roots in stand-up comedy with her upcoming Netflix special, Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable, hosting a hit game show Ellen's Game of Games, and producing several films, including the movie adaptation of Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase.
The decision to do the Netflix special was a big one because after 16 seasons, DeGeneres is finally breaking out of her talk show mold.
"I wanted to show all of me," she said. "The talk show is me, but I'm also playing a character of a talk-show host. There's a tiny, tiny bit of difference."
Still, DeGeneres, who is the 15th highest paid celebrity in the world, has extended her talk show contract until the summer of 2020. What happens after that is something she's still figuring out, but she's hoping to do another movie in which she plays "someone unappealing."
de Rossi suggested that she could start a podcast or a radio show, reminding her that the end of the show doesn't mean it's the end of her career.
Considering she is one of the most celebrated TV stars, with 32 Emmy wins, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, DeGeneres will have no problems coming up with another successful venture when she finally decides to leave the world of daytime TV.
