Scandal-plagued Ellen DeGeneres rewards loyalty by paying out more than $2million in bonuses to staff as her show’s end date of May 26 looms: Slate of guests for final run includes Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian and David Letterman

Ellen DeGeneres will pay out more than $2 million in bonuses to her staff as she prepares for the final episodes of her award-winning talk show.

A slate of guests, including former First Lady Michelle Obama, will appear on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show before curtains officially close on May 26.

The show’s nearly two-decade run culminated in a firestorm of controversy over claims of a toxic workplace environment, an internal investigation by Warner Bros. and the firing of three top executives.

Ahead of DeGeneres’s swan song, sources close to the talk show host told DailyMail.com that she is preparing to pay more than $2 million in bonuses to employees.

It is not clear how the funds are being distributed, but sources told Deadline that staffers on the show for one to four years will receive two-week pay, staffers with four to eight years under their belt will receive three-week pay and so on – capped at six weeks of pay for the shows longest-serving employees.

About 30% of the show’s staff have been on the show for over 10 years and some of the senior-most executives have been on for all 19 seasons, Deadline added.

First Lady Michelle Obama will be among the guests on Ellen’s show in the coming months. It officially officially ends on May 26

Ellen DeGeneres is giving over $2 million in bonuses to her staff as she prepares for the final episode of her award-winning talk show

The show has drawn controversy over claims of a toxic workplace environment, an internal investigation by Warner Bros. and the firing of three top executives

The final episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show will feature a slate of returning guests, including Kim Kardashian, David Letterman, Jennifer Garner, Channing Tatum, Serena Williams, Zac Efron, Adam Levine, Behati Prinsloo, Gwen Stefani, Diane Keaton and DeGeneres’ wife Portia de Rossi.

After the final episode, the show will continue airing on affiliate stations throughout the summer with guest hosts, compilation shows and re-runs.

The outsized digital footprint the show has helped create will continue running Ellen Digital Ventures, which has amassed 300 million social followers and 8 billion views across all platforms in 2020 and 14 original series produced in 2021, Deadline reported.

In the farewell season teaser, Ellen’s impressive stats were rolled out, stating that the series has featured 4,000 guests, 3,000 hours of TV, 1,500,000 audience members, and a staggering $450,000,000 in cash prizes given to worthy guests.

In addition to the over-$2 million in bonuses for her staffers, DeGeneres also informed them that their healthcare coverage has been extended for six months following the show’s finale.

They will be provided with access to resume building and networking workshops and free one-year memberships to LinkedIn Learning, Deadline reported.

The generous gestures cap off a series of controversies in recent years amid claims that working on The Ellen Degeneres Show was not nearly as wholesome as it once seemed.

Executive producers (left to right) Jonathan Norman, Kevin Lenman and Ed Glavin were accused by over 30 former employees of sexual misconduct and were all fired

Last May, DailyMail.com first reported that Ellen was leaving her show because she ‘has had enough and told her team that she’s done.’

‘She’s promised one more season after this one and will exit at the end of the 2021/2022 season – the 19th season of the show.’ they said. ‘The ratings have tanked and have been truly appalling this year and Ellen knows her time is up.’

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ellen confirmed the news and said, ‘When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged – and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore.’

Several former and current employees accused Ellen, 63, of fostering a toxic work environment last year and turning a blind eye to bullying by executives.

The source said, ‘The show has bled viewers since the toxic environment around Ellen and her show was made public.’

The ratings for total households from February 2020 to February 2021 were down 40% in New York City and Chicago; in Los Angeles she’s lost 59% of viewers.

In Philly ratings in the same time period were down 32% and in San Francisco she lost 50% of viewers.

Since its season premiere in September, the show garnered an average of 1.5 million viewers by March – down 1.1 million from the same time-frame a year ago, which had 2.6 million average viewers.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show got off to a strong ratings start last fall in her 18th season premiere when she addressed the scandal, but has seen a swift decline in the months since.

On a roll: Comedian Kevin T. Porter kicked the entire social media movement off, when he sent out a tweet urging people to message him ‘the most insane stories [they’ve] heard’ about DeGeneres in an effort to raise money for the Los Angeles Food Bank

Lots of stories: People had more than a few anecdotes to share

‘I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,’ Ellen said in her season premiere. ‘I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.

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

‘This is me and my intention is to always be the best person I can be, and if I’ve ever let someone down, if I’ve ever hurt their feelings, I am so sorry for that,’ she said. ‘If that’s ever the case, I’ve let myself down and I’ve hurt myself as well because I always try to grow as a person.

‘I look at everything that comes into my life as an opportunity to learn. I got into this business to make people laugh and feel good, that’s my favorite thing to do.’

The 63-year-old comedian claimed she had known for years that she would end her show after its upcoming 19th season, despite recent controversy over her allegedly toxic work environment.

‘The past 18 years … has changed my life. You all have changed my life. I am forever grateful to all of you for watching, for laughing, for dancing — sometimes crying. This show has been the greatest experience of my life and I owe it all to you,’ she continued.

DeGeneres added that she had ‘thought a lot about this decision’ in consultation with her wife,

DeGeneres went on to claim it had always been her plan to end the series after season 19, though she didn’t address how claims that she fostered a toxic work environment and allowed her producers to bully employees might have sped up the end of her show.