Los Angeles, California—For over two decades, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and its openly lesbian host have charmed daytime TV viewers with a feel-good combination of eccentric comedy and fame, breaking conventions and bursting stereotypes.

However, after more than 3,000 episodes, a talk show that rivaled Oprah Winfrey’s in terms of cultural significance went out under a cloud on Thursday, following claims of a toxic work environment that ran counter to the show’s “be nice” credo.

“Twenty years ago, when we were trying to sell the show, no one thought that this would work. Not because it was a different kind of show, but because I was different,” She stated during Thursday’s show.

“We couldn’t say ‘gay.’ I couldn’t say ‘we,’ because that implied that I was with someone… and now I say ‘wife’ all the time,” As the camera cut to her spouse, actress Portia de Rossi, she continued.

There is little doubt that the cultural landscape has been upended since rising comedian Ellen DeGeneres debuted in 1997 — both as her character on the sitcom “Ellen” and in real life with an interview on the cover of Time magazine.

At first, DeGeneres was lauded as a homosexual superstar, but her comedy was canceled a year later due to public outrage, and she spent five years in the wilderness before reinventing herself as a talk show host.

“It was a sensation, it was a landmark — and it became a political football,” Mary Murphy, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Southern California, agreed. “She led the way. She was probably — and may still be — the most famous LGBTQ person in America.”