Industry groups respond to relaxed CDC guidelines, unvaccinated adults open to financial incentives, and Apple reacts to employee outcry over new hire

Hello, communicators:

Ellen DeGeneres has announced that her talk show will end after its upcoming 19th season and she will seek new challenges and opportunities as a creative person. Embedded in the announcement was the news from earlier this year that her show lost over a million viewers since returning to the air this past September, a 43% decline that marked a steeper drop in viewership than any of the show’s competitors, which many attribute to allegations of a toxic workplace culture on set.

“Ellen DeGeneres has built her worldwide, multimillion-dollar brand on the motto ‘be kind,’ with lavish giveaways and acts of charity,” began the Buzzfeed exposé detailing the toxic workplace conditions. “But behind the scenes, current and former employees on her leading daytime show say they faced racism, fear, and intimidation.”