Ellen DeGeneres on Thursday addressed her sudden if not entirely unexpected decision to end her eponymous talk show after its upcoming 19th season, dismissing reports that the announcement was the result of fallout over last years bombshell accusations of workplace misconduct.

If it was why I was quitting, I would have not come back this year, she said on Today. I really did think about not coming back, because it was devastating. I am a kind person. I am a person who likes to make people happy.

However, Nielsen data from March found The Ellen DeGeneres Show had lost more than 1 million viewers since the start of its 18th season, suggesting the blow to the hosts reputation would be permanent.

DeGeneres claimed she had no idea about the alleged problems many current and former employees said they faced until reading about them in the media.

I really didnt understand it, she said. I still dont understand it. It was too orchestrated, it was too coordinated. She added that every guest that comes on the show had offered only positive feedback.

I dont know how I could have known when theres 255 employees here, and there are a lot of different buildings, DeGeneres said. Its my name on the show, so clearly it affects me, and I have to be the one to stand up and say this cant be tolerated. But I do wish somebody would have come to me and said, Hey, somethings going on that you should know about.