‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ ends 19-year-run with plea for compassion from host

Ellen DeGeneres is applauded by the audience during the final taping of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California. (AP)

LOS ANGELES — Ellen DeGeneres brought her nearly two-decade daytime talk show to an end Thursday with a celebrity love fest and a forceful assertion of her achievement as a gay woman daring to be herself.

DeGeneres and guests Jennifer Aniston, Billie Eilish and Pink shared memories and affection as “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” concluded its Emmy-winning, 3,200-plus episode run that began in September 2003.