Kim Kardashian Surprises Ellen DeGeneres During Her Talk Show's Final Premiere Episode

Ellen DeGeneres was in for quite the surprise during the premiere episode of her namesake talk show's final season.

During Monday's season 19 premiere of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, DeGeneres gave guest Jimmy Kimmel a plastic donkey that could eject cigarettes from its behind. In turn, Kimmel wanted to give DeGeneres an equally unforgettable gift.

"I have something for you," Kimmel, 53, said as DeGeneres, 63, replied, "No!"

After confirming that he brought her something, Kimmel said: "It's a traditional gift. You know, the traditional gift for 19 years. You know what it is?"

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Though DeGeneres didn't know, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host said: "It is a Kardashian!"

Kim Kardashian West then walked out to surprise DeGeneres and gave her a hug.

"I'm excited to be here," the 40-year-old Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum said. "I'm all yours."

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

DeGeneres replied: "I have my very own Kardashian! I want to collect them all!"

At the beginning of Monday's episode, DeGeneres spoke to viewers about how excited she was to have fans back in the studio audience following previous COVID-19 restrictions. (All audience members wore protective face masks.)

"You have no idea how much I've missed you. I am so happy to have an audience here. This is so exciting for me. Thank you, thank you so much for being here," she said.

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"Thanks for that energy I have missed so much. You've all been tested and you've been vaccinated and some of you are working from home. And so, I appreciate that you're here. I really do," she continued. "Thank you for wanting to be here. It means more than I can say, even though I just said it. But, you know, more than I can actually really say. And for those of you tuning in for the very first time, I'm Ellen. Don't get too attached, this is my last season."

The Ellen DeGeneres Show premiered in 2003 and has scored dozens of Daytime Emmy Awards over its nearly two decades on air.

DeGeneres confirmed in May that season 19 would be the talk show's last run, an announcement that came months after the program was embroiled in controversy over allegations of workplace toxicity.

"We [settled] on three more years and I knew that would be my last," she told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "That's been the plan all along. And everybody kept saying, even when I signed, 'You know, that's going to be 19, don't you want to just go to 20? It's a good number.' So is 19."