Kenya, July 26 -- The iconic celebrity news show E! News has faced cancellation after 34 years on air, with its final episode set to air on September 25, 2025, as confirmed by Variety and Us Weekly.
The decision, announced by Versant, the new parent company overseeing E! following its spin-off from NBCUniversal, reflects a sharp decline in traditional TV viewership and growing public disinterest in celebrity news.
Hosted by Keltie Knight and Justin Sylvester, the show's end marks a shift toward digital platforms, with E! News maintaining its 87 million social media followers across TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, amid claims that celebrity opinions, once influential, are increasingly irrelevant in today's pop culture landscape.
The cancellation, impacting around 20 employees, is the second in E! News' history, following a 2020 axing due to the coronavirus pandemic's financial fallout.
Revived in 2022 as a late-night broadcast, the show struggled to retain its 1990s and 2000s dominance, when hosts like Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic made it a pop culture staple.
A source cited by The Daily Wire noted that viewers now favour real-time updates on platforms like Instagram's Hot Goss and Snapchat's The Rundown, with E!'s digital presence generating 7 billion video views in 2025, dwarfing its TV ratings.
This shift aligns with a broader trend: a 2024 Pew Research study found 62% of Americans prefer social media for entertainment news, reducing demand for nightly TV wrap-ups.
Public sentiment attributes the cancellation to waning celebrity influence, with fans claiming, "Nobody cares about 90% of celebrities anymore."
This echoes narratives around Donald Trump's 2016 and 2024 campaigns, where his dismissal of Hollywood endorsements resonated with voters, per a 2025 Rasmussen poll showing only 18% of Americans trust celebrity opinions.
However, others mourned the end of an era, reminiscing about E! News' red carpet coverage and E! True Hollywood Story specials. The show's GlamBOT, a red carpet favourite, will likely persist digitally, ensuring E!'s brand endures despite the TV exit.
Versant's first major move, reported by NewsNation, prioritises E!'s digital expansion, with segments like RE!CAP on YouTube and original programming like Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind and Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane continue unaffected.
Unlike Access Hollywood and Access Daily, which remain on air, E! News' 11:30 p.m. slot no longer aligns with audience habits.
Some correspondents may transition to Versant roles, though details remain unclear. In Kenya, where Hollywood gossip retains niche appeal among urban youth, with online searches for "E! News cancellation 2025" and "celebrity news decline 2025," reflecting global curiosity.
The broader decline in celebrity relevance is tied to cultural shifts. A 2023 Rolling Stone report noted that social media "cancellations" of figures like Doja Cat and Jonathan Majors eroded public trust in celebrity narratives, while influencers on TikTok offer more relatable content.
E! News' cancellation follows CBS's axing of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, amid claims of financial losses and political backlash, signalling a turbulent era for traditional entertainment media.
As E! News bows out, its legacy as a celebrity news pioneer endures, having shaped entertainment journalism since 1991 with hosts like Jason Kennedy and Catt Sadler.
Yet, the cancellation underscores a seismic shift: audiences, empowered by platforms like X and TikTok, now dictate pop culture narratives, bypassing traditional gatekeepers.
With 58% of Kenyans accessing news via social media, E! News' digital pivot may sustain its relevance, but the era of nightly celebrity worship on TV appears over. The debate reflects a world where celebrity influence wanes and real-time, user-driven content reigns supreme.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.