Ellen DeGeneres to Address ‘Second Time I’ve Been Kicked Out of Show Business’ in Netflix Special (Report)
Ellen DeGeneres is readying a Netflix special about her alleged showbiz exile.
According to Rolling Stone, DeGeneres kicked off Ellen’s Last Stand… Up Tour Wednesday by acknowledging that her public image had been tarnished following a bombshell 2020 report involving widespread accusations of a toxic workplace at The Ellen DeGeneres Show (which ended the following season).
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“I used to say that I didn’t care what other people thought of me and I realized… I said that at the height of my popularity,” the comedian told a sold-out crowd at Largo in West Hollywood. “It is such a waste of time to worry about what other people think… Right now I’m hoping you’re thinking, ‘This is marvelous, I’m so happy to be here.’ But you could be thinking, ‘Let’s see how this goes.'”
What followed was a mock-reflection of her recent past. “Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business,” she said. “There’s no mean people in show business.
“The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind,” she continued. “I became this one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced up steps. Do you know how hard it is to dance up steps? Would a mean person dance up steps? Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f–k yourself,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised.”
DeGeneres admitted that she “didn’t know how to be a boss,” but suggested that much of the contempt she faced was rooted in sexism. She then harkened back to the cancellation of her 1990s sitcom — on which she came out as gay on national television (by way of her fictional character) — by adding, “For those of you keeping score, this is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business… Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old and gay.”
But as DeGeneres reportedly told the audience, her 2024 stand-up tour would culminate in a new Netflix stand-up special, to be filmed this fall. TVLine has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Ellen DeGeneres’ Final Show: See How the Host Capped 19 Years in Daytime
The Ellen DeGeneres Show ended its 19-season run in 2022. DeGeneres previously acknowledged the scandal during the show’s Season 18 premiere, but told our sister pub The Hollywood Reporter that the controversy (and the subsequent hit in ratings) were not the reasons behind her pulling the plug.
“When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged — and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore,” she said in May 2021. She later addressed her daytime retirement on the show, adding: “You may wonder why I’ve decided to end after 19 seasons. The truth is, I always trust my instincts. My instinct told me it’s time.”
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