Ellen DeGeneres is officially calling it quits. The comedian and host of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which ended in 2022, is currently on a 27-stop farewell tour. She told audiences at the Santa Rosa leg of her tour on July 3 that the tour really was farewell. “This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done,” she said on July 3, according to SFGate. When an audience member asked if she would reprise her role as Dory in “Finding Nemo,” she held firm. “No, I’m going bye-bye, remember,” she said.
The tour, and her remarks, come almost four years after Warner Media launched an investigation into her talk show for an allegedly toxic work environment. The investigation was sparked by a 2020 Buzzfeed exposé in which one employee and 10 former staffers of DeGeneres’ show said they faced “racism, fear, and intimidation” behind the scenes. DeGeneres was not specifically called out in the article, but the incidents were at odds with the show’s feel-good atmosphere. Following an internal investigation, three executive producers departed from the show in August 2020. She announced, in May 2021, that the show would end after its 19th season.
During her recent set in Santa Rosa, DeGeneres referred to the fallout, saying, “Oh yeah, and I got kicked out of show business for being mean.” In an interview with TODAY in March 2021, DeGeneres said she wasn’t aware of her show’s problems until reading about them in the media and called herself a “kind person.” “I don’t know how I could have known when there are 225 employees here and there are a lot of different buildings,” she told Savannah Guthrie in an exclusive interview. “Unless I actually stayed here until that last person goes home at night.”
“I really did think about not coming back because it was devastating. It started with attacks on me and attacking everything that I stand for and believe in and built my career around … I am a kind person. I am a person who likes to make people happy,” she added. DeGeneres said she will address the scandal in a comedy special set to come out on Netflix later this year. “Here we go! To answer the questions everyone is asking me — Yes, I’m going to talk about it. Yes, this is my last special. Yes, Portia really is that pretty in real life,” she said on Instagram.
During the California set, DeGeneres characterized her personality not as “mean,” but as “tough.” “I can be demanding and impatient and tough. I am a strong woman,” she told the audience. “I am many things, but I am not mean.”
Ellen DeGeneres, the iconic comedian and former talk show host, has announced her retirement following her upcoming Netflix special. Known for her nearly 20-year stint as the host of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which ended amidst controversy in 2022, DeGeneres revealed her future plans during her final tour.
From 2003 to 2022, Ellen DeGeneres captured the hearts of viewers nationwide with her engaging and often emotional talk show. However, the show faced intense scrutiny in 2020 due to allegations of fostering a toxic work environment, which tarnished DeGeneres’s public image. DeGeneres, who started her career in stand-up comedy, is currently on her farewell tour titled ‘Ellen’s Last Stand…Up.’ At a recent performance at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, she addressed her audience candidly about her life post-talk show and upcoming plans, as mentioned in a report by Movieweb.
During her stand-up set, DeGeneres humorously shared updates from her life, including a newfound hobby of raising chickens. Reflecting on her career’s highs and lows, she quipped, “I used to say, ‘I don’t care what people say about me.’ Now I realize I said that during the height of my popularity.” When asked about future endeavors in Broadway or movies by a fan, DeGeneres made a definitive statement: “Um, no. This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done,” as per the report by Movieweb.
Throughout her career, Ellen DeGeneres has faced both acclaim and criticism. In 1997, she famously came out as gay on her sitcom Ellen, during what became known as ‘The Puppy Episode.’ The groundbreaking moment marked a turning point in LGBTQ+ representation on television but also sparked significant controversy and a downturn in DeGeneres’s career. Despite setbacks, DeGeneres returned to prominence in 2003 with her talk show and her voice role as Dory in Finding Nemo. Her resilience and contributions to entertainment, including being the first openly gay lead on a network television show in the United States, have left a lasting impact.
Looking ahead, DeGeneres remains candid about her future plans, jokingly predicting, “Next time, I’ll be kicked out for being old. Old, gay, and mean, the triple crown.”
In April, DeGeneres addressed the workplace controversy that disrupted her career and tarnished her reputation in 2020. During a stand-up routine in Los Angeles, the former host of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” recounted being ousted from the entertainment industry for behavior she described as “mean.” She has been married to Portia de Rossi for fifteen years.
Source: SFGate, Movieweb, TODAY
