For Ellen DeGeneres, toxic-workplace allegations that clouded her long-running daytime series marked the end of an era. This week, the comedian’s public fallout became comeback material.
Two years after “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” aired its final episode in 2022, its 66-year-old host re-entered the spotlight with a Thursday night set at Largo at the Coronet Theatre. During her set, the first on her Ellen’s Last Stand … Up Tour, DeGeneres joked to her audience, “I got kicked out of show business,” according to Rolling Stone.
“There’s no mean people in show business,” she said sarcastically.
Multiple outlets reported that DeGeneres’ set revolved heavily around the controversy that colored the final year of her Daytime Emmy-winning show and soured the public’s perception of the “Finding Nemo” comedian. In July 2020, an investigation by BuzzFeed News detailed allegations of intimidation and racism on the long-running show that challenged its host’s “Be kind” mantra. A second report detailed instances of alleged sexual misconduct involving the show’s three top producers.
The fallout resulted in the departure of three members of the show’s production team and the announcement that DeGeneres would end her show in 2022, after 19 seasons’ worth of memorable celebrity guest interviews, pranks and dance breaks.
DeGeneres reportedly lamented how she became the “most hated person in America” after the allegations dropped, People reported. She also acknowledged that she “didn’t know how to be a boss,” especially one for a production as large and popular as her talk show, Rolling Stone said.
DeGeneres is no stranger to causing a stir in the daytime talk TV space. She reportedly reminded audience members Thursday about how her career suffered after she came out as lesbian in a 1997 episode of the sitcom “Ellen.”
“This is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business,” DeGeneres said. “Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old and gay.”
Despite cracking jokes about her most recent fall from grace, DeGeneres said “it’s been such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem,” before criticizing the “extremes in this business” of being either idolized or hated. DeGeneres also contemplated who she is without her show and expressed gratitude for wife Portia de Rossi’s ongoing support, Rolling Stone reported.
DeGeneres concluded her evening at the Largo answering questions from her audience. One fan reportedly asked how her 2022 scandal compared to the 1997 backlash, and DeGeneres responded, “It was so hurtful.”
She added: “I just hated the way the show ended. I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way.”
DeGeneres returns to Largo on Friday and will perform several other shows at the West Hollywood venue through early June. In the summer, she will take her comedy to San Diego, Portland, Ore., and Santa Rosa, among other cities. More information about her Last Stand …Up Tour can be found on her website.
