Ellen DeGeneres addressed the controversial end of her eponymous daytime talk show following allegations of a toxic workplace.
During the opening night of her new Ellen's Last Stand…Up Tour at Largo in Los Angeles on Thursday night, the former daytime host joked that she was “kicked out of show business” for being “mean.” flew.
The set, first reported by People and Rolling Stone, includes interviews with numerous employees alleging racism, sexual misconduct and intimidation by the executive producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He was referring to a July 2020 survey by Buzzfeed News based on
The report paints a picture of the workplace that contradicts Ellen's “Be Kind'' creed. Several employees were afraid to take medical leave due to the risk of punishment and faced retaliation for filing complaints and other allegations.
As a result of the investigation, the show fired three of its top producers, and DeGeneres apologized on air. She said she had no knowledge of any inappropriate behavior by staff members, but added, “I am in a position of privilege and power and…I take responsibility for what happens on my show.”
The show never recovered from the scandal and ended its 19-year run in May 2022.
On stage in Largo, the 66-year-old comedian spoke about becoming “the most hated person in America.” “I was kicked out of show business. There are no mean people in show business.”
She lamented how the headlines diminished her television achievements. “Her hatred went on for so long that I tried not to watch the news,” she said. “The girl who said, 'Be nice,' wasn't being nice,” DeGeneres continued. “I became a one-dimensional character who would give things away and go up the stairs and dance. You know how hard it is to step up and dance? Some mean person would step up and dance. If I had just said, 'Fuck you,' and ended the show, people would have been pleasantly surprised.”
During the audience Q&A session after her routine, DeGeneres was asked if she continued to “dance” during difficult times. “No, she…it's hard to dance when you're crying,” she replied, noting that during the scandal she “went through a lot” and “couldn't get over it.”
DeGeneres described this period as a time when she was “down” and became “persona non grata” for the second time in her career. Her first time was in 1997, when she announced that she was gay. She accepted what happened and she is “dancing now,” she said.
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“I joke about what happened to me, but it was really shocking,” she said. “It took me a long time to feel like doing anything again.”
She also said that she “really hated the way the show ended.” I loved that show so much and I really didn't want it to be the last time people saw me like that. ”
The final question of the night came from a woman who asked, “Do you think you would take revenge on those who wronged you?” To cheers from the audience of about 200 people, DeGeneres responded: I can't take revenge because I don't know who is who, but I'm not really attached to things. But that's not me. ”
Since the show ended, DeGeneres has largely stayed out of the public eye, with the exception of the 2023 Discovery Channel documentary Saving the Gorillas: Ellen's Next Adventure and some social media activity. Ellen's Last Stand…Up Her Tour marks her first full-fledged return to the comedy scene. The tour will hit San Diego, Washington, Oregon and the Bay Area, culminating in a new Netflix special to be recorded this fall.
