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Ellen DeGeneres knows why so many of you are sampling her latest stand-up special. Yet she waits nearly 20 minutes to deliver the goods.
After catching her audience up on what she’s been up to since she chose to step away from her daytime talk show in 2022 — she apparently spends a lot of quality time with her chickens — DeGeneres playfully skims a crib sheet, then looks out at her audience and says, “Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business.”
The irony, of course, is that she’s saying this on Netflix — the world’s largest (and most popular) streaming platform.
Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval is being dubbed the final comedy special of DeGeneres’ career — and that much appears to be true, what with her saying “goodbye” at the end of her 70-minute set. But first she uses her platform to address her public image, which had been tarnished in 2020 following the release of a bombshell report involving widespread accusations of a toxic workplace at The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“You all heard I was mean?” she asks. “Everywhere I go, I know everyone’s heard that I’m mean. I know when I walk into a restaurant, people are watching, waiting to see if I’ll be mean.” DeGeneres then proceeds to intimate a conversation between two patrons: “‘Do you think she’ll be mean first, then dance? Oh, she was reaching for butter. I thought she was going to hit somebody.’
“That was a big story, huh? That had some legs on it,” she says. “The first I heard about it, I came across a headline that said ‘How Ellen DeGeneres Became the Most Hated Person in America.’ Now, I didn’t see the other names on the ballot, but… it’s an impressive title. It really is. It’s a horrible thing to say about somebody — and to make it worse, there was no trophy, no awards banquet, nothing. Just the title…. It was quite a shock for me because for 17 years, there were all these polls basically saying that I was one of the most trusted people in the country.”
DeGeneres reveals that she began therapy in an effort to “deal with all the hatred that was coming at me,” and acknowledged that it was not a common situation for a professional to have to unpack. “At one point, my therapist said, ‘Ellen, where do you get this idea that everyone hates you?’ And I said, ‘Well, um, New York Times, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Us Weekly… I think Elmo may have said something recently on an episode of Sesame Street.'”
She then suggests that the backlash she received was a result of poor branding. “Here’s the problem: I’m a comedian who got a talk show, and I ended the show every day by saying, ‘Be kind to one another.’ It seemed like a good idea, but it became a brand — a one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced every day up steps,” DeGeneres opines. “Do you know how hard it was to dance up steps? Would a mean person dance up steps? I don’t think so. Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f–k yourselves,’ people would have been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind.”
What follows is her recollection of the behind-the-scenes environment at the show, which supposedly involved as many games off-screen as there were on-screen. “I started a game of tag in, like, 2016, that we played all the way till when the show ended…. I would chase people down the hallways, I would chase them around the studio… I would jump out, scare people ‘cause I would love to do that, and—” After a long pause, she continues: “You know, hearing myself say this out loud, I realize I was chasing my employees and terrorizing them. I could see where that would be misinterpreted.”
DeGeneres then admits that she was “a very immature boss because I didn’t want to be a boss. I didn’t go to business school; I went to Charlie’s Chuckle Hut. I mean, it looked like I was the boss. The show was called Ellen, and everybody’s wearing t-shirts that said ‘Ellen,’ and there were buildings all over the Warner Bros. lot that said ‘Ellen.’ But I don’t think that meant that I should be in charge. Like, I don’t think Ronald McDonald is the CEO of McDonald’s.” She then chalked some of the criticism she received up to “unwritten rules, based on gender, of acceptable behavior — of who we’re allowed to be, and how we’re allowed to act,” adding: “If we don’t follow those rules, it makes people uncomfortable. And when people get uncomfortable, there are consequences.”
But DeGeneres assures her audience that she’s content now. “I’m happy not being a boss, or a brand, or a billboard — just a person,” she says. Just a multifaceted person with different feelings and emotions. And I can be happy and sad, and compassionate or frustrated. I have OCD and ADD. I’m honest, I’m generous, I’m sensitive and thoughtful. But I’m tough, and I’m impatient, and I’m demanding. I’m direct. I’m a strong woman.” That last sentiment brings the crowd to its feet.
As she starts to wrap up, she laments how difficult it is to be a public figure, where you’re open to everyone’s interpretation. “But with time, you gain perspective, which is one good thing about aging,” she says. “With perspective, you realize that caring what people think, to a degree, is healthy. But not if it affects your mental health. So, after a lifetime of caring, I just can’t anymore. So I don’t. But if I’m being honest, and I have a choice of people remembering me as someone who is mean, or someone who is beloved… I choose that.” The end. She exits stage right, then returns after a standing ovation to thank her audience, and all the audiences that came to see her on her Ellen’s Last Stand… Up Tour.
“I’m so glad I got to say goodbye on my own terms,” she remarks, “and I can’t thank you enough.” She then brings out her wife, actress Portia De Rossi, to mark their anniversary, before bidding her audience a final adieu.
What did you think of Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval? Were you satisfied with how she addressed the backlash she received four years ago? Grade the Netflix special via the following poll, then sound off in Comments.
“Women can be abusive bosses too” is not the feminist empowerment she thinks it it. If she thinks she wasn’t cut out to be the boss… she didn’t have to be. Plenty of creatives have a business counterpart running things. If wasn’t just jump scares. There was sexual harrassment going on. She furloughed her staff without healthcare benefits during COVID while most TV hosts were paying their staffs. Then, in the special, she conflagrates all of this with her being gay and (as she put it) old. As if she is the big victim, actually. And all the talk about being kicked out of show business… In a sold out venue… On a Netflix special she got tens of millions for…
I don’t think Ellen has control over paying her staff. I’m guessing it was Warner Brothers. TV talk show hosts don’t personally pay their staff.
Of course she is able to pay her staff, she’s has hundreds of millions of dollars. And she has a voice and had massive influence. She could have made sure her staff were looked after. She decided not to.
Look at the big names that DID pay their staff. Many out of their own pocket.
What? She may be able to pay staff out of her personal funds, but it’s the studio who produces the show that set salaries.
Ellen wasn’t an employee at The Ellen Show. She was one of the owners. The fact that many talk shows did not furlough their staff without healthcare benefits during COVID is proof it was possible. That, however, was one of the many things going on there. I’m not saying she had to adress any of this in her special. But she made a good chunk of that special about it, trying to paint herself as the victim.
She herself said she was the boss. And, also, plenty of hots, like Colbert, paid their staff out of pocket.
Same at other shows. Hosts paid out of pocket. She didn’t.
You are correct!
I don’t think she was ever the nicest person in show business OR the meanest person in show business. But she’s absolutely right that if you start out by presenting yourself as a super-nice person, and then it turns out that things aren’t so great behind the scenes, the amount of public criticism you’ll get is magnified. (I also think hosting this kind of daytime talk show, where everyone is expected to be sweet and nice all the time, is very different from any other type of job a performer might have. She may have deserved the backlash, but I don’t think it would have been severe if she had been doing a different type of show.)
“People hate me because I said was nice and it turned out I’m not” is just avoiding the point. The point is that she behaved badly. It makes zero difference what people expected before that behavior came out. She could have taken responsibility for her actions, and could be on an apology tour now and trying to fix things. She isn’t. She was upset that she was called out, and is now making money by making jokes about her being upset.
Yes, but it’s also about being inauthentic. She made a career out of a false representation and that’s one of the reasons for the backlash.
In short, “Sorry not sorry.” Worked for Louis CK…
Ellen is incapable of understanding that. she is responsible for her reputation. Treating people with decency and respect isn’t that hard. Embarrassing behavior.
I doubt most people who voted “F” actually watched it.
I’m not a masochist.
I watched maybe 15 minutes and said, “I’m out of here!”
Actually surprised I lasted that long.
It is confusing and disappointing that so many speak out against Ellen in an effort to cancel her but say nothing about the Kanye West.
When will the industry and entertainment media finally completely dump him?
A lot of people have spoke out against Kanye. Where have you been? Kanye is trying to come back but he is nowhere near as famous. If Ellen wants to come back she would be welcomed backed by most. Kanye not so much.
Kanye West was dropped by, basically, everyone working with him and many, many, many people spoke out against him. Adidas ended their billion-dollar partnership.
Whataboutism. It’s the new Chewbacca defence.
I didn’t know anything about the scandal, really, until I just watched her new special.
At no point in this article (unless I missed it) did you mention that Ellen boldly said in her new special that she was a LIAR. And that she preferred to lie over telling the truth. And then joked that she would tell you she was lying before she lied.
She also said she didn’t know how to be a boss because her generation grew up having to apologize as female supervisors unlike the men who never had to apologize. And I also believe that this is true.
But — Ellen’s worth over $450 million dollars now and for the past 30 years has had to supervise estate staff, employees, lawyers, accountants, management company, publicity company, global financial analysts and real estate managers probably all over the world.
She also said in the special that she thought she had OCD and ADD because her father had OCD but they were Christian Scientists so they were never medically diagnosed.
Do I think for 1 second that would excuse a WORKING environment of racial and sexual harassment of people poorer than you and less powerful than you?
Not on your life. Like she said. She’s a LIAR.
I have seen countless clips of Ellen on YouTube and have laughed a lot and have rewatched some of them several times. Never watched the show live etc as well I worked, but the clips will live on a long time. being a talk show host for darn near 20 years will have both good and bad from everyone but I imagine that after 20 years staff revolved quite a bit and while some of the humor that they did (scares etc) was meant to be more in kindness, but some thought it mean, which I can understand that too as some people that were new might not have appreciated it.
For this show there were mild chuckles during it and the audience was laughing so maybe it was just not very funny for me. Then again this was 75 minutes long and the average youtube clip is less than 5 minutes. Easier to make me laugh for just a few minutes.
Ellen sums it up in one quote : « But I don’t think that meant that I should be in charge. Like, I don’t think Ronald McDonald is the CEO of McDonald’s.” It’s not because you are a comedy genius or an amazing artist that you should be a team leader. On the contrary. Being a manager is a real and specific job which requires skills that an artist don’t always have, specifically in the middle of a huge success. Shows should have the main artist and a daily on set co manager to run the staff. This is what happened to Joss Whedon too on Buffy and Angel. He is an amazing writer and director but he should have had someone with him to handle the staff. (plus it was understood as a « good thing » at the time to be an hysterical boss, it meant you were skillful……!) Sets would be safer if the main artist was not the boss too. Still, Ellen changed television with her sitcom « Ellen » (stop calling everything Ellen, it gets confusing :-)) and I will remember her for that and her amazing comedic skills.
People expect too much from celebs. Poverty makes people resentful and bitter.
Another celebrity whining about how hard their life is all while raking in millions.
God she just doesn’t get it. She has ZERO HUMILITY AND WORST OF ALL SHE THINKS SHE DID NOTHING WRONG SO SHE GOES OUT AND MAKES MONEY ON SAYING AS MUCH . CLASSIC NARCISSISTIC/PSYCHOPATH//SOCIOPATH. Shes shown us all her who she actually is. Never dismiss that never make excuses when people show their true ugly side. It’s a power move, a vanity move, like rubbin your face in it. She’s LIED FOR ALL THESE YEARS THAT “BE KIND” was just a deflection a sham to distract you from who she is and what she is and was doing.
I thought it was excellent. Please remember those were work place “allegations”. Nothing was proven? Ellen racist? That’s laughable!! Mean? Come on!! Are people that easily swayed …what she had everyone fooled for 19 years? How come we live in a society where people love to see nice people fall from grace. These bad reviews are not from the public but from “the business” it’s all political/business related …I’m so tired of seeing the same narratives and then everyone jumping on the bandwagon wagon . It’s the mob mentality. Shameful