Ellen DeGeneres Netflix Special Is Her Final Time In The Spotlight
Ellen DeGeneres told audiences earlier in July that she’s finished with show business after her Netflix special debuts. The 66-year-old entertainer took the stage in Santa Rosa, California last week to kick off the first show of a three-night set, titled “Ellen’s Last Stand . . .Up.” DeGeneres appeared to not be pulling any punches when it came to addressing her detractors over the last several years, taking humorous jabs at the events that led to her hit talk show being canceled in 2022.
Allegations Of Toxicity
With the intention of catching up fans with a humorous slant on what life has been like since the end of her talk show, Ellen DeGeneres opened by telling the crowd that she recently “got chickens. Oh yeah, and I got kicked out of show business for being mean.”
In the show that will make its eventual debut on Netflix, DeGeneres doubled down and joked that she always said she never cared about others’ opinions of her, and now realizes that she only said that “during the height of my popularity.”
Ellen DeGeneres was referencing the 2020 BuzzFeed News report that revealed accusations of an “unhealthy and toxic” show environment that were brought about by anonymous current and ex-employees of the 19-year-old daytime talk show.
Claims against the host ranged from fear of retribution to unfair penalizations for taking medical leave. After the news broke, DeGeneres admitted that she avoided the headlines about her and noted that the negativity generated against her went on “for a long time.”
Her Side Of The Story
Fans of Ellen DeGeneres will tune into the upcoming Netflix special to hear her side of the story. Though admitting that she can be “demanding and impatient and tough,” the former talk show host insists that she is not and never has been “mean.”
She also noted that this marks the second time she was unceremoniously canned, the first time occurring when she came out as a lesbian in the late 1990s and having ABC cancel her sitcom.
Her Early Career
With the Netflix special approaching, fans of the comedienne/talk show host have plenty of Ellen DeGeneres material to revisit. She began working in comedy clubs in her native Louisiana in 1978 before slowly making a career with bit parts in film and on network television shows.
She got her first big break in 1989 when she was cast as a regular character in the single-season Fox show Open House.
The Nineties
After its cancellation, Ellen DeGeneres was cast in Laurie Hill in 1992, only to have this series dropped by the network after only four episodes. But the series showrunners, Neal Marlens and Carol Black, were developing a new series for ABC called These Friends of Mine and cast the comic in the lead role. These Friends of Mine was picked up by the network and renamed Ellen after its first season.
The Special
After Ellen ended in 1998, DeGeneres worked on various projects in film and television, both on camera and behind the scenes as a producer. She was the voice of Dory in the animated film Finding Nemo, served as a judge on season nine of American Idol, and hosted the Academy Awards on two occasions.
Ellen DeGeneres will have her final stand-up special debut on Netflix later in 2024.
Sources: People SFGate
