Ellen DeGeneres is out with a new Netflix special, “For Your Approval” — and she says it will be her last.
“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 wrote on Instagram about her new special, which premieres on Netflix Sept. 24.
By “talk about it,” the veteran talk show host was most likely referring to the toxic workplace allegations “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” faced in its final seasons.
In her Netflix special, DeGeneres, 66, spoke frankly about her exit from her long-running show and reflected on being called “mean.”
“I got kicked out of show business,” she said. “Yeah, ‘cause I’m mean… you can’t be mean and be in show business, they’ll kick you out. No mean people in show business.”
DeGeneres ended her talk show in 2022 after 19 seasons, amid allegations of a toxic workplace culture behind the scenes.
Read on to learn more about what happened to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” what DeGenereshas said about it, and what she is up to now.
What happened to ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’?
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” began in 2003 and aired its last episode on May 26, 2022.
“When you’re a creative person, you constantly need to be challenged — and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s just not a challenge anymore,” DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2021, when she announced that the show’s upcoming 19th season would be its last.
She also opened up about her decision to end the show in a May 2021 interview with TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie, and described the emotional experience of telling her staff and crew about her departure.
“I haven’t been sleeping. I’ve been trying to, you know, anticipate how to tell them and, you know, hope that everybody would take it OK,” she said. “A lot of people were very emotional. I got emotional.”
DeGeneres’ decision to step down as host came after her show faced scrutiny for having an allegedly toxic work environment.
In July 2020, a BuzzFeed article included interviews with several former show employees who said they had experienced discrimination and mistreatment behind the scenes.
“The biggest common thread that everyone told me is that what goes on behind the scenes is a far cry from what the show represents in their ‘be kind’ messaging and what the show and what Ellen DeGeneres herself profits off of,” BuzzFeed entertainment editor Krystie Yandoli told TODAYin July 2020.
Soon after the publication of the BuzzFeed piece, Warner Media launched an internal investigationinto the show’s workplace culture.
DeGeneres told The Hollywood Reporter she had been devastated by the allegations that had surfaced about the show.
“My whole being is about making people happy. And with the talk show, all I cared about was spreading kindness and compassion, and everything I stand for was being attacked,” she said. “So, it destroyed me, honestly. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t.”
Why did people call her ‘mean’?Many of the allegations about the show’s toxic workplace culture did not focus on DeGeneres personally.
That said, in the 2020 BuzzFeed article, some former employees did blame DeGeneres directly for allowing alleged mistreatment to occur on set.
“If she wants to have her own show and have her name on the show title, she needs to be more involved to see what’s going on,” one former employee said, according to BuzzFeed. “I think the executive producers surround her and tell her, ‘Things are going great, everybody’s happy,’ and she just believes that, but it’s her responsibility to go beyond that.”
The BuzzFeed report also alleged that some former show staff members were “instructed by their direct managers to not speak to DeGeneresif they saw her around the office.”
In the months following the allegations, celebrities spoke out about their experiences with DeGeneres. Several stars, including Katy Perry, Kevin Hart and Diane Keaton, expressed their support for the host.
Others opened up about negative experiences they had had with DeGeneres over the years.
In August 2020, Mariah Carey recalled an “uncomfortable” experience on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2008.
Pregnancy rumors had been swirling around Carey at the time, and the singer said DeGenerespushed her to drink champagne on air, which forced her to reveal her pregnancy when she wasn’t ready.
“I was extremely uncomfortable with that moment is all I can say. And I really have had a hard time grappling with the aftermath,” Carey told Vulture. “I wasn’t ready to tell anyone because I had had a miscarriage. I don’t want to throw anyone that’s already being thrown under any proverbial bus, but I didn’t enjoy that moment.”
Social media posts calling DeGeneres “mean” also gathered steam online.
Fans scrutinized Dakota Johnson’s 2019 interview on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” When DeGeneres said she hadn’t been invited to Johnson’s 30th birthday party, Johnson replied, “Actually, no, that’s not the truth, Ellen. You were invited.” They went on to have a seemingly awkward interaction — one that’s been viewed nearly 10 million times, and Johnson has poked fun at and addressed ever since.
DeGeneres addressed allegations and public speculation that she was “mean” in her latest Netflix special.
“Yeah, you all heard I was mean. Everybody heard that. I was mean. Everywhere I go, I know everyone’s heard that I’m mean,” she said. “I know when I walk into a restaurant, people are watching, waiting to see if I’ll be mean.”
She also said she went to therapy to “deal with all the hatred that was coming at me.”
“And you know, it was not a common situation for a therapist to deal with. At one point, my therapist said, ‘Ellen, where do you get this idea that everyone hates you?’” she said.
“And I said, Well, New York Times, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, US Weekly. I think Elmo may have said something recently on an episode of Sesame Street,’” she joked.
In her standup special, DeGeneres riffed on being called “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,” she said. “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… I made a sash at home, and I wore that around just to feel like I had something.”
How she’s responded, including in her standup special
After Buzzfeed’s allegations surfaced, DeGeneres sent a letter of apology to her staff in August 2020.
“On day one of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ would be a place of happiness — no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case,” she wrote in her letter. “And for that, I am sorry. Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.”
She apologized again a month later during the opening monologue for her show’s 18th season.
“As you may have heard this summer, there were allegations of a toxic work environment at our show,” she said. “And then there was an investigation. I learned that things happen here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously. And I want to say, I am so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power, and I realize that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”
In her new standup special, she reflected on how she felt limited by the cheerful persona she fostered on air.
“I ended the show every day by saying, ‘Be kind to one another,’” she said. “I know it seemed like a good idea, but I became a brand, a one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced every day up steps.
“Do you know how hard it was to dance up steps? Would a mean person dance up steps? I don’t think so,” she added.
“Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f— yourselves,’ people would have been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind,” she joked.
What is Ellen DeGeneres up to now?
In her standup special, DeGeneres shared what she has been up to since her talk show ended — in a joking manner.
“Let me catch up on what’s been going on with me since you saw me last. I got chickens,” she said. “Yeah, thank you. I love them so very much. Chickens are the best bird to have at home. … A lot of people think parrots, but they’re so gossipy. … Chickens will never talk.”
She also said stepping out of the limelight had been an “adjustment.”
“For 19 years, I drove onto the Warner Brothers lot, passed a giant billboard of my face, and so the first thing I did was I had a giant billboard on my face installed on my lawn,” she joked.
In addition to keeping chickens, she said she was getting into gardening, although not for the reasons people might think.
“It is relaxing to be out there… mainly because the garden gloves make it impossible for me to look at my phone,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll just put the garden gloves on and go inside and lay down.”
DeGeneres has said her new Netflix special will mark her last on screen performance.
“This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done,” she said over the summer during an audience Q&A at a leg of her standup tour, “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up,” in Santa Rosa, California.
Asked if she would be returning to movies or the stage, DeGeneres said, “Um, no,” according to SFGate.
“This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done,” she said.
When another fan asked if she would play the role of Dory in another “Finding Nemo” sequel, her answer was clear.
“No, I’m going bye-bye, remember,” she said.
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