Ellen DeGeneres admitted that being branded “the most hated person in America” was a blow to her ego as she kicked off her comeback comedy tour in West Hollywood on Wednesday.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show went off the air in 2022 after 19 seasons on NBC following the toxic workplace scandal that tarnished her reputation as TV’s favorite host.
In 2020, DeGeneres, 66, was accused by former Ellen employees of fostering an environment that tolerated alleged bullying, racism and sexual harassment by executives and in which she reigned supreme.
This led WarnerMedia to launch an investigation and Ellen insisted in a letter to staff that she was not aware of any behind-the-scenes toxicity.
She later called it a ‘coordinated misogynistic’ attack on her and has largely stayed out of the spotlight since the talk show’s finale aired on May 26, 2022.
Performing in front of a sold-out crowd at Club Largo on Wednesday, DeGeneres poked fun at her downfall by recalling that she was ‘kicked out of show business’ for being ‘bad,’ according to Rolling Stone.
Ellen’s Last Stand… Up Tour marks DeGeneres’ first comedy tour since 2018 and she earned a ‘big round of applause’ at Wednesday’s stand-up show.
She continued: ‘The hate lasted for a long time and I tried to avoid watching the news. The “be nice” girl was not nice. That was the headline.
Ellen DeGeneres admitted that falling out of favor with the public was a blow to her ego as she kicked off her comeback comedy tour in West Hollywood on Wednesday; seen in 2022
It was a nod to her iconic ‘Be kind’ mantra, which used to close each episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“There are no bad people in show business… I became a one-dimensional character who gave things away and danced up steps,” he continued.
‘Do you know how difficult it is to climb steps? Would a bad person dance up stairs? “If I had ended my show by saying, ‘Fuck you,’ people would have been pleasantly surprised.”
She admitted she “didn’t know how to be a boss” despite being the face of her show, before reminding fans that she “went to Charlie’s Chuckle Hutt,” not business school.
“The show was called Ellen and everyone was wearing t-shirts that said ‘Ellen’ and there were buildings on the Warner Brothers lot that said ‘Ellen,’ but I don’t know if that meant I should be in charge,” he said. explained.
DeGeneres then noted that she has been “kicked out of show business” twice in her decades-long career.
In 1998, ABC abruptly canceled its popular sitcom Ellen after she publicly came out as gay.
“For those keeping score, this is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business,” he told the crowd, before joking, “I’ll eventually be kicked out for the third time because I’m mean, old and gay.
He confessed that the low moments of his career have taken “a heavy toll on my ego and self-esteem.”
“There are such extremes in this business, people either love you and idolize you or they hate you, and those people are somehow louder.”
She explained the “pain” she felt over how her legacy on the talk show ended in a question-and-answer session after Wednesday’s set.
‘It was very painful. I couldn’t gain perspective. I couldn’t do anything to make myself understand that it wasn’t personal,” he explained. “I just thought, ‘Well, this isn’t the way I wanted to end my career, but this is how it’s ending.’ …I just hated the way the show ended.
“I love that show and I hated the last time people saw me like that.”
She confessed that she “had a bad time” and “didn’t go out much” as she became reclusive after the scandal.
DeGeneres said his ‘funk’ began to affect his wife Portia de Rossi. “She was watching it happen to me…she went through the same thing with me.”
Now, after two years of “flying under the radar,” DeGeneres can finally accept the outcome of her career and can now dance without “crying.”
‘I’m making jokes about what happened to me, but it was devastating. It took me a long time to want to do something again.’
DeGeneres hopes her return to stand-up inspires “joy” amid a “scary time,” as she believes the world needs “more laughter and less drama.”
Earlier this month he announced on Instagram that he would soon be embarking on a comedy tour, which will be filmed for a Netflix special in the fall.
At the time, only four performances were scheduled at venues in both Oregon and Northern California.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show went off the air in 2022 after 19 seasons on CBS following the toxic workplace scandal that tarnished her reputation as TV’s favorite host. In 2020, DeGeneres, 66, was accused by former Ellen employees of fostering an environment that tolerated bullying, racism and sexual harassment by executives and in which she reigned supreme.
‘What else can I tell you? Oh yeah, they kicked me out of show business,” DeGeneres told the crowd at Club Largo as he mocked her downfall throughout the set; seen in 2020
DeGeneres said she planned to add more shows, writing, “More cities and dates coming as soon as I find more darts and a bigger map.”
The performer then added several dates, and her first official show will take place on June 19 in San Diego.
He will then remain on tour for several weeks, with his final scheduled performance scheduled for July 2 in Santa Rosa, California.
Claims about Ellen’s toxic work environment were revealed in July 2020 by a current and 10 former employees of the daytime talk show who accused three executive producers, Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner, of ‘bullying.’
Executive producers Glavin, Kevin Leman and co-executive producer Jonathan Norman were fired from the popular talk show following allegations leveled against them by current and former employees.
Ellen apologized after it was announced that her show was the subject of an investigation by WarnerMedia that looked into the “experiences of staff on set.”
The hostess sent a memo to her staff in which she wrote that she was “taking steps…to correct” problems with her employees.
‘On the first day of our show, I told everyone at our first meeting that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would be a place of happiness: no one would raise their voice and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed and I’m disappointed to know that it hasn’t. And I’m sorry for that,” Ellen said in the memo.
‘As we grew exponentially, I couldn’t keep up with everything and depended on others to do their jobs the way they knew I wanted them to. “Clearly some did not,” she added. “That will now change and I am committed to ensuring this does not happen again.”
DeGeneres also revealed Wednesday that her show will be taped for a Netflix special in the fall.
He announced his stand-up tour earlier this month on Instagram.
Among the allegations was one made by a black woman who claimed she suffered a series of “microaggressions,” her request for a raise was ignored, and she was accused of “walking around looking resentful and angry” after asking staff members to undergo diversity and inclusion training.
Another former employee alleged they were fired after taking medical leave for a month following a suicide attempt. A popular claim that circulated is that staff members were ordered not to speak to Ellen.
Some claims included that staff must chew gum before speaking to her because of her “sensitive nose”, and that she monitors staff lunch orders and forbids anyone from eating fish or meat.
In addition to these claims, the show was rocked again when three dozen employees of the daytime talk show alleged that top executives working behind the scenes groped and kissed staff, requested oral sex from one of them, and were “factual with women.” “.
Jonathan Norman, a co-executive producer, is alleged to have “groomed” a former employee by taking him to concerts and showering him with other gifts and perks before attempting to perform oral sex on him.
Kevin Leman, head writer and executive producer of the show, is alleged to have solicited oral sex from an employee. Others say they saw Leman grope another colleague.
And Ed Glavin, an executive producer, supposedly “had a reputation for being handy with women,” according to former employees.
Former employees told BuzzFeed News that they believed the host knew that several of her senior showrunners and producers had allegedly committed sexual misconduct against junior-level employees.
DeGeneres has insisted that the toxic workplace scandal was not the reason she ended her show and that she always planned to end the series after season 19; seen in 2021
Before the finale, she confessed that she was struggling with “anxiety and depression” and that the aftermath of the scandal was a “very, very difficult” time for her; seen with his wife Portia de Rossi in June 2023
In 2021, it was revealed that The Ellen DeGeneres Show would end its nineteenth season on CBS.
DeGeneres has insisted that the toxic workplace scandal was not the reason she ended her show and that she always planned to end the series after season 19.
The former comedian promised to have a “fantastic last season” with “many surprises” as well as “trips to the past” to pay tribute to her loyal fans.
The show aired its final episode in May 2022 with Jennifer Aniston as DeGeneres’ final guest.
Before the finale, she confessed that she was struggling with “anxiety and depression” and that the aftermath of the scandal was a “very, very difficult” time for her.