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Ellen DeGeneres says she’s being “kicked out of show business”

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“I’m mean, old and gay.”

Almost two years after the curtain fell The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen DeGeneres stepped back into the spotlight. During her recent stand-up performance at the Largo in Los Angeles, DeGeneres didn’t shy away from the controversies that pushed her from the daytime TV throne.

“Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business,” she declared ironically. “There are no mean people in show business.”

Controversy and comebacks

In 2020 a storm broke over The Ellen DeGeneres Show when allegations of a toxic workplace surfaced. An article by Buzz Feed shed light on allegations made by eleven anonymous staff members who cited “racism, fear and intimidation.” Although the blame lay primarily with the executive producers, the damage to DeGeneres’ reputation had already been done. A Twitter thread from comedian Kevin T. Porter that year labeled her “notoriously one of the meanest people in the world,” inviting others to share similar stories.

Despite her surprise at these allegations, DeGeneres apologized to her team and three executive producers were fired following an internal investigation. Critics saw this as a belated attempt to salvage her public image amid growing discontent.

The show must go on

The talk show ended in May 2022, marking a significant break in DeGeneres’ career. Reflecting on her setbacks during her stand-up show, she joked, “For those of you keeping score, this is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business… They’re going to end up kicking me out for the third time. because I’m mean, old and gay.

After the show, DeGeneres held a heartfelt question-and-answer session with the audience, in which she expressed the emotional toll of losing her talk show. “This was like, ‘What’s going on?’ It was so painful. I got no perspective. There was nothing I could do to tell myself that it wasn’t personal,” she said.

Despite these challenges, she revealed plans to showcase her stand-up material in a Netflix special this fall, suggesting her days in showbiz are far from over.

Facing the music

DeGeneres acknowledged the extreme reactions she has faced throughout her career. “It’s taken such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem. There are such extremes in this business: people either love you and idolize you, or they hate you,” she told the audience, “and those people are louder somehow.”

Ellen DeGeneres Talks About How She Was “Put Out of Show Business”

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