Ellen DeGeneres’ final comedy special For Your Approval was released on Netflix Tuesday, which will mark her final foray into public life as a celebrity.
The 66-year-old revealed during a stand-up performance in July that, ‘After my Netflix special, I’m done.’
The special comes just over two years after her Ellen show went off the air, and four years after the show was accused of being quite toxic and she was labeled as ‘mean.’
The comedian insists in the special that she’s, ‘proud’ of who she’s become in the wake of the scandal.
‘When you’re a public figure, you’re open to everyone’s interpretation. And I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that, “What other people think of me is none of my business,” Ellen said.
Ellen DeGeneres ‘ final comedy special For Your Approval was released on Netflix Tuesday, which will mark her final foray into public life as a celebrity
The comedian insists in the special that she’s, ‘proud’ of who she’s become in the wake of the scandal
‘Because people will say all kinds of things and you have no control over that. But you know the truth and that’s all that matters,’ she added.
DeGeneres admitted throughout her career she was forced to, ‘care what people think,’ as a way of gauging her success.
‘If they like you, you’re in, and if they don’t, you’re out. And I’ve spent an entire lifetime trying to make people happy and I’ve cared far too much what other people think of me,’ she said.
‘So, the thought of anyone thinking that I’m mean was devastating to me, and it consumed me for a long time. After a lifetime of caring, I just can’t anymore. So I don’t,’ she said.
‘But if I’m being honest… and I have a choice of people remembering me as someone who was mean or someone who was beloved. Be-lov-ed? Beloved? Beloved. Someone who is beloved? I choose that,’ she said.
She added that she’s gained ‘perspective’ with age and now that she’s retiring she’s, ‘happy not being a boss or a brand or a billboard, just a person.’
‘I became this one-dimensional character who gave stuff away and danced up steps. Do you know how hard it is to dance up steps? Would a mean person dance up steps?’ she said.
She ended each episode with, ‘Be kind to one another,’ joking in he special, ‘Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f–k yourself,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised,’ referring to the toxic workplace and ‘mean’ allegations.
‘Because people will say all kinds of things and you have no control over that. But you know the truth and that’s all that matters,’ she added
DeGeneres admitted throughout her career she was forced to, ‘care what people think,’ as a way of gauging her success
‘If they like you, you’re in, and if they don’t, you’re out. And I’ve spent an entire lifetime trying to make people happy and I’ve cared far too much what other people think of me,’ she said
She added that she’s gained ‘perspective’ with age and now that she’s retiring she’s, ‘ happy not being a boss or a brand or a billboard, just a person’
‘Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old, and gay,’ she joked.
She also poked fun at some of the allegations, revealing that in 2016 she started a game of tag with her staff.
‘I started a game of tag in 2016. I would chase [employees] all over the studio, I would scare them because I loved to do that,’ she admitted.
‘You know, hearing myself say this out loud … I was chasing my employees and terrorizing them … I can see how that would be misinterpreted,’ she said.
