Ellen DeGeneres joked about her Hollywood exile as she made her hotly-anticipated return to stand-up comedy in the trailer for upcoming Netflix special, For Your Approval.
The former host, 66 -whose daytime talk show ended in following allegations of intimidation, racism and sexual misconduct – took to the stage to quip about her ‘be kind’ image and the ensuring scandal ahead of the special’s release on September 24.
She said: ‘So let me catch you up on what’s been happening since you saw me last. I decided to take up gardening, I got chickens… Let me see what else I can tell you about what’s been going on.
Pretending to consult her notes she added: Oh yeah, I got kicked out of showbusiness!’
‘The “be kind” girl wasn’t kind, that was the headline. Here’s the problem: I am comedian who got a talk show and I ended the show every day by saying, “Be kind to one another.”
Ellen DeGeneres joked about her Hollywood exile as she made her hotly-anticipated return to stand-up comedy in the trailer for upcoming Netflix special, For Your Approval
‘Had I ended my show by saying “go f**k yourselves”, people would’ve been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind.’
She continued: ‘Most women aren’t raised with confidence. We’re too self-conscious, which is why you rarely see a woman playing air guitar.’
She joked she went into showbiz to ‘heal her childhood wounds’ and not to make money, adding: ‘I thought, if I could make people happy, they’ll like me.
‘And if they like me, I’ll feel good about myself. And all I can say about that is, thank god for the money!’
DeGeneres’ scandal was sparked by a single tweet penned by comedian Kevin T. Porter in March 2020 asking people for the ‘most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean,’ which amassed 2,600 replies.
Four months later, BuzzFeed News published an exposé featuring one current and 10 former employees of the Louisiana-born funnywoman’s former self-titled daytime talk show alleging racism, workplace bullying, and sexual harassment.
By August 2020, WarnerMedia had launched an internal investigation, Ellen had issued a formal apology to her 255 employees, and executive producers Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman, and Jonathan Norman were all fired from the show.
DeGeneres’ scandal was sparked by a single tweet penned by comedian Kevin T. Porter in March 2020 asking people for the ‘most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean,’ which amassed 2,600 replies
She said: ‘So let me catch you up on what’s been happening since you saw me last. I decided to take up gardening, I got chickens… Let me see what else I can tell you about what’s been going on. Pretending to consult her notes she added: Oh yeah, I got kicked out of showbusiness!’
She said: ‘Had I ended my show by saying “go f**k yourselves”, people would’ve been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind’
The comedian and her wife, Portia de Rossi, 51, produced For Your Approval along with Emmy winner Ben Winston (Pictured in Banbury, England in June 2023)
DeGeneres – who also apologized to fans on air – broadcast her final episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 26, 2022 after 19 seasons.
She later branded it a ‘coordinated misogynistic’ attack on her and she has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since the talk show’s finale aired on May 26, 2022.
DeGeneres made history as the first lead actor in a series to come out as gay while starring in her own self-named sitcom Ellen, which aired from 1996-1998.
After that series ended, the actress made occasional guest appearances on shows such as Will and Grace and Edtv.
Her voice work as Dory in the hit Disney/Pixar animated adventure Finding Nemo helped put the shine back on her star in 2003, the same year she launched The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval will begin streaming on Netflix September 24.
