Ellen DeGeneres Jokes She's Been 'Kicked Out Of Show Business' In Trailer For Netflix Special
Ellen DeGeneres strikes a defiant tone in the new trailer for her forthcoming ― and, she says, final ― live comedy special.
Due out next week on Netflix, “Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval” finds the former talk show host joking about how she’s been “kicked out of show business” for being “mean,” alluding to the explosive allegations of workplace misconduct that surfaced four years ago and left an indelible mark on her reputation.
“The ‘Be Kind’ girl wasn’t kind, that was the headline,” she explains in the clip, viewable below. “Here’s the problem: I’m a comedian who got a talk show, and I ended the show every day by saying, ‘Be kind to one another.’ Had I ended the show by saying, ‘Go fuck yourselves,’ people would have been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind.”
Watch the trailer for “Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval” below.
DeGeneres has kept a low public profile since her eponymous talk show wrapped in 2022 after 19 seasons.
The last two seasons of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” however, aired amid heavy public fallout. Much of it stemmed from a pair of BuzzFeed News articles in which current and former “Ellen” employees alleged they’d been subjected to behind-the-scenes intimidation, racism and sexual misconduct.
Warner Bros. conducted an investigation, and three top producers ― Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman ― were ousted about a month after the stories were published.
Later that year, DeGeneres acknowledged that she was “in a position of privilege and power” and took responsibility, even though most of the claims were directed at senior members of her staff. The damage, however, had been done.
During her “Ellen’s Last Stand... Up” Tour this summer, DeGeneres said “For Your Approval” would be her final project as a comedian, and also shot down the prospect of appearing in movies or theater going forward.
“This is the last time you’re going to see me,” she reportedly told the audience at a show in Santa Rosa, California, in July. “After my Netflix special, I’m done.”
And from the looks of “For Your Approval” trailer, she has no regrets about that decision, notably when she recalls how she first sought a career in show business in hopes of “healing my childhood wounds.”
“I thought, if I could make people happy, they’ll like me. And if they like me, I’ll feel good about myself,” she says. “All I can say about that is, thank God for the money.”
