Ellen DeGeneres doesn’t have encouraging news for fans who hoped to be seeing more of her after upcoming Netflix special.
While speaking at a Q&A following a stand-up show at the Luther Burbanks Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, California, last week, the comedian told the crowd not to expect much of her after the current tour.
“This is the last time you’re going to see me,” DeGeneres said, according to SFGate.com. “After my Netflix special, I’m done.”
She ended her long-running talkshow “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” two years ago following a controversy that alleged she fostered a toxic environment for her staff.
“Let me catch you up on what’s been going on with me since you last saw me,” DeGeneres said. “I got chickens. Oh yeah, and I got kicked out of show business for being mean.”
The comic continued, “I used to say, ‘I don’t care what people say about me.’ Now, I realize I said that during the height of my popularity.”
However, DeGeneres remained adamant that she isn’t actually cruel, saying, “I can be demanding and impatient and tough. I am a strong woman … I am many things, but I am not mean.”
The “Finding Dory” star issued an apology to her staff via memo in July 2020. The accusations came from former employees and one, at the time, current staffer.
“On Day 1 of our show, I told everyone in our first meeting that ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ would be a place of happiness — no one would ever raise their voice, and everyone would be treated with respect. Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry,” DeGeneres wrote in the letter. “Anyone who knows me knows it’s the opposite of what I believe and what I hoped for our show.”
DeGeneres previously confirmed her upcoming Netflix special would be her last. “To answer the questions everyone is asking me — Yes, I’m going to talk about it,” she said in the May announcement. “Yes, this is my last special. Yes, Portia [de Rossi] really is that pretty in real life.”