Ellen DeGeneres confirms she’s leaving showbusiness and the response is brutal
Ellen DeGeneres is now performing Ellen’s Last Stand… Up. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty)
Ellen DeGeneres is to quit show business permanently after being the subject of controversies surrounding staff treatment, and the response online has been brutal.
The former Ellen DeGeneres Show host told the audience the news during her farewell tour, Ellen’s Last Stand…Up, which will stream on Netflix later this year.
On Monday (8 July), at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, California, DeGeneres was asked by a member of the audience if she will appear on Broadway or in movies again.
“Um, no. This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done,” she answered.
Another fan asked her to return as loveable character Dory in Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo, to which she responded: “No, I’m going. Bye bye. Remember.”
Comments on X/Twitter have mocked the announcement, with one, which has almost 5,000 likes, brutally claiming: “She won’t be missed”.
Another social media user wrote: “Hasn’t she already disappeared from the public eye? I promise nobody was checking for her,” while another person said, “I haven’t heard or seen her in like two years so she’s right on track.”
Others also revelled in sharing their thoughts.
After announcing her departure from the world of entertainment, DeGeneres said she was “kicked out of show business for being mean” before admitting that she can be “demanding and impatient and tough”.
She went on to say: “I am a strong woman. I am many things but I am not mean,” adding that she never intended to hurt anyone.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show was thrust into controversy in 2020 when former employees, speaking to BuzzFeed News, made allegations of racist comments and a “toxic” environment on set.
Further claims of sexual misconduct led to an internal investigation and three producers being fired, after which DeGeneres made an emotional apology to staff. She voluntarily pulled the plug on the show in May 2021.
Ellen DeGeneres’ comedy show is set to drop on Netflix later this year.
