Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show ended in May 2022, under a two-year-long cloud of controversy. It all started during the early days of the pandemic, the stories about Ellen’s casual cruelty towards service workers, staffers and more. Then things went next-level when The Ellen Show was exposed as a massively toxic work environment. That exposure led to real changes being made in the final season of Ellen’s show, but the damage was already done and the show sort of limped along that final year. After which, Ellen spent about two years decompressing and writing new material. She’s going on the road on a stand-up tour, and she will film a Netflix special (her first in six years) later this year. Rolling Stone had a lengthy story about her first night of standup since her show ended:
Her bit about being canceled: “What else can I tell you?” she mused, mock-reflecting on her recent past before adding sarcastically, “Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business. There’s no mean people in show business. The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind. 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? Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f–k yourself,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised.”
She didn’t know how to be a boss: She also said that she was an immature boss who “didn’t know how to be a boss. I didn’t go to business school. I went to Charlie’s Chuckle Hutt. The show was called Ellen and everybody was wearing T-shirts that said ‘Ellen’ and there were buildings on the Warner Brothers lot that said ‘Ellen,’ but I don’t know that that meant I should be in charge.”
She thinks sexism was at play: She chalked up some of the vitriol she faced at the time to sexism, noting that “there are consequences” for not following the pre-existing rules and gender roles. Referencing the cancellation of her eponymous sitcom in the 1990s after she’d announced to the world that she was gay, she added wryly, “For those of you keeping score, this is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business…Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old, and gay.”
Toll on her self-esteem: “I’m giving stuff away…and I danced, then I was mean and they didn’t like me again,” she said. “It’s been such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem. There’s such extremes in this business, people either love you and idolize you or they hate you, and those people somehow are louder.”
An old fashioned joke: Bringing up chickens as another metaphor for women and gender roles, DeGeneres made her point with “one last chicken joke,” as she put it. “Why did the chicken cross the road? Because she wanted to and you wouldn’t ask a rooster that.”
She hated the way her show ended: “Honestly, I’m making jokes about what happened to me but it was devastating, really.I just hated the way the show ended. I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way.”
I’ve seen some headlines and stories suggesting that Ellen was following in, like, Louis CK’s path of “making a whole comedy set about being canceled.” I don’t think that’s what she did though – she’s still processing everything and she seems to be taking partial responsibility. “I didn’t know how to be a boss” is honestly better than everything that comes out of most toxic male comedians’ mouths. Plus, the public did actually turn on her and there was a huge discourse on Ellen’s cruelty and meanness. Was some of it sexism? For sure. Not all of it, though. (Also: she didn’t seem to address this, but one of the biggest problems with her show’s final years was that Ellen was complacent and just going through the motions. She didn’t really want to be there.)
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Netflix.
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- , Los Angeles, CA – 20200105 77th Annual Golden Globes – Press Room. -PICTURED: Ellen Degeneres -PHOTO by: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ellen Degeneres Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 05 Jan 2020 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com
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- , Los Angeles, CA – 20200105 77th Annual Golden Globes – Press Room. -PICTURED: Ellen Degeneres -PHOTO by: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Ellen Degeneres Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 05 Jan 2020 Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages.com
I’d be a terrible boss. So I feel that part.
Of course, LEARNING & asking questions is always an option so… if I was ever promoted I’d like, learn. Because that’s what emotionally stable & mature people do: they rise up & actually ask people who know better how to be better themselves.
So poor rich privileged Ellen. So hard for her in all the years to not know how to read online “how to be an effective boss”.
In 2018 she had a Netflix special, “Relatable” that was entirely the result of a friend candidly asking her if she felt that she could relate, be seen as relatable, to everyday people because she was so rich and famous now (2018 now).
She spent the ENTIRE special building up to oF cOuRsE I aM!! Something about how she has feelings too. Like she’s goes on some gorilla watching Safari and gets muddy/uncomfortable some goofy regular ppl sh!t happens…sO rELaTaBLe, amirite?!
Basically what happened next (2020 revelations) was no surprise to me.
Some ppl go through hardship early on (I think she lived in her car, def faced homophobia) and that becomes the identity so much that even when just about fvcking everything changes and decades pass, they can’t step outside themselves to see that. I don’t know if there’s a trauma-to-delusion celebrity pipeline she could be the poster child for it.
Well I read all of Ellen’s explanations/justifications here and believed the stories about the toxicity all over again. What I heard loud and clear from what she said was not contrition or regret but anger and resentment.
“I didn’t know how to be a boss”/My name was all over everything but I didn’t know I was supposed to be in charge.
WTF? B*tch, please. First, if your name’s all over it, you’re definitely responsible in some way, second, you clearly like to take the credit for everything it achieved/moan about what you weren’t credited for so you saw it as ‘yours’ and last but not least not knowing how to run stuff does not excuse being a total cow.
Precisely. The Covid period was about not treating staff right and being out of touch. It still sounds like she’s out of touch.
My kid came out, and this has been incredibly stressful (and a negative learning experience for me in that I’ve learned about intolerance in action that I hadn’t expected). She should not have been cancelled for being gay. She should also separate why she was canceled the second time around instead of lumping those together.
Being the boss means you give other people credit for success, and you take the blame for when things go poorly because you are the LEADER.
She was happy to take credit for success, but not for when things went poorly due to the toxic culture SHE created.
Go home, Ellen. I hope Hollywood doesn’t give you the comeback you clearly want.
ditto
I really rolled my eyes at “I didn’t go to business school”. She wasn’t managing the business aspect of the show, so business school wasn’t necessary. I didn’t go to business school either but when I was put in a position to manage other people and lead teams, treating people with common courtesy was a no-brainer.
I appreciate the not knowing how to be a boss part, but as for the rest I don’t know. It just comes across like she thinks people shouldn’t complain about her being mean because she kept dancing and giving things away? What is she saying? It sounds more baffled than self-reflective.
It sounds like she wants people to cling to her TV persona and not believe she was an out of touch horror show to work for behind the scenes.
Yeah it was hard to make out what exactly she was trying to say here… just sounded like deflective waffle, but not very good deflective waffle.
Well, she doesn’t seem to be denying that she is mean or maybe I missed it.
Kind of wild that she would think that any of this makes her look good.
I’m sure it’s not as black and white as it seems from the outside and the boss comments are definitely her taking some responsibility. But at the same time, she didn’t actually have to be the boss; the network would’ve happily put other people in charge of the business-end of things.
She also didn’t have to keep doing any of the other stuff either. You can’t be both in charge and also being made to do something. She had enough money to walk away earlier if she was unhappy and instead she took it out on other people.
My son liked her show for a bit when he was a tween. Whenever I watched it with him I would say at least once – usually more – “I don’t think she’s a nice person”. She got a real kick out of terrifying people. Some of it was in a fun, gentle way. But most of it was in an over the top terrifying way. She used audience members’ desire for prizes and money to humiliate them or terrify them. Not kind at all.
We watched a segment with vin diesel & she was blatantly rude to him.
It wasn’t funny, or in jest. She was mocking his movie to his face.
Just nasty.
I never liked the bits where she scares the guest either, specifically because it always seemed mean spirited. I’ve never liked her comedy in general but I remember thinking for a long time that she’s not a nice person.
I feel like she’d always wanted to do edgier comedy and really resented having to cater to Middle America — the same Middle America that had rejected her as a gay woman. She resents everyone for “forcing” her to “play it safe” professionally. That’s why her contempt for her own audience is so apparent. (I’m sure there’s some internalized “not like these middle-aged housewives” sexism going on, too.)
She also exploited certain guests, especially hunky straight guys like some of the Marvel superhero actors, by making them play really awkward games. I have a vague memory of Chris Hemsworth being groped by audience members in some stupid game involving his clothes. I remember Ellen insisting that certain male and female co-stars should hook up, when they were there to promote and talk about their work. Not to mention revealing Mariah Carey’s pregnancy against her wishes and all the jump scares. She entertained herself by embarassing people, which sounds more like a bully to me than a genuinely “nice person.” She’s just not that nice, insightful or funny.
If you don’t know how to be a boss and your name is on stuff, then to save face and not end up making an ass of yourself a smart person would hire someone to make sure things are being run smoothly. A smart person admits early on what they don’t know rather than letting their ego get in the way. The first time she was cancelled was bs. The second time she was cancelled she should have known better. The two were for entirely different reasons and the only person equating the two are Ellen herself.
Exactly. My job is to assess/coach/develop leaders and if there’s a gap you decide whether to work on it or work around it. If she didn’t know how and didn’t feel it was something she could learn and become competent at then you work around it and hire good people who can cover that gap.
Right?!? If she said that she didn’t know how to be the boss and made some mistakes at the beginning that she learned from, that would make sense. Her statements are like Princess Kate’s, saying that she’s ramping up and learning how to give speeches for fifteen years. She had all the time and resources in the world to figure out how to do things and how to delegate appropriately. I’m sure she didn’t need any lessons on how to treat people like human beings, especially from her own experience on being canceled for being gay.
Go to therapy, Ellen. Take accountability, learn about balance, internal motivation and self-compassion so that you don’t let “work” reign your sense of self.
Pity parties are boring— and the party favors notoriously crappy. A polite and firm decline of your invitation, but thanks for thinking of us, Ellen. 🩷
I’m reading this interview and see nothing but excuses, excuses, and more excuses. I don’t see accountability or even the slightest hint of an apology. Her executive team mistreated and abused staff. She went along with it, when she wasn’t being mean and toxic herself. She’s mocking the situation while portraying herself as the victim. NOPE. So many talented comediennes out there who deserve the chances that were handed to her…no pity for her.
She’s not learned a single thing! Still mean, nasty and unfunny. Go away!
I’m really not seeing anything here of regret. There is no “I tried to be better.” Just “you won’t accept me for the a**hole I am.”
And that doesn’t really jive in a culture that is currently not accepting resumes from women a**holes, especially ones who are trying to fake being nice (as was expected of her). She isn’t sorry she didn’t do better; she is just sorry she lost her career.
I’ll always appreciate what Ellen did for us, but, she is a problematic ambassador.
Let me understand this: she is doing an entire special about the fact that she was “kicked out of show business”? She must be even more oblivious than we thought if she can’t see the cognitive dissonance there.
She must think that we are morons who can’t add up multimillion dollar salary+total executive control = you are the boss. She just wanted the money, fame and the opportunity to humiliate people as a “joke” without the responsibility that went with it.
Ultimately, what happened with Ellen DeGeneres shows that all workplaces have toxicity.
All the more reason we should all be not accepting and be very vigilant against it. Starting with calling out people like Ellen.
I am kind of surprised she went back to standup. She is one of the most unfunny standup comics imo.
She says that she was kicked out of show business twice. Will everyone please think of Ellen with her millions, palatial homes etc. and weep for her? Nope! Not me, and not most people. Grow up Ellen! Truly become a nicer person, not the one you pretended to be on your show. I don’t think her tour will be very successful.
She had an incredible opportunity to make sweeping changes to foster a positive work environment. But what did she do. She got criticized so she ended her show and took all the toys home with her. She was more than happy for everyone to lose their jobs as retaliation.
She’s an incredibly vindicitve woman that used her platform to destroy a woman who ran a small animal rescue. Becuase she dared to stand up to Ellen and Portia when they kept giving away their adopted dogs. Without informing the rescue and going through the proper steps. Resulting in a dog being removed from a family. To which Ellen used her fanbase to destroy her. I have hated her since for what she did to that woman.
No interest in her or her BS.
That was it for me. When I saw her crying and pleading to the camera to let the family keep the dog and not take it away I was shocked. She had to know that this would lead to the rescue receiving criticism. She knew what she was doing when she gave the dog away and then when she made that plea.
A friend was neighbors with her in the 80s in LA. She was not nice then. It’s not like she suddenly became mean when she became the boss.
Bingo. Also not a boss thing: when Mariah had a pregnancy rumor, Ellen brought champagne for her to drink. Ellen wanted to prove the rumor true or false on her show for publicity, kindness be damned. And it did become a big news item about Mariah not wanting to drink. So Mariah no longer had privacy rights.
What a load of horse sh!t.
All excuses, no lessons learned.
I really used to think that Ellen was gentle, kind, and mildly humorous. I know that people can be slandered and that the slander can have nothing to do with the person. I just found it hard to believe. However, there’s three points I noted to myself. Years ago, Ellen was receiving an honor and was feted by a lot of people, then she accepted the award, and looked up at Portia and said something pretty mean, and I was shocked. I thought, wow, did they have a fight just before?
Secondly, I really didn’t like the segment she had with Meghan. No, I didn’t. It didn’t do any favors for Meghan in making her seem more relatable, if that was what was intended. It was stupid and ridiculous, and Meghan is just so sweet, she went along with it.
And thirdly, I’m no fan of Taylor Swift, but when she complained of an appearance she had with Ellen, I looked the video up on You Tube and felt that it looked like Ellen was a one-note singer: she had planned a “joke” around how Taylor wrote or why she wrote her songs, and Taylor was uncomfortable and said so, and Ellen just kept on going. I think Taylor even told hr to stop, and Ellen wouldn’t. My thoughts on that were that a host should be solicitous of a guest’s comfort above all, and a good comic is fleet on their feet. They would/should be able to manipulate a situation, not be stuck on having ONE joke go a certain way, and draw humor out of a situation, but not have it be at the expense of another. For if a “joke” is at the expense of another, it isn’t a joke, and if the other person isn’t laughing, it ain’t funny.
What a confusing mess.
I’ve never been a fan, but, I hope she gets straight, in her head.
SHE didn’t give stuff away. The advertisers gave stuff away based on her reputation. It’s not like she went to Best Buy and bought 300 TVs. She generated revenue (and advertisers) based on the fact that she was seen as an honest and kind personality.
You don’t need an MBA when you’re in the position of someone like her. She has endless access to business managers, producers, advisors – and it wouldn’t take more than 1 phone call to find an HR specialist, a DEI advisor or an MSW to make changes for the people on who’s back she made millions. That’s literally best practice * of * a CEO or leader: find the best people to do the work that needs to be done. This is an absolute excuse.
Be kind to others, treat them as you would wish to be treated, and find ways to achieve equity when you’re in a position of power. Not complex.