Ellen DeGeneres’ new stand-up routine includes a bit about getting booted from Hollywood for being “mean” after her 2020 toxic workplace scandal.
The former Ellen DeGeneres Show host, who performed in West Hollywood on Wednesday, complained to viewers that she was “kicked out of show businesses” not once but twice.
“There’s no mean people in show business. The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind,” DeGeneres, 66, said on stage during her new tour.
“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.”
The Finding Dory voice actor reminded viewers that she also got the boot from TV when she came out as gay, thus ending her eponymous sitcom Ellen in the late ’90s.
“Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old, and gay,” she quipped.
DeGeneres experienced her second fall from grace in 2020 when she was accused of leading a toxic workplace, which resulted in the firing of three of her top producers.
Employees came forward and accused DeGeneres of leading the set with intimidation, racism and fear. A producer on an Australian morning show who had been on the set even claimed the comedian demanded no one make eye contact with her.
“I’m giving stuff away … and I danced, then I was mean and they didn’t like me again,” she said during her performance.
“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 idolise you or they hate you, and those people somehow are louder.”
Warner Bros. cancelled the celebrity-filled talk show in 2022 following the controversy.
“This was a whole different thing,” she replied to a fan at the end of the set when she launched into an informal conversation with attendees. “This was like, ‘What is going on?’ It was so hurtful. I couldn’t gain perspective.
“I couldn’t do anything to make myself understand that it wasn’t personal,” she continued. “I just thought, ‘Well this is not the way I wanted to end my career, but this is the way it’s ending.’”
“I just hated the way the show ended,” she shared. “I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way.”
DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, admitted during the event they both laid low in the aftermath because it was hard on both of them, but now they’re ready to get back to living.
“It’s hard to dance when you’re crying,” DeGeneres told an audience member. “But I am dancing now.”