Is Ellen DeGeneres Retiring?
She told an audience that she’s “going bye-bye” after her current tour.
Two years after The Ellen DeGeneres Show ended, DeGeneres says her current tour is her final act. Performing in Santa Rosa, California, last week, DeGeneres reportedly told the audience that when she wraps up the Ellen’s Last Stand … Up tour on Netflix in August, she’s leaving Hollywood.
“This is the last time you’re going to see me,” DeGeneres said after a fan asked if she’ll be doing any movies or appearing on Broadway, per SFGate. “After my Netflix special, I’m done.” When an audience member asked if she’d reprise her role as Dory in Finding Nemo, she said, “No, I’m going bye-bye, remember?” Her comments came on the same day she canceled four performances without explanation, just a month after the tour, which Live Nation billed as a “long-awaited comeback” and the last chance for fans to see DeGeneres live.
In 2022, DeGeneres ended her talk show, two years after an employee and ten former staffers told BuzzFeed that the show’s producers fostered a toxic work environment that included racism, sexual harassment, and intimidation. Even though the expose didn’t call out DeGeneres, specifically, the allegations were starkly at odds with the up-beat, feel-good reputation the show — and DeGeneres — was known for. After an internal investigation, three executive producers left the show and, in 2021, DeGeneres announced that it would end after its 19th season.
In Santa Rosa, DeGeneres joked about the controversy, telling the crowd that she was “ kicked out of show business for being mean. Next time, I’ll be kicked out for being old,” she quipped, adding: “old, gay, and mean — the triple crown.”
DeGeneres apparently did take a moment to address the controversy more seriously, saying, “I can be demanding and impatient and tough. I am a strong woman. I am many things, but I am not mean.” The Cut has reached out to a representative for DeGeneres and we will update this post when we hear back.
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