What Happened To Ellen DeGeneres? Why She Was Canceled

What happened to Ellen DeGeneres and her career is the stuff of legend. 

The journey from beloved comic to blacklisted, queer pariah, to television’s most beloved host to total disappointment has been well documented by everyone, except Ellen herself. 

But all of that is about to change as fans around the world will finally get to watch Ellen’s last ever stand up special on Netflix this month. 

And no topic is off limits.

What Happened To Ellen & Her Talk Show

Back in 2020, Ellen DeGeneres found herself at the center of a surprising scandal.

After nearly 20 years on the air with her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the comedian walked away from the spotlight forever. 

Part of the decision was her own doing; part of it was not. 

Ellen stood accused of creating a hostile workplace, in which employees were mistreated, overworked, and pitted against one another in a hellishly competitive environment.

Shortly after the allegations became public, Ellen’s talk show came to an end after a run of 19 years.

She fiercely defended herself and those around her from the allegations, but the global audience that once loved to dance with her every morning seemed just as willing to believe the worst of her. 

And so, after Ellen’s show came to an end on May 2022, she found herself out of work – and canceled.

Why Ellen Was Canceled: The Allegations 

Queen of Nice was seemingly exposed as The Queen of Mean after several editorials were published about the behind-the-scenes antics of Ellen and her producers. 

“That ‘be kind’ bullshit only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show,” one former employee told BuzzFeed News. 

The accusations ran the gamut from racial profiling to unwarranted firings for taking sick days to general day-to-day toxicity the included instructions not to talk to Ellen directly. 

To be fair, the majority of the truly heinous accusations were made against her team of producers, as Ellen had very little to do with the entire production team working on her show at large.

In fact, top producers took the heat for Ellen almost immediately. 

“We are truly heartbroken and sorry to learn that even one person in our production family has had a negative experience, Ed Glavin, Mary Connelly and Andy Lassner said in a statement.

“It’s not who we are and not who we strive to be, and not the mission Ellen has set for us.”

But at the end of the day, Ellen was the face of the show, and while she couldn’t be held accountable for situations she knew nothing about, she was called out for positioning herself out of the loop. 

And, apparently, for being cold and unfriendly to the team that worked for her.

Ellen DeGeneres Tells Audience She Was ‘Kicked Out of Show Business’

The embattled comic laid low for a while after hosting her final episode. At first, it seemed as if she was taking a well-deserved break. Or at the very least, waiting to return to the spotlight after the heat got down. 

But then she returned to her roots with a new standup tour, and the truth came out. 

The tour kicked off with a show in West Hollywood, and as expected, Ellen made some candid comments about the scandal that ended her TV career (at least for now).

“What else can I tell you? Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business,” DeGeneres told the sold-out crowd during the show.

The joke was captured for the trailer for the Netflix comedy special, set to air on September 24.

It followed Ellen’s confession about the start of her career and how she thought it would pan out. 

“I thought, if I could make people happy, they’ll like me. And if they like me, I’ll feel good about myself … And all I can say about that is, thank god for the money!”

Ellen Addresses Her Show Cancellation On Tour

“There’s no mean people in show business,” she added, with more than a trace of sarcasm.

From there, Ellen poked fun at the gap between her public image and the way she was described by her former employees.

As you may recall, Ellen used to end her show by urging viewers to “be kind to each other” — words of wisdom she allegedly failed to live by in her interactions with her staff.

“The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind,” she joked on stage this week.

“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?” the comic continued.

“Would a mean person dance up steps? Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f–k yourself,’ people would’ve been pleasantly surprised.”

Ellen Apologizes During Stand Up Special 

According to audience members of her show, Ellen later addressed the scandal in a more serious fashion, explaining to the audience that she was a boss who “didn’t know how to be a boss” despite being the face of the show.

“I didn’t go to business school. I went to Charlie’s Chuckle Hutt,” she joked.

“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.”

Is it the apology that some of Ellen’s former staffers were hoping for? Perhaps.

But only time – and the reviews of her stand up – will tell if she can be welcomed back to Hollywood with open arms.