Ellen DeGeneres Claims to Have Been “Kicked Out of Show Biz” in Her New Netflix Comedy Special

Ellen DeGeneres would like us to remember something: she still exists. And now that that’s been confirmed again, she’s going to go ahead and leave, supposedly.

The comedian’s talk show ended in 2022 after multiple allegations of bullying, and earlier this year she claimed she’ll be leaving show business after her next (and supposedly final) stand-up special, For Your Approval. If she really does stay retired, it’ll be a weird end to a notable career. Ellen became a top comic in the ’80s known for her intentionally awkward delivery and a deeply affable and endearing personality. During an era of aggro dudes and rampant raunch and sex talk, Ellen’s comedy was basically clean as a whistle, and that rep helped guide her into a primetime sitcom berth during the post-Seinfeld heyday of ’90s stand-up sitcoms. Despite its inauspicious, generic start, Ellen’s sitcom became truly groundbreaking after it was retooled as Ellen and began to reflect her real-life sexuality; it was one of the first American TV shows with a gay lead, and although it was never a smash hit it did help normalize homosexuality on broadcast TV. A few years after that show ended in 1998 she launched her talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in 2003, and for most of its run her “aw shucks” demeanor and exhortations to “be kind” made her seem like a pretty nice and normal person, all considering.

Of course people in the business had long talked about how cruel and demanding DeGeneres could be to her staff. Even before 10 former staffers accused her of bullying in 2020, it was an open secret in Hollywood. It irrevocably changed Ellen’s image, and hastened the end of her talk show after 19 seasons. She’s laid low since then, but is now back with what will apparently be both her final stand-up special and her farewell to performing altogether. Because if anything in modern culture is sacrosanct and inviolable, it’s the show business retirement.

For Your Approval hits Netflix in under a week, on Monday, Sept. 24, and we got our first glimpse at it in a new trailer released earlier today. DeGeneres addresses the bullying controversy head-on, and, unsurprisingly, given her last few years, in a fairly tone-deaf way. Who doesn’t love it when an extremely rich celebrity complains about being cancelled (or, as Ellen puts it, “kicked out of show business”) from the mammoth platform of the biggest streaming service in the world? What self-awareness these famous people have. The trailer focuses entirely on the bullying scandal; obviously we can’t just the whole special from these 80 seconds and change, but if this is any indication of what the whole set will be like, DeGeneres doesn’t really seem like owning up to her alleged behavior. It’s also pretty rich to complain about being “kicked out of show business” when you’re the one who decided to retire; even if Netflix wasn’t interested in more projects with her after this latest special, she could surely put something together at one of the many other streamers or networks out there, and touring will probably always remain a lucrative option for her, no matter how mean she was to her staff. We’ll obviously reserve judgment until we’ve seen the whole show, but her 2018 return special was surprisingly enjoyable, and it’d be disappointing if her real-life meanness permanently becomes the final period on her career.

For Your Approval starts streaming on Sept. 24; until then, here’s that trailer. If this is the end, well, good luck, Ellen DeGeneres. We’ll always have EPCOT.