Ellen DeGeneres took the stage for what she says is her last stand-up comedy in “Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Credit,” an hour-long Netflix special that delves into the comedian’s fall from grace.
“For Your Approval” arrived on Netflix on Tuesday, more than four years after the controversy against DeGeneres reached a fever pitch in 2020.
First, beauty YouTuber Nikkie de Jager talked about her bad appearance as a guest on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” Then came a viral thread filled with thousands of replies and unverified testimony about DeGeneres being “one of the meanest people alive.” In July of that year, a BuzzFeed News report containing allegations from former employees of a toxic work culture on DeGeneres’ talk show was published.
“For Your Acceptance” begins with DeGeneres walking in chronological order through the biggest controversies and controversies of her career, from her network television debut, to her list of unaware of what she faced after coming out,until her role as Dory in “Finding Nemo” and finally, until the end of her talk show.
DeGeneres reveals it exclusively – here’s what she has to say.
Ellen DeGeneres in her new comedy special “For Your Credit.” Wilson Webb / Netflix
DeGeneres explains her reaction to claims she’s “evil”
After spending the first few minutes making a special lumbar joke and holding the audience on her chickens, DeGeneres cuts to the chase.
“Yeah, I’m fired from the sports business,” he says to loud laughter and applause. “Yes, because I have a bad heart. Yes. You can’t be mean and be in show business. No, they’ll fire you. There are no mean people in show business. I’m out.”
DeGeneres joked that she first heard about the controversy when she saw a headline announcing “the most hated person in America.” He said it was different from previous polls that showed him to be “one of the most trusted people in the country,” as people voted him the celebrity they would like to raise their child with. .
DeGeneres reflected on the media’s reaction to her controversy, saying she had to explain to her doctor that she thought “everyone hated her” because major news outlets were reporting on it. And while he tried to avoid the media, he said he would learn something had happened when his friends sent him letters of support.
Ultimately, DeGeneres said, her “be kind” mantra on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” puts her in a box.
“It seemed like a good idea,” he said. “But I became a symbol, a one-sided person who gave things away and danced every day up the stairs. Do you know how hard it was to dance? stairs? Could a wicked man dance on the stairs?
Ellen DeGeneres’ website special “For Your Accommodation.” Wilson Webb / Netflix
DeGeneres said her show was like a “family” – but she was a ‘young boss’.
During the special, DeGeneres said that she loved working on her show and that it felt like “family” to her. Then he started where he thought of some fun behavior, like the age-old office game of tag or some other joke, before realizing that he might be threatening his employees.
“We’d play tag, and I’d chase people down the hallways, chase them around the studio and scare them all the time. I’d jump out and scare people because I’d enjoy doing that ,” he said. . “You know, hearing me say this out loud, I…realized that I was chasing my staff and threatening them. I can see where that could be misinterpreted.”
DeGeneres was a “young boss,” mostly because she didn’t want to be even though the show was named after her.
“I didn’t go to business school, I went to Charlie’s Chuckle Hut,” he joked.
DeGeneres says she has a gendered view of what it means to be a boss because of images of male bosses on TV shows who would stab employees into their office. He said, women will have to have good and indirect ways.
DeGeneres reflected on her coming out, and how she now feels about the public
DeGeneres came out as gay in a 1997 episode of her sitcom, “Ellen.” At the time, it was important – and dangerous to his career. He said on his talk show in 2022 that this caused him to lose his job for three years.
“For those of you keeping score, this is the second time I’ve been fired from the sports business,” he said. “They fired me first because I told them I was gay. There are no gay people in the business.”
Towards the end of the special, DeGeneres said that her show is her life – and while working in entertainment, she was forced to care about what people think. That meant people who thought he was “evil” was a “devastating” revelation. As he got older, he said, he realized he couldn’t let outside influences change his mental life.
DeGeneres said that after her show ended, she didn’t think she could find humor in her situation, and she had no intention of being independent. But doing so, he said, was “healing.”
Finally, after her controversy, DeGeneres said she was happy to be rid of the management responsibilities and her name.
“If I’m telling the truth, and I have a choice of people who think of me as a bad person, or a lovable person,” he said. “I prefer that.”
“Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval” is now live Netflix.