Ellen DeGeneres said during a recent stop on her “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up” tour that she is done with fame once she plays her final shows, which will be filmed for a new Netflix special (via People and SFGate). During the audience Q&A part of the show at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, one fan asked if DeGeneres would return to movies after the tour ended or perhaps try her hand at Broadway.
“Um, no,” DeGeneres answered matter-of-factly. “This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done.”
Another fan pushed DeGeneres to once again voice the character Dory from Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory,” but DeGeneres responded: “No, I’m going bye-bye, remember.”
DeGeneres kicked off the “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up” tour earlier this year and recently canceled four dates on the lineup. She’s been using the shows to address the misconduct accusations that hit as “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” was coming to an end after a nearly 20-year run.
The talk show ended amid a series of reports detailing allegations of racism, sexual misconduct and intimidation behind the scenes. Variety also reported on crew members’ frustrations with how the production handled compensation during the COVID pandemic. DeGeneres gave an on-air apology and three producers were fired after WarnerMedia conducted an internal investigation.
“Let me catch you up on what’s been going on with me since you last saw me,” DeGeneres said at the Santa Rosa show before joking: “I got chickens. Oh yeah, and I got kicked out of show business for being mean.”
The comedian went on to admit that she “can be demanding and impatient and tough. I am a strong woman.” DeGeneres added, “I am many things, but I am not mean.”
“I used to say, ‘I don’t care what people say about me.’ Now I realize I said that during the height of my popularity,” DeGeneres said about the public blowback from the allegations.
During a previous stop on the tour at the Largo at the Coronet Theater in West Hollywood, DeGeneres responded to a fan question by saying it was “so hurtful” how her show came to an end.
“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 said. “I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way.”
Degeneres’ “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up” tour continues through Aug. 17.
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