Ellen DeGeneres announced Monday she’s headed back to Netflix for a new stand-up comedy special, five years since she last starred for the streaming service and four years after a toxic workplace scandal saw her tumble from her perch atop daytime television.
DeGeneres, 66, wrote in a news release that the yet-t0-be-named special will go live on Netflix later this year and will be her final as a comedian.
“To answer the questions everyone is asking me—Yes, I’m going to talk about it. Yes, this is my last special. Yes, Portia [de Rossi] really is that pretty in real life.”
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DeGeneres is likely alluding to her controversial exit from The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2022, which was scrapped after executive producers were accused of sexual harassment and racism toward staffers on set.
Those alleged workplace horrors were revealed by BuzzFeed News in 2020, sparking an internal investigation from WarnerMedia that wrapped in 2022, with DeGeneres taking personal responsibility for the workplace culture. She apologized to her staff, and a trio of executives were axed.
DeGeneres had hosted the talk series for 19 seasons, winning a whopping 63 Daytime Emmys. She has remained largely out of the public eye since the workplace scandal, but she recently hit the road to do a string of stand-up comedy shows.
During a segment last month, she said the scandal took “a toll on my ego and my self-esteem” and that she “got kicked out of show business.” She also joked that she was the “most hated person in America.”
She said the scandal also took a toll on her wife, and that they’d both been “just laying low for a while.”
“Honestly, I’m making jokes about what happened to me but it was devastating, really,” DeGeneres said.
DeGeneres will now have the chance to go out on a high note, with Netflix providing the platform. Robbie Praw, VP of Stand-Up and Comedy Formats at the streaming giant, shared that he’s excited to see what she produces.
The special will be produced by Ben Winston and Fulwell73, and will co-incide with DeGeneres going on a multi-city stand-up tour that begins June 19th with a show in San Diego.
“She is a true legend and pioneer in so many ways,” Praw said. “We can't wait to bring fans another one of her hilarious comedy specials later this year.”
