Ellen DeGeneres is set to return to Netflix with a new stand-up special, her second for the streamer and what she’s calling her “last special,” later this year.
“To answer the questions everyone is asking me — yes, I’m going to talk about it,” DeGeneres said in a statement. “Yes, this is my last special. Yes, [wife] Portia [de Rossi] really is that pretty in real life.”
The veteran comedian and former talk-show host previously appeared in the 2018 Netflix special Relatable. Relatable, DeGeneres’ first stand-up special in 15 years, was the first of a two-special deal with Netflix.
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Netflix vp stand-up and comedy formats Robbie Praw added: “There is nobody quite like Ellen. She is a true legend and pioneer in so many ways. We can’t wait to bring fans another one of her hilarious comedy specials later this year.”
The special will be produced by Ben Winston and Fulwell73.
While this will be her second stand-up special for Netflix, it also marks her first special since the 2022 end of her eponymous daytime talk show, after 19 seasons, which came after she faced personal criticism and claims of a toxic workplace in the summer of 2020.
The allegations, initially reported by Buzzfeed News, led to an internal investigation and the dismissal of key executives.
When DeGeneres returned to Ellen after her summer hiatus that fall, she addressed the toxic-workplace claims, saying, “I learned that things happen here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.”
Still, as she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 when she decided to end her show, these claims weren’t the reason she stepped down.
“It almost impacted the show,” she said at the time. “It was very hurtful to me. I mean, very. But if I was quitting the show because of that, I wouldn’t have come back this season. So, it’s not why I’m stopping, but it was hard.”
According to Netflix, DeGeneres is set to kick off a multi-city tour June 19 in San Diego. But she’s already returned to stand-up, making headlines last month for joking about the toxic-workplace controversy and the end of her show.
During a Los Angeles show called Ellen’s Last Stand … Up, according to reports, DeGeneres joked she was “kicked out of show business” for being “mean.”
She continued to say that she was “the most hated person in America.”
“The hate went on for a long time, and I would try to avoid looking at the news,” DeGeneres said, according to People. “The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind. That was the headline.”
In a Q&A with the audience after her set ended, DeGeneres reflected on what was a rough time for her personally.
“I’m making jokes about what happened to me, but it was devastating,” she said. “It took a long time for me to want to do anything again,” adding that she “hated the way the show ended” because she “loved that show so much.”
When DeGeneres spoke to THR around her talk show ending, she said she would try to “sit still” for a while but indicated she was open to movies and stand-up.
“I also love doing stand-up, so I can always write another special and go out and [perform], which is Portia’s preference,” DeGeneres said in 2022. “She really loved when we went out on what she calls ‘a tour.’ She doesn’t understand, we only went to seven cities.”
