During her set at the Largo, Ellen DeGeneres also said that she’s been “kicked out” of the industry before, referencing the fact that her sitcom, “Ellen,” was canceled in the 1990s after she came out as gay.
“For those of you keeping score, this is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business,” DeGeneres said. “Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old and gay. It’s been such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem. There’s such extremes in this business, people either love you and idolize you or they hate you, and those people somehow are louder.”
DeGeneres’ reason for appearing at the Largo is as part of her current tour, “Ellen’s Last Stand… Up Tour,” which the comedian told the crowd will eventually be taped for a Netflix original comedy special. Rolling Stone notes that Netflix declined to comment on their article, so at this point, we’ll have to take DeGeneres’ word for it. It does mark the comedian’s “return” to the industry in a way; the outlet notes that, since her talk show, she’s mostly remained out of the spotlight except for “Saving the Gorillas: Ellen’s Next Adventure,” a documentary that ran on the Discovery Channel.