It’s been two years since Ellen DeGeneres’ eponymous daytime talk show ended its 19-season run under a cloud of controversy. Reports had run rampant that the seemingly happy-go-lucky comedian who ended every show with the message “be kind to one another” was not what she seemed. Staffers alleged DeGeneres presided over a “toxic workplace,” as guests suggested the host’s warm and fuzzy demeanor turned off when the cameras did.
The 66 year old has largely laid low since then – until now. DeGeneres is back with a Netflix special that she is calling a farewell, but Megyn isn’t buying it. On Friday’s show, she was joined by Rob Schneider, author of You Can Do It!, to discuss whether DeGeneres is trying to make a comeback and the hypocrisy of Hollywood when it comes to redemption.
Playing the Victim
Earlier this year, DeGeneres confirmed she was working on a new stand-up project that would stream on Netflix. “To answer the questions everyone is asking me: yes, I’m going to talk about it. Yes this is my last special. Yes, Portia really is that pretty in real life,” the comedian teased at the time.
The special, titled Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, premiered on the streaming service this week. As promised, DeGeneres did address the scandal that led to the demise of her daytime career, but the way she chose to talk about it is what caught Megyn’s attention.
“She plays the victim… and she actually has the nerve to say that she was run out of Hollywood,” Megyn noted. “Hello, you haven’t been canceled if you are doing a Netflix special. She got $20 million for the one before this. I’m sure she’s fine.”
Here’s a bit of what DeGeneres said on the topic from the trailer:
DEGENERES: I decided to take up gardening. I got chickens. Let me see what else I can tell you about that been going on. Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business… The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind – that was the headline. Here’s the problem: I’m a comedian, who got a talk show, and I ended the show every day by saying, ‘Be kind to one another.’ Had I ended my show by saying, ‘Go f-ck yourselves,’ people would have been pleasantly surprised to find out I’m kind.
In Megyn’s view, DeGeneres is but the latest “rich celebrity” who wants the public to feel sorry for them. “We don’t,” she said. “And no one cares that now she is dealing with chickens.”
Don’t Call It a Comeback
While Schneider said he believes people generally deserve a second chance, he also said he doesn’t “sense any humility” from the star. He said her experience having to hide her sexual orientation for years before coming out in 1997 likely led to “anger” and “resentment” – some of which he saw firsthand.
“I do remember [working] with her and feeling that resentment and going, ‘Wow, that’s a much tougher road than I’ve had to go through,'” he recalled. “But that doesn’t equate or doesn’t justify any meanness or any ugliness… When you don’t get over your grievances, and you let it fester… and take it out on people, then… there really does have to be a come to Jesus moment.”
Schneider said the “great thing about America is that you really do have a tradition of forgiveness” and DeGeneres would be wise to realize that. While Megyn agreed, she called the “double standard” that exists when it comes to who is granted it “galling.”
DeGeneres has billed the special and accompanying stand-up tour as a “farewell,” but Megyn believes she is dipping her toe back into the water and offered a prediction. “They are going to let her back in because she’s a lesbian, she’s a leftist, and she didn’t hit one of their sacred cows,” she concluded. “Nastiness? That’s their bread and butter.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Schneider by tuning in to episode 900 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.