Hooooooo boy. Ellen DeGeneres is back in the headlines (condolences) and once again, it ain’t looking good for the comedian.
To quickly recap what has been the downfall of the former queen of talk show telly (next to Oprah, obvs), shit hit the fan in 2020 when current and former staffers on her self-titled The Ellen DeGeneres Show started airing claims that DeGeneres treated employees poorly and fostered a toxic work environment.
Celebs and guests of the show also spoke out about uncomfy dealings with DeGeneres. And yeah, it goes waaaaay beyond that awks AF moment Dakota Johnson called out the host for claiming she wasn’t invited to her birthday.
The show subsequently got the can and aired its last episode in April 2022 after a whopping 19 seasons. Then in May 2022, she announced a 27-date comeback tour named Ellen’s Last Stand… Up.
The 66-year-old’s new show was touted as a way to “reintroduce her trademark wit and laughter-inducing anecdotes”. However, it’s hard to push away the idea that it’s just a redemption tour to reclaim her reputation after years of bad press.
According to a review by SFGATE following her July 1 gig, the comedian joked about the toxic workplace scandal, noting that she was “kicked out of show business” for being “mean”.
“I am many things, but I am not mean,” she told audiences, before declaring that once the tour is over and her Netflix deal is fulfilled, she’s retreating into obscurity.
“This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done.” And don’t let the door hit ya on the way out!
However, it seems some people will be waving goodbye to DeGeneres a little sooner, after she canned a string of performances just two weeks into the tour.
Per PEOPLE, Ticketmaster issued an “event cancelled” notification to punters set to attend shows in Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago in July and August.
“Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event,” the Ticketmaster website reads when viewing the cancelled dates.
“You don’t need to do a thing. We’ll issue a refund to the original method of payment used at time of purchase, as soon as funds are received from the Event Organizer. It should appear on your account within 14-21 days.”
No other details were given as to why the dates were ditched.
So whether it’s the result of not selling enough tickets or that DeGeneres just CBF, it remains to be seen.
