Ellen DeGeneres is addressing the “hate” she received after being “kicked out” of the industry following a high-profile investigation into her eponymous talk show’s treatment of staffers.

DeGeneres took the stage on Wednesday, April 24, in Los Angeles for the first show of her Last Stand…Up Tour, which will reportedly be filmed for a Netflix special. According to TMZ, DeGeneres was quick to discuss the aftermath of the drama to her sold-out audience, telling the crowd she “got kicked out of show business” because “there’s no mean people in show business.”

“The hate went on for a long time and I would try to avoid looking at the news,” DeGeneres reportedly said. “The ‘be kind’ girl wasn’t kind. That was the headline.”

The comedian found herself in hot water in 2020 after a BuzzFeed News exposé detailed both current and former employees claims that their work environment was toxic, and one allegedly filled with bullying, racism and sexual harassment. (Several executive producers were fired after the investigation, per BuzzFeed.)

At the time, DeGeneres issued separate apologies to her staffers and her viewers.

Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres speaks onstage during the Michelle Obama: The Light We Carry Tour at Warner Theatre on November 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. In 2024, DeGeneres claimed she was “kicked out” of the industry following… 
“I learned that things happened 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,” she said on-air. “I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power and I realized that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show.”

On Wednesday, DeGeneres shared how she “hated the way the show ended” in 2022 after 19 seasons, saying what “happened to” her was “devastating,” per Entertainment Weekly.

Instead of dancing — DeGeneres’ trademark on the show — she was “crying,” she told the crowd. The comic went through a “hard time” and “didn’t get out” in the aftermath of the scandal. Portia de Rossi, DeGeneres’ wife, “was watching it happen to me … she went through it with me.”

Ultimately, DeGeneres said, “I’m making jokes about what happened to me, but it was devastating. It took a long time for me to want to do anything again.”