Ellen Degeneres’ latest comedy offering has already sparked a lot of conversation, and probably not for the reasons she was hoping.
On Tuesday, Netflix unveiled For Your Approval, Ellen’s newest stand-up comedy special, which she is billing as her last ever.
The special marks a major step back into the spotlight for Ellen after the much-publicised end of her talk show in 2022, following a BuzzFeed News report featuring the accounts of nearly a dozen former employees who accused the presenter of fostering a toxic work environment on the set of her eponymous daytime series.
In the report, Ellen and executives on the show were accused of regularly making inappropriate comments about employees’ race, firing staff for taking medical leave and creating a general culture of fear within the workplace.
And while Ellen does address the controversy throughout her special, people aren’t exactly impressed with the way the subject is handled.
For Your Approval opens with a perturbed-looking Ellen surrounded by negative tweets (as they were then known) about the allegations, with one clip that’s been viewed on X almost eight million times branding the set-up “ridiculous”.
It’s also been pointed out that the now-deleted tweet at the centre of the montage, inviting people to share “insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean”, obscures the fact that for each one, the original user offered to donate money to an LA food bank.
Early on in her set, Ellen jokes that she has been “kicked out of show business” since she last did a comedy special, which has also raised eyebrows, given the several deals that the award-winning comic still has in place.
Meanwhile, another moment from later on in the show sees Ellen responding to the allegations from behind the scenes of her talk show by agreeing that she’s “impatient”, “demanding”, “direct” and a “strong woman”.
This is met with a one-minute ovation from the audience of her special, which viewers watching clips on X found a little alarming.
Critics have also expressed similar sentiments to viewers on X in their reviews.
Variety claimed that Ellen “lets herself off the hook” in the “self-indulgent” special, describing For Your Appreciation as “a frustrating watch, and a bum note to go out on”.
“The problem with For Your Approval, aside from the fact that it is almost never funny, is that it feels so disingenuous, so calculated to rehabilitate an image and preserve that triumph for posterity,” Time lamented, while The Independent branded it “bizarre”, “self-pitying” and “unfunny”.
“For Your Approval renders DeGeneres an unimpeachable victim to an angry mob, her failings largely inconsequential, her imminent departure from the spotlight a tragedy,” the latter review added, claiming the comedian appears to have “truthfully learnt little” from the scandal.
More positive reviews, however, could be found in TheWrap (who said For Your Approval was “candid”, “funny” and “relatable”) and The Hollywood Reporter, who celebrated its “moments of sincerity and genuine reflection”.
Shortly after the BuzzFeed News report was published, Ellen said on air: “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 that were affected.”
“I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power, and I realise that with that comes responsibility. I take responsibility for what happens at my show.
“We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show, our workplace and what we want for the future, we have made the necessary changes and today we are starting a new chapter.”
However, a year later, she claimed: “I still don’t understand it. It was too orchestrated, it was too coordinated.”
Ellen Degeneres: For Your Approval is now streaming on Netflix.