By G. Mudalige, Jadetimes News
Over the past four decades, Ellen DeGeneres has forged the kind of career that earns one legendary status in the halls of stand-up comedy, while breaking barriers as a sitcom star, daytime talk show host, and queer icon. Still, her reputation as the "Queen of Nice" took a major hit in 2020: first, with revelations from former employees that she was a boss from hell. Her recent tour, Ellen's Last Stand … Up actually billed itself as a career-capping affair—an attempt for DeGeneres to make amends and solidify that legacy. Playing to a friendly, packed house, she had sold out all 23 performances since her debut on June 19. The real test of her legacy will come when the performance is released later this year as a Netflix special.
Outside the Minneapolis Orpheum Theatre, where Saturday night represented the final stop on the tour, the air was buzzing. A largely white crowd of upper-middle-aged people hung out under a marquee that blinked "ELLEN DEGENERES / SOLD OUT." Two religious protesters—a common enough sight in reaction to DeGeneres's work since the 1990s—held their signs and hollered some furious pronouncements to somewhat dampen the pre-show buzz. Inside, peoples' phones and Fitbits were locked away in Yondr bags, symbolically sealing off the importance of what was about to go down.
As the lights faded, comedian Tom Riles emerged—an ex-Ellen Show warm-up act. Riles set the tone for the evening with bits about his time working for DeGeneres, including stories, kudos for Lizzo, and getting the audience on its feet to dance. This sort of energetic outreach got the crowd in the mood for DeGeneres.
DeGeneres received a long-standing ovation when she walked onstage, and her last hour on the stage was speckled with many ovations as well. The crowd was rapt, applauding often, even on bits that in most comedians' hands might seem pedestrian, like an extended bit about restaurant menus.
DeGeneres addressed her various controversies—most notably, the 2020 BuzzFeed News exposé that detailed a toxic work environment at her show, and her alleged mean girl behavior—by admitting she is "a lot" of the things people say about her, though she stopped short of directly addressing the accusations of misconduct. No, she said, she never really tried to think about the people she stepped on on her way up.
The end of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and that BuzzFeed exposé were followed by schadenfreude and public scrutiny in equal measure, but they might just not have been enough to tarnish her legacy for good. If anything, the last show she hosted indicated that fans love her no matter what. She thanked everyone for letting her make jokes out of some of her past misfortunes, and from what could be seen, a good number of them were moved by the farewell.
The fact that DeGeneres and her character were outed more than 27 years ago, with the protests against her television shows continuing in 2024, makes the kind of impact that she had on American culture truly profound. Her final tour solidified her place in the hearts of many while facing large challenges in her career.
