Ellen DeGeneres wouldn’t be the first celebrity to announce retirement from the spotlight — whether or not she’ll actually walk away is the real question.
The comedian/actor/long-time TV host said during a recent standup date in California that she plans on being ‘done’ with showbusiness as soon as her Netflix special drops later this year, according to a report by SFGATE. If that’s not enough, her recent comedy tour is called “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up.”
“Thank you for still caring! Let me catch you up on what’s been going on with me since you last saw me. I got chickens,” she reportedly told the audience in Santa Rosa on July 1. “Oh yeah, and I got kicked out of show business for being mean.”
HOLLYWOOD, CA – MARCH 02: HANDOUT – EDITORIAL USE ONLY – In this handout photo provided by Ellen DeGeneres, host Ellen DeGeneres poses for a selfie taken by Bradley Cooper with (clockwise from L-R) Jared Leto, Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o, Angelina Jolie, Peter Nyong’o Jr. and Bradley Cooper during the 86th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo credit Ellen DeGeneres/Twitter via Getty Images) 
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 17:(L-R) Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are seen as RH Celebrates The Unveiling of RH San Francisco, The Gallery at the Historic Bethlehem Steel Building on March 17, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for RH) 
FILE – In this photo released by Warner Bros., talk show host Ellen DeGeneres embraces Stephen “tWitch” Boss during a taping of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif. Boss, a longtime DJ and co-executive producer on the talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and former contestant on the dance competition show, “So You Can Think You Can Dance” has died at the age of 40. (Photo by Michael Rozman/Warner Bros., File) 
Ellen Degeneres poses in the press room during the People’s Choice Awards on January 18, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) 
FILE – Ellen DeGeneres arrives at the 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 21, 2015. DeGeneres said she has tested positive for COVID-19 but is “feeling fine right now.” The producer of her daytime talk show says production has been put on hold until January. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
The 66-year-old, whose “Ellen DeGeneres Show” wrapped up in 2022 after 19 years, made it clear she doesn’t see herself as “mean” — a complaint waged against her by various employees back in 2020 — but did admit to being demanding and impatient.
“I am many things, but I am not mean,” she said.
She said she wanted to go out on her own terms, explaining her side of things and what she’s learned, but also continuing to make people laugh.
“I used to say, ‘I don’t care what people say about me,” DeGeneres said. “Now, I realize I said that during the height of my popularity.”
An official date for the Netflix comedy special has not been released.
