Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval Isn't the Apology We Hoped For

Why Ellen DeGeneres' Netflix Special "For Your Approval" Missed the Mark

So, Ellen DeGeneres is back on stage, but this time it’s not what we’re used to. After all the controversies and backlash surrounding her show’s toxic work environment, you’d think her latest Netflix special, Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, would be her moment to come clean, give us something deep, or at least crack jokes with some serious self-awareness. Instead? It’s kind of a letdown.

If you were living under a rock in the last few years, let me catch you up. Ellen was the face of daytime TV for 19 seasons, spreading the message of "Be kind to one another" at the end of each show. But behind the scenes? Not so much. Reports surfaced about a toxic work environment, including claims of racism, sexual harassment, and just plain cruelty. Ellen herself was accused of contributing to a toxic culture, and it was a huge deal. This wasn’t some minor celebrity drama—this was one of the biggest names in entertainment being called out for behavior that went completely against the image she’d carefully crafted over two decades.

The backlash was swift. Ellen was labeled a hypocrite. People who once adored her for being a trailblazer (remember when she courageously came out on national TV in the ‘90s?) now saw her in a totally different light. And honestly, when you’re telling millions of people to be nice while allegedly treating your staff like garbage, it’s not hard to see why people felt betrayed. Eventually, her talk show came to a close in 2021 after 19 years on the air, and it felt like the end of an era—but not in the way anyone expected.

Fast forward to 2024, and here we are with Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval. First off, the title itself is ironic. Ellen built her career on being the relatable, funny, “nice” comedian who didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of her. Now, it feels like she’s fishing for validation in all the wrong ways.

The stand-up special kicks off with Ellen diving into light, pretty basic observational humor—think jokes about chickens and car warning lights. The material feels old school, almost like she’s stuck in the ‘90s, a weirdly nostalgic throwback to when Ellen was killing it as a stand-up comic before she became a daytime TV queen. It’s fine for a bit, but you’re left wondering when she’s going to address the elephant in the room—her fall from grace, the allegations, the end of The Ellen Show.

Then finally, she does. Sort of.

Ellen DeGeneres’ latest stand-up special, For Your Approval, could have been a moment of reckoning, but instead, it’s a half-baked attempt to reclaim public favor. While she briefly touches on the controversies surrounding her alleged toxic behavior, her approach is more about deflection than accountability. Rather than offering a heartfelt reflection or genuine apology, DeGeneres leans on tired jokes and self-pity. It's disappointing to see a comedian once known for breaking barriers now struggle to address her own role in her downfall, leaving viewers with more questions than laughs.

Ellen eventually circles around to the controversy, and for a minute, it feels like she might really dive in and give us something real. But instead of owning up to what happened or offering any real reflection, she gives us a bunch of half-baked excuses. She talks about how she was an immature boss because she didn’t like being bossed around herself, how she was just trying to have fun when she’d scare her staff as a “prank,” and how OCD made her hard to work with. It all comes off as defensive, like she’s trying to justify why she wasn’t the “nice” boss everyone expected her to be.

One of the most cringeworthy moments is when she starts tallying the ways she wasn’t that bad. She mentions how 16 people came out of the closet during her show’s run, as if that somehow balances out the accusations of racism and harassment. And let’s not forget the classic, "This wouldn’t happen to a man." Yeah, Ellen goes there. It’s as if she’s saying she’s being unfairly singled out because she’s a woman in power. But here’s the thing: no one’s asking for Ellen to be perfect or even to apologize if she doesn’t believe she did anything wrong. But as a viewer, you at least want her to address the reality of the situation with some level of depth or accountability.

Instead, what we get feels more like a list of reasons why we should feel sorry for her, rather than any acknowledgment of why her employees—or her audience, for that matter—felt hurt or disappointed by her behavior. And it’s not just about the controversy. The jokes surrounding it just aren’t funny enough to carry the weight of what she’s talking about. The punchlines fall flat, and the awkwardness of Ellen dancing around the truth is palpable.

Now, don’t get me wrong—Ellen is an incredibly talented comedian. She knows how to deliver a line, and she still has that charm that made her a household name. There are moments in the special where her old comedic brilliance shines through, especially if you’re into jokes about chickens and animals (she really loves chickens, guys). But those moments are few and far between, and they don’t do enough to overshadow the fact that Ellen never really faces the music.

Look, it’s not like anyone expected Ellen to get up there and give us a teary-eyed apology for her behavior. That’s not what stand-up is for, and honestly, a lot of us aren’t looking for that. But what makes it worse is seeing other comedians—especially female stand-ups—take their own personal struggles and turn them into moments of vulnerability, strength, and yes, comedy. Tig Notaro’s set about her breast cancer diagnosis, Hannah Gadsby’s shows about identity and trauma, or Amy Schumer’s raw discussions on difficult pregnancies—these are all examples of comedians using their platform to address real-life issues in ways that resonate with audiences. They go deep, they get real, and they’re still funny.

With Ellen, it feels like she’s missed that opportunity. Instead of taking what happened and turning it into something insightful, meaningful, or even just hilarious, she just dances around it, trying to make it seem like she’s the one who got the short end of the stick. And honestly? That’s a waste of her platform and her talent.

In the end, For Your Approval isn’t a comeback. It’s a soft exit. Ellen may say she doesn’t care what people think of her anymore, but the very nature of this special suggests otherwise. It’s as if she’s looking for one last chance to rewrite the narrative on her terms, but she doesn’t quite succeed.

Maybe this really is the last time we’ll see Ellen on stage, and maybe that’s for the best. She’s had an incredible career, and she paved the way for a lot of important conversations about LGBTQ+ rights and representation. But in this moment, she’s lost in the middle—stuck between the Ellen we adored and the one we’re not quite sure about anymore.

If this is truly her last act, it’s a weirdly anticlimactic one. But hey, if Ellen’s happy tending to her chickens and hanging out with Portia de Rossi, more power to her. For the rest of us, we’ll just have to move on.

Stay connected for more takes on today’s biggest cultural moments right here at Woke Waves Magazine.

#EllenDeGeneres #ComedySpecial #ForYourApproval #CancelCulture #Netflix