Ellen DeGeneres cancels four stand-up tour dates with no explanation

Comedian and former chat show host Ellen DeGeneres has cancelled four dates on her stand-up tour.

“Unfortunately, the event organiser has had to cancel your event,” reads a note on Ticketmaster‘s website, listing shows in Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago as the ones affected.

It’s currently unclear why those dates have been cancelled as other performances in those cities are still going ahead. The tour is currently scheduled to run until August 17.

The stand-up tour marks her return to the spotlight two years after the cancellation of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, after employees accused executives of fostering a “toxic workplace” environment, alleging incidents of sexual misconduct, racism and bullying.

DeGeneres, who was shocked by the claims at the time, recently addressed the show’s cancellation during one of her stand-up performances.

The comic told the Los Angeles crowd she had been doing a lot of gardening since the show ended. “What else can I tell you?,” she added. “Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business. There’s no mean people in show business.”

“This is the second time I’ve been kicked out of show business,” she said. “Eventually they’re going to kick me out for a third time because I’m mean, old and gay. It’s been such a toll on my ego and my self-esteem. There’s such extremes in this business, people either love you and idolise you or they hate you, and those people somehow are louder.”

Later, after the stand-up routine, Ellen answered questions from the audience and elaborated on the process of the show’s cancellation: “This was a whole different thing. This was like, ‘What is going on?’ It was so hurtful. I couldn’t gain perspective. I couldn’t do anything to make myself understand that it wasn’t personal,” she continued.

“I just thought, ‘Well this is not the way I wanted to end my career, but this is the way it’s ending.’ I just hated the way the show ended,” she shared. “I love that show so much and I just hated that the last time people would see me is that way.”

Elsewhere during the stand-up routine, DeGeneres spoke about how the scandal had impacted her marriage. DeGeneres, who maintained that she was unaware of the show’s toxic work environment, issued an apology shortly after the accusations became public. “Things happened here that should never have happened,” she told her audience at the time.

A year after her show came to an end, the comedian claimed that the press coverage surrounding the story was “misogynistic”.

The post Ellen DeGeneres cancels four stand-up tour dates with no explanation appeared first on NME.