Harvey Weinstein played his ace in the hole when the media finally caught up with his sexual assaults.
The Democratic bundler vowed to make a movie eviscerating the gun lobby after the 2017 New York Times expose broke. Surely that would buy him some grace from journalists, he hoped.
Nope. He went from the King of Hollywood to just another prison inmate.
Ellen DeGeneres’ transgressions were far from anything Weinstein did. The affable comic oversaw a toxic work environment at her hit “Ellen” talk show. She was distant, detached and downright mean, her growing legion of critics cried.
The ratings for “Ellen” sank. Her 19-year run came to an end in 2022.
Now, DeGeneres is back via Netflix’s “For Your Approval.” The stand-up special finds her riffing on everyday frustrations, from getting older to parallel parking. It also let DeGeneres address fans befuddled by her fall from grace.
How could this kindhearted soul who danced her way into our hearts have been such a bully?
DeGeneres spends an hour-plus dodging the question in between damage control riffs. She played the kind of Victim Cards that journalists typically adore.
She’s gay! She’s a woman! She’s getting older! She’s a strong, empowered woman who struck a blow against The PatriarchyTM!
Surely liberal journalists would rally to her side. Heck, she might even get new job offers from the positive press.
Not quite.
The media’s collective response has been near universal. She did what many forces can’t manage in 2024. She united the Left and the Right. Both found her comedian spin job less than enthralling.
SiriusXM superstar Megyn Kelly mocked DeGeneres for playing the victim. This critic did the same while acknowledging DeGeneres’ brave, ’90s era stand for gay rights.
Liberal news sites gave her Extreme Career Makeover a failing grade.
Slate let DeGeneres have it with both barrels. “In her new Netflix special, DeGeneres seeks the audience’s approval. She does nothing to earn it.”
Ouch. It gets worse.
“Kicked me out before ’cause I told them I was gay. … Eventually, they’re gonna kick me out a third time for being old. Mean, old, and gay. The Triple Crown.” For DeGeneres to liken her failure to provide a safe and equitable work environment with homophobia and ageism displays an astonishing lack of understanding. And it certainly isn’t funny.
The Guardian dubbed the special “shameless.”
You can’t help but admire the chutzpah when the 66-year-old brackets her recent excommunication with the one she suffered when she came out as gay, 23 years earlier – as if these were analogous experiences of heroic persecution.
Variety followed a similar path, calling the special akin to “being stuck on a ride with someone who lives within her own mythology.”
Time Magazine calls DeGeneres out for framing her ignominious exit as a feminist victory.
For DeGeneres, the whole debacle is really about learning not to care what people think; she used to get Botox and fillers, for instance, and now she’s au naturale. This is the first hint that she is, God help us, spinning her non-cancellation as a feminist issue.
PR types would dub that a lose-lose.
DeGeneres has called “For Your Approval” her “final” stand-up special. Retirement promises have a short shelf life in Hollywood. She’s entitled to hit the road anew and connect with the same type of fans who clapped until their hands practically bled in the Netflix special.
She’ll always have Ellen Nation. The corporate media? Not so much.
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