Andrew Schulz hits back at Ellen DeGeneres’ retirement: “The facade is over”
YouTube: Flagrant 2 Clips / TheEllenShowPopular comedian Andrew Schulz slammed Ellen DeGeneres’ explanation for ending The Ellen DeGeneres Show during the Flagrant 2 podcast. The Instagram star argued that she was forced to retire based on public opinion – not by her own choice.
In May, Ellen DeGeneres announced that she was ending her daytime show after 18 years. The decision came in the wake of the 63-year-old being rocked with a wave of allegations from co-workers and guests that claimed she perpetuated a toxic workplace environment. Despite the controversy, she insists she made the decision to retire because her job was no longer “challenging.”
One person not buying her statement, however, is stand-up comic Andrew Schulz. During his May 18 podcast, the Instagram star called out DeGeneres and claimed her explanation was “odd” and “un-self-aware.” The popular comedian also argued that The Ellen Show was ending due to how viewers now perceived her.
YouTube: Flagrant 2 ClipsAndrew Schulz on Ellen DeGeneres’ retirement
DeGeneres’ retirement statement came under fire during an episode of Flagrant 2 after the podcast reacted to her explanation that she was quitting due to The Ellen Show no longer being “challenging” for her. Responding, host Schulz said, “What an odd, completely un-self-aware reaction.”
The stand-up comic explained that he thought Ellen was being forced to retire after viewers discovered her on-show personality was not entirely real: “That’s not the reason you don’t have a show anymore. Right? The façade is over. Like people know that you aren’t nice.”
The 37-year old then went on to add, “They found out you were playing a character. That’s why it’s over. You didn’t really make the decision. The people made the decision.” He then said that maybe her challenge all along was to try to get her own show canceled. “What if she wanted that show to tank this whole time? And now that it finally is, she’s like “this isn’t a challenge” I finally did it.”
He then cracked a joke about claims that DeGeneres was “unpleasant” to work for. “I would just scare people every episode. They kept coming on. I make people dance in the audience. I’m an a**hole to everybody. Some guy was eating a tuna sandwich and I fired him. I said nobody can eat tuna on the whole show. I was the worst boss ever. The ratings kept going up up up,” he joked.
The Flagrant 2 podcast was one of the first places to put a major spotlight on The Ellen Show allegations from current and past employees. After the story went viral in 2020, the daytime host came under intense scrutiny. While she maintains she is retiring on her own decision, critics such as Andrew Schulz believe public perception played a much larger role in her stepping down.