Entertainment TV Ellen DeGeneres Says Her Car 'Rolled' Backwards Down a Hill Hours Before Going on Johnny Carson Ellen DeGeneres found herself chasing her car down a hill hours before going on national television By Jodi Guglielmi Jodi Guglielmi Instagram Twitter Writer-Reporter, PEOPLE People Editorial Guidelines Published on May 28, 2019 11:00 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Ellen DeGeneres knows the importance of not sweating the small stuff. In an exclusive sneak peek from DeGeneres’ upcoming appearance on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, she recalls the stressful hours leading up to her first performance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1986. “I was so nervous because I had time to really think about it,” she says of being booked on the show. “I went to a store on Melrose to get something and I go inside and I come out — this is the day of that I’m going to Carson — and my car is gone.” DeGeneres says she forgot to put the emergency brake on the car, causing it to roll backward. “I’m like ‘Oh my god my car got stolen’ but then I hear horns honking,” she says. “It had rolled all the way down.” “It’s just rolling and I’m running after the car,” she adds. “That was the day of Carson.” Michael Rozman/Warner Bros. Kanye West to Discuss Bipolar Disorder in David Letterman’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction But luckily, DeGeneres was able to leave the stress of the day behind her during her appearance on The Tonight Show. She made history when she was the first female comedian Carson ever invited to sit on his coveted couch. The appearance kickstarted her stand-up career and eventually helped lead to her hit sitcom and eventual daytime talk show. DeGeneres is one of Letterman’s high-profile guests on the sophomore season of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Kanye West, Tiffany Haddish, Melinda Gates and Formula 1 racer Lewis Hamilton are also set to appear on the show. My Next Guest Needs No Introduction launches May 31 on Netflix.