Ellen DeGeneres says she ‘really misses being on TV’ and has ‘nothing going on’
Ellen DeGeneres (Getty Images)
Ellen DeGeneres has told The Graham Norton Show that she did not have much happening professionally and “really miss[es] being on tv”, as she reflected on her career after the fallout around her former talk show.
Speaking to Norton, the 68-year-old comedian said: “I’ve nothing really going on and I really miss being on TV. I miss a lot about it, laughing with the writers and the audience. I think about doing stuff here.”
DeGeneres also joked about the UK’s TV landscape, suggesting it is “pretty easy” to land a slot.
“I think it is pretty easy to get on TV here, you have a pottery show, you have a sewing show, and you even have a show about people watching TV shows!” she said.
Ellen DeGeneres on coming out
DeGeneres also spoke about her coming out and the different reactions she experienced in the US and the UK.
“In the US they were not very thrilled about my character or me coming out so for it to be celebrated in London was such an honour,” she told Norton. “To be treated that way when everyone else was done with me was extraordinary.”
DeGeneres came out publicly in 1997, and her sitcom Ellen featured a then-groundbreaking coming-out storyline for its lead character. She later hosted The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 19 seasons, becoming one of the defining faces of US daytime TV across the 2000s and 2010s.
She has been married to actor and producer Portia de Rossi since 2008.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show workplace allegations
In 2020, 10 former employees of The Ellen DeGeneres Show alleged a “toxic” on-set atmosphere involving “racism, fear, and intimidation”, and also alleged the show failed to address executives sexually harassing female employees.
DeGeneres later apologised to staff in a statement that read, in part: “Obviously, something changed, and I am disappointed to learn that this has not been the case. And for that, I am sorry.”
In 2021, DeGeneres said it “broke her heart” when former and current employees alleged the set of her show was a toxic workplace, as detailed.
The Graham Norton Show is airing on BBC One on Friday 16 October at 10.40pm, and will also be available on BBC iPlayer.
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