NEWSEllen DeGeneres Tests Positive For COVID-19, Says She's Taking Holiday Hiatus
Dec. 10 2020, Updated 3:52 p.m. ET
This is just not Ellen DeGeneres’ year! The talk show host, 62, revealed she has tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, December 10.
"Hi Everyone, I want to let you all know that I tested positive for Covid-19,” she wrote in a note on Twitter. “Fortunately, I’m feeling fine right now. Anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified, and I am following all proper CDC guidelines. I’ll see you all again after the holidays. Please stay healthy and safe. Love, Ellen.”
Of course, people instantly took to the comments section to send well-wishes to the comedian. One person wrote, "Feel better, @TheEllenShow! Like Dory, just keep swimming!" while another echoed, "So sorry to hear this. Please take care of yourself. We need you in our lives. I hope your case is mild. Mine was brutal. Looking forward to your return, when you are ready." A third user added, "2020 has been a bad year for all of us but a particularly hard one for you Ellen sheesh! Get better and I will say a prayer for you."
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Over the summer, staffers on the daytime show came forward and claimed the set was a horrible place to work. The Finding Dory star responded to the accusations and said she was "starting a new chapter."
However, it seems like DeGeneres can't catch a break since employees are saying they're losing advertisers, celebrity bookings and viewers following the scandal.
“I wouldn’t set up anyone on her show right now to do anything that could possibly cause them more negative headlines,” one publicist told BuzzFeed News. “You have to tread so carefully with your clients and your clients’ reputations, so you don't want to put your client in any line of fire sympathizing with someone that any community or anyone would feel bad about. We’re not going to align anyone with Ellen.”
“The feedback we’ve been getting is that Ellen is no longer a first choice for talent,” another publicist told the outlet. “It’s not unique to one person. We’ve received feedback from other publicists as well as talent. Nobody likes feeling this emotional betrayal from someone who literally built a brand on niceness. Getting over that hump is a much bigger hurdle.”
But a source close to the show said "the show is fully booked."
"That’s even more remarkable because as you know, there are no movies opening, there are no concerts being had, there are no TV events or premieres,” the source said. “So the whole talk show circuit that these major celebrities do is not happening.”
A current employee also revealed that they've lost sponsors recently, too. “We’re trying to be a content house, but we have no content,” the employee said.
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“In a typical year, ‘12 Days of Giveaways’ is huge. We’ve basically claimed Christmas on daytime TV. When you think of Christmas on TV, you think of The Ellen Show,” a current employee said. “Everyone wants to be in the audience. Everyone wants the gifts. And so we line up all these crazy sponsors, and people love it. But this year, our ‘12 Days’ is more condensed. We don’t have as many sponsors.”
