Ellen DeGeneres: I moved to the UK because of Donald Trump
'We're staying here'
Ellen was one of the biggest names on US TV for 30 years, thanks to her daytime chat show, as well as her self-titled 1990s sitcom, for hosting the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys, and for voicing Dory in Finding Nemo.After her talk show was cancelled and a "final stand-up tour", she bought a house in the Cotswolds, a historic and picturesque area mainly spanning parts of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.On Sunday at the Everyman theatre in nearby Cheltenham, she was in conversation with broadcaster Richard Bacon, who asked whether reports that she moved because of Donald Trump were correct. "Yes," she replied.The 67-year-old said she and De Rossi had initially planned to spend three or four months a year in the UK and bought what they thought would be "a part-time house"."We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, 'He got in'," she said. "And we're like, 'We're staying here'."
Ellen has been giving glimpses of her new rural life on social media, in videos showing her farm animals including sheep - although they have now been sold after they kept escaping."It's absolutely beautiful," she said. "We're just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. The villages and the towns and the architecture - everything you see is charming and it's just a simpler way of life."It's clean. Everything here is just better - the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here."We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life. We love it here. Portia flew her horses here, and I have chickens, and we had sheep for about two weeks."
Being gay in Hollywood 'is still a problem'
On her last tour, she joked that she had been "kicked out of show business twice" - the first being when she came out as gay in 1997.That effectively led to the end of her sitcom after advertisers pulled out and the network stopped promoting it, she told the Cheltenham crowd on Sunday.Bacon asked whether her visibility had encouraged other people to come out. "I would say no," she replied. "I imagined a lot of people coming out like meerkats poking out of a hole and going back in again. 'How's she doing? OK, no, no.'"But it is "a really hard decision" that doesn't suit everyone, she continued, and that things are better today "in some ways"."If it was [better], all these other people that are actors and actresses that I know they're gay, they'd be out, but they're not, because it's still a problem. People are still scared."
Ellen also referenced a recent move by the Southern Baptist Convention to endorse the reversal of a Supreme Court case allowing same-sex marriage. At least nine state legislatures have introduced bills to do the same."The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage," she said. "They're trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it. And Portia and I are already looking into it. And if they do that, we're going to get married here."Later, in response to an audience question, she added: "I wish we were at a place where it was not scary for people to be who they are. I wish that we lived in a society where everybody could accept other people and their differences."So until we're there, I think there's a hard place to say we have huge progress."However, the younger generation are "more comfortable with it" and are "just kind of fluid", she added. "So I think the younger generation is going to show us the way."
'Does being blunt mean I'm mean?'
After some former workers on her talk show made allegations of a toxic workplace culture, the star - who ended every episode by telling viewers to "be kind to one another" - was dubbed as "mean" in the media.Following the scandal three producers were sacked amid allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment, and the final season of the show opened with DeGeneres giving an on-air apology.She addressed that in her 2024 tour and the accompanying Netflix stand-up special."No matter what, any article that came up, it was like, 'She's mean', and it's like, how do I deal with this without sounding like a victim or 'poor me' or complaining? But I wanted to address it."It's as simple as, I'm a direct person, and I'm very blunt, and I guess sometimes that means that... I'm mean?"
She also said it was "kind of crazy" that saying someone is mean "can be the worst thing that you say about a woman"."How dare us have any kind of mood, or you can't be anything other than nice and sweet and kind and submissive and complacent?"She added: "I don't think I can say anything that's ever going to get rid of that [reputation] or dispel it, which is hurtful to me. I hate it. I hate that people think that I'm that because I know who I am and I know that I'm an empathetic, compassionate person."It was "certainly an unpleasant way to end" her talk show, she said.
Would 'love' a British talk show
Ellen said she misses "a lot" about her show, but doesn't think a similar format would work any more. "I mean, I wish it did, because I would do the same thing here. I would love to do that again, but I just feel like people are watching on their phones, or people aren't really paying attention as much to televisions, because we're so inundated with with information and entertainment."She said she didn't know what she would do in the future, but would pick her next move "very carefully"."I just don't know what that is yet," she said. "I want to have fun, I want to do something. I do like my chickens but I'm a little bit bored."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Water bills are set to sky rocket despite shake-up to fix 'broken' system
Soaring bills may be here to stay despite a major shake-up of the water industry, the Environment Secretary admitted yesterday. Steve Reed is expected to unveil plans today to abolish industry regulator Ofwat as part of a 'revolution' designed to fix the 'broken' system. He said reforms would lead to sewage deposited in lakes and rivers being halved by 2030 – and pledged to quit if the target is not met. The package will also include the creation of a water ombudsman with legal powers to resolve disputes on behalf of customers. Mr Reed dropped heavy hints that he will scrap Ofwat when he unveils a report on the future of the water sector today. He said: 'The regulator is clearly failing. It's failed everybody. It's failed customers, we saw those huge bill rises. It's failed the environment, we see the state of iconic lakes, like Windermere, beaches like the beach of Bournemouth.' But Mr Reed refused three times to rule out future above-inflation increases in water bills, which are already set to rise by an average of 36 per cent by 2030 to 'fund improvements'. He said the Government had 'secured' a record £104billion of private sector investment to help fix leaking pipes, build reservoirs and cut sewage discharges. But he claimed he was 'furious' about the huge bill increases which will pay for it and wanted to see costs kept 'as low as possible'. The future of the water sector report is also expected to recommend 'social tariffs' for people on low incomes. The subsidies would be funded by high charges on middle-class families. Tory housing spokesman Kevin Hollinrake warned against the idea. He said families were 'already facing soaring water bills under Labour... We can't just keep increasing taxes and charges'.
The Sun
36 minutes ago
- The Sun
Love Island's Lucy reveals truth behind voicenote as she admits she DID send message to ex pal
LOVE Island's Lucy has finally revealed the truth behind the mystery voicenote that exposed her as a "gameplayer". The Sun revealed last week a 37-second recording, where she plots to couple with popular Tommy Bradley as a surefire way to make the final. 3 3 Tommy and Lucy were savagely dumped from the villa last Monday. The pair joined Maya Jama on Love Island Aftersun tonight to address the infamous voicenote that has gone viral on social media. Lucy explained: "So obviously, like, we've probably all done it... sent voicenotes to friends and obviously I really did trust that friend and with the Tommy situation, I was obviously saying he's a very nice boy and that's why I wanted to get to know him. "I did say till the end, but it weren't the final, I meant the end... I would like to be with him in the future. "Someone with really good morals and also before going on the show, my dad did say to me he's the kind of boy he'd like me to bring home because he's very respectful." The Liverpudlian then apologised for her "rude" comments about Megan after she branded her a "f**king little slapper". Lucy continued: "Obviously to talk about Megan as well, I should never have commented on someone I'd never met before, so I do really apologise about that because I'm not that type of girl and it was very rude of me to do that as well." Tommy then tried to defend Lucy following the backlash she's since received. He told Maya: "You said as well, at the time, we're all just characters on the screen to her. "I know you were very excited to be going on one of the biggest reality show's in the country... emotions were high and you were speaking to one of your close friends. Watch Love Island Helena's fuming reaction as Harry rates ex Emma's kiss better than hers in saucy challenge "I think it's been blown out of proportion a little bit because I've said things to my friends in group chats, which if got leaked, it might have made me look like a bad person, but it's just to your mate, you never expect everyone to listen to it." Maya insisted: "That's definitely not a good friend, I hope you blocked her after that." Lucy admitted she's no longer pals with the person who leaked it. The voice note, which was revealed last Friday, said: "I've got a phone call today by the way, saying they want to fly me out on Tuesday or Monday. "So they said to me on Sunday they'll let me know for 100 percent, but looks like I'm f**king going on one of those days. So they were like, get your stuff packed basically. "I was like, I'm already packed love. They asked me for my top three boys. "I said, Tommy, I want Tommy. I feel like if I'm with Tommy I feel like I'll get all the way to the end. "Because everyone loves him. I don't know if you've been watching it but that Megan's being sent home and I'm f**king made up. "And she's being sent home because of the way she's treated Tommy. "And do you know what, I'm made up that I've been watching it because I know how to act. "Because she's being a f**king little slapper in there. "The public have voted her out. So I just need to be left a nice girl and just f**king stick with Tommy." Irish beauty Megan Forte Clarke was axed after her love triangle with Conor Phillips and Tommy led her to be voted one of the three least popular girls by the public. The contestants then chose to evict her, along with Remell Mullins as the least popular boy. After Casa Amor, Lucy walked into the main villa holding hands with smitten Tommy, who dumped Emily Moran to be with her. Emily was left shell-shocked having stayed loyal to Tommy and given a heartfelt speech in which she said she couldn't wait to see him. Tommy told the gathered Islanders how he had a better connection with Lucy; the pair had spent the past few days glued together sharing lots of kisses. Sheepish Lucy admitted it was difficult entering the villa in such a "s****y situation". When host Maya Jama told the group that Emily was dumped from the Island. 3
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
England players want stronger action from FA over racist abuse of Jess Carter
If the Jess Carter story sounds dismally familiar, a further problem is how it affects everyone in different ways. There is a lot of deep emotion around the England camp, since so many could relate to a case of yet more racist abuse. That is why the group came together, driven by some infuriated players, to tackle this head on. A core of the squad did not want to just write this off as more social media abuse you have to accept. They were adamant. Even before you get to the bigger issue, Carter is a popular player, who they felt defensive of. The 27-year-old first decided to discuss it publicly, and state she's taking a 'step back from social media'. The group meanwhile want more from football's authorities, including the Football Association. Lotte Wubben-Moy announced she 'will not continue to feed the very platforms that enable this abuse with no consequence'. The next step, however, is to take a proper stand. Literally. The England squad will not take the knee before the semi-final against Italy, having done so before every game so far. Lucy Bronze did the press conference just after the developments were announced, and laid out the squad's rationale in detail. 'I think it was just the fact that we feel as a collective, is the message as strong as it used to be? Is the message really hitting hard? Because to us it feels like it's not if these things are still happening to our players in the biggest tournaments of their lives. 'It's about putting another statement out there to say, you know, it's something that still is a problem, it's something that still needs to be put right.' It only sums up the many layers to this. Some of the previous detractors of taking the knee will use it as proof that it never worked, and was all a pointless gesture in a culture war. That is nonsense. It is also far from the squad's point, of course, as Bronze herself argued. 'I think there has been change," the defender said. "I think more change needs to happen.' It is obvious there is much more awareness of this, which has led to more action, certainly in stadiums. Even if some people are persuaded, or some people see a viewpoint they hadn't considered before, it has worked. It's just no longer enough. 'A problem,' as Bronze said, 'is that as the game grows and everything grows in football and in life, as much as there might be change, there becomes more outlets for the abuse or the racism as well. That's something that's hard to strike the balance with. "People are more educated, there are more places to speak out, to have a platform, there are more changes happening, there are small changes, you see people being held accountable, whether that's online, in stadiums. 'You do see bans happening. It's just not enough. That's the point. Not enough is being done. There are small changes being made. If you look back 100 years to 50 years to 20 years to 10 years, there's always small steps forward. 'But that's the problem. It's always a small step. We don't want it to be small steps anymore. We want it to be: this is happening, there is change, and this is unacceptable. 'There are no more small steps, because we get to the point it's where it should be in the world, and especially in the world of football, footballers it feels like there can be a place where we can control abuse online, especially racism online, because everything's monitored online, so it just doesn't make sense to us.' Such stridency is admirable, and is in-keeping with this team's legacy for social action, alongside their football success. The very fact England are going so big, however, is also where it gets much more complicated. Really, 'the knee' has become normalised in abnormal times. The world has taken an authoritarian turn, where views recently considered totally unacceptable are now uttered all the time. There is even a disconcerting discussion to be had over how much the men's game has enabled this, given its propensity for toxic tribalism, and how it has been propelled around the planet hand in hand with social media. Online, the circumstances are very different to when this issue first truly exploded with the men's Euro 2020 final in July 2021. Elon Musk has bought Twitter/X, with multiple studies indicating that racist abuse and hate speech has risen on the platform. That has been linked to Donald Trump's re-election, which subsequently saw Mark Zuckerberg's Meta announce a series of moderation changes. In other words, good luck getting the social media companies to do something meaningful. They have recently thrived off people feeling they can say whatever they want. There's then the point that Bronze made herself, that the bigger the women's game gets, the more exposed they are to this critical mass of disparate views. Or, almost as bad, to some teenager who just poyts something vile simply because he can. One of the individuals jailed for a post to Marcus Rashford after the Euro 2020 final was a 19-year-old whose solicitor said he was 'ashamed and embarrassed' but that living with a single-parent mother and only working two days a week left him 'with a lot of time on his hands'. It's difficult to know what one football team can do in that kind of world, no matter how well-intentioned. There's a danger you just keep saying the same things. This very article falls into that trap. Even if police make arrests, as Bronze and the squad implored, it's like whack-a-mole. That's why figures such as Wubben-Moy are advocating for different approaches. Her own - final - social media post has certainly given everyone else something to think about. Should the FA be following suit and coming off social media? To make a stand to go with the players? Such authorities can't do much about that wider context, but they can control how they engage with it. It might be a dismally familiar story, but the squad now want different responses.
