#SHOWBIZ: Ellen DeGeneres on UK move: 'Life is just better here' following Trump re-election

New Straits Times

4 days ago

CHELTENHAM: Veteran American TV personality Ellen DeGeneres has made her inaugural public appearance in the UK, revealing that her decision to relocate to England was directly prompted by Donald Trump's re-election as US president.
Speaking to an audience in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, the comedian and host declared that life across the pond "is just better."
DeGeneres, 67, shared that she and her wife, Portia de Rossi, are contemplating a renewed marriage ceremony in England.
This consideration comes in light of recent legislative efforts in the US to roll back LGBTQ+ rights, a situation that, according to DeGeneres, can still make America "scary for people to be who they are."
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During her conversation with broadcaster Richard Bacon at the Everyman Theatre, DeGeneres also addressed the allegations of a toxic workplace environment that ultimately led to the conclusion of her long-running chat show in 2022.
While admitting she could be "very blunt," she largely dismissed the claims as mere "clickbait."
A prominent figure in US TV for three decades, DeGeneres is known for her daytime talk show, a self-titled 1990s sitcom, and her roles as host of the Oscars, Grammys, and Emmys, as well as voicing Dory in Disney's Finding Nemo.
After her talk show's cancellation, she embarked on a "final stand-up tour" in the US in 2024 before purchasing a property in the picturesque Cotswolds.
DeGeneres clarified that she and de Rossi initially intended to spend only three to four months annually in the UK, acquiring what they believed would be a "part-time house."
However, their plans drastically shifted. "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'."
Since their November move, DeGeneres has offered glimpses of her new rural lifestyle on social media, sharing videos of her farm animals, which included sheep that have since been sold because they kept escaping.
"It's absolutely beautiful," she said about her new home.
"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, and people are polite."