Host Ellen DeGeneres, accused of racism and workplace harassment, confirms she moved to U.K. because of Trump's win

Host Ellen DeGeneres, comedian and former host of one of the most popular talk shows on U.S. television, confirmed in an interview that she decided to move permanently to the United Kingdom following the re-election of President Donald Trump in November 2024.

The decision, he explained, was motivated by his dissatisfaction with the political and social direction of the United States.

"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.’ And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here,'" DeGeneres said during a live chat with British host Richard Bacon at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham.

The host, who fell into ostracism following public allegations of racism, workplace mistreatment, and fostering a toxic culture on her show—allegations that culminated in the end of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2022 after 19 seasons—charged against the U.S. on the grounds that "everything is just better" in the U.K.

"It’s clean. Everything here is just better—the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here," said the American presenter, who settled in the U.K. with her wife, actress Portia de Rossi.

In the interview, DeGeneres also said there is a backlash against LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. She gave as an example the Southern Baptist Church, which at its last convention voted to reverse the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.

“The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage,” DeGeneres said. “They’re trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it. Portia and I are already looking into it, and if they do that, we’re going to get married here.” 

Finally, responding to her controversial record as a TV personality, DeGeneres again attempted to defend herself against accusations of mistreatment and her alleged authoritarian persona. “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 said.

"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," she concluded.