During her first show back on the air in 2021, Ellen DeGeneres talked candidly about her struggle with COVID-19.
After contracting the fatal illness in December, which caused The Ellen DeGeneres Show to halt production early, the daytime talk show host openly (and somewhat humorously) described her experience.
“Obviously, there are a lot of negative things going on, so instead I want to talk about something positive — my COVID test,” DeGeneres said at the beginning of her program on Wednesday.
“I was getting ready to tape the show… I was in hair and makeup… and then my assistant Craig walks in and says, ‘You tested positive for COVID’—and then everyone around me ran away,” DeGeneres said. “They ran. Some haven’t come back since.”
According to DeGeneres, she told everyone she had been in contact with and left the studio right away.
“I had to quarantine and Portia [de Rossi] made me sleep in a different room, on a different bed, because she wanted the racecar bed all to herself,” she explained.
DeGeneres then detailed her battle with the virus, noting she slept 16 hours a day for the first three days. “Then on the fourth day I woke up with back spasms, and I thought I pulled a muscle because I was in a different bed, but it just persisted and the doctor put me on pain pills and muscle relaxers—hijack, this thing is finally paying off. But the pain pills did not help. My back got worse. It felt like I cracked a rib … the doctors finally put me on a steroid pack, because the other stuff was not working, but here’s the thing about steroids: They make you really speedy and really edgy… I’m still on them, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I find the muscle relaxers helpful.”
DeGeneres noted her surprise that back pain was a symptom of COVID and, as many others have discovered, some people with COVID only have a single symptom. “That was my only symptom. I didn’t have a headache, I didn’t have fever, and I didn’t lose my sense of taste—although I did wear Crocs with socks for a day, so you be the judge.”
DeGeneres concluded by noting she’s feeling recovered and “is very blessed,” though added she still doesn’t know how she contracted it. “I wear a mask. I wash my hands. I only lick three or four door handles. So it’s a mystery to me.”
After a turbulent year for the talk show host, The Ellen DeGeneres Show has returned. From being a daytime queen with the motto “be kind” to being demonized, especially on social media, DeGeneres changed her image throughout the summer of 2020. Numerous workers and others charged the innovative host with creating a hostile workplace, citing claims of racism, sexual misbehavior, and a “culture of fear.” Following a probe by studio Warner Bros., three producers left the program, and DeGeneres apologized publicly both before and after the premiere of her 18th season last September.
“I learned that things happened here that never should have happened,” she told her audience during her season premiere. “I take that very seriously. And I want to say, I am so sorry to the people who were affected. I know that I’m in a position of privilege and power. I realized that with that comes responsibility, and I take responsibility for what happens at my show. This is The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I am Ellen DeGeneres. My name is there. My name is there. My name is on underwear. We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show, our workplace, and what we want for the future. We have made the necessary changes. And today we are starting a new chapter.”
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