Ellen DeGeneres Can't Deny Her Downfall From Fame & Damaged Reputation Any Longer

Ellen DeGeneres' fall from grace was one of the biggest entertainment stories of the early 2020s. It all started back in 2020 itself, when crew members on DeGeneres' talk show levied numerous accusations against the host, claiming that she fostered a toxic work environment, and that her kindly on-camera persona was not always reflective of how she was behind the scenes. This all culminated in "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" going off the air in 2022, to say nothing of all the celebrities who have openly criticized DeGeneres. And though DeGeneres has since attempted to laugh off the scandal, reports claim that it's become almost impossible for DeGeneres to deny that her reputation has become severely damaged.

According to a source speaking to The National Enquirer in September 2025, the purpose of her and wife Portia de Rossi's move to the U.K. was to allow for the heat to continue to die down. Now, we do have to scrutinize this claim a little bit, as DeGeneres herself has stated that her move was prompted by Donald Trump's win in the 2024 election. That said, she and de Rossi had already planned to move overseas on a part-time basis, but that the election had simply made it a full-time thing. Nevertheless, The National Enquirer's source went on to claim that "it's an open secret that Ellen is champing at the bit to get her career back on track," and that DeGeneres had been reaching out to industry contacts. However, recent additions to the controversy allegedly make for a potential speedbump.

Though the bulk of the accusations regarding the behind-the-scenes culture of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" came out in 2020, additional alleged details have continued to trickle out since then. In late August 2025, an anonymous former "Ellen" cameraman speaking to the Daily Mail not only added to the list of grievances, but also potentially exposed a glaring red flag in DeGeneres' marriage to Portia de Rossi as it pertains to potential jealousy.

More specifically, the cameraman claimed that even exchanging friendly hellos with de Rossi could land crew members in hot water with DeGeneres. "You just hoped and prayed you weren't seated by her wife, so you didn't get her attention. You wanted to avoid looking into what we called the 'Ellen gaze.' If she stayed looking at you, that was bad," he said. The same source also claimed that DeGeneres banned celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay from her show after he had mocked her cooking.

According to the aforementioned source speaking to The National Enquirer in September 2025, the renewed controversy didn't go unnoticed by DeGeneres herself. "This has ignited the whole scandal again and it's hit Ellen like a ton of bricks," they said, adding, "She's smart enough to know it's a huge turnoff for anyone wanting to hire her. Ellen's now facing the harsh reality that she's never going to rebuild her reputation. Someone always seems to come crawling out the woodwork to dredge up the past."