Ellen DeGeneres' Unlucky Streak Continues After UK Move With Fresh Legal Blow

In an undeniable fall from grace, former beloved talk show host Ellen DeGeneres continues to struggle with her put-together persona. After ending "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2022, the comedian has had her fair share of tragedies, the most recent one coming in the form of legal trouble. In October 2023, DeGeneres was involved in a car accident in Santa Monica, California. The other driver in the accident finally filed a request for a jury trial on December 15, 2025, according to the Daily Mail. As of reporting, there's a non-jury trial already on the docket for November 2026. Since DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi moved to the United Kingdom in 2024, the "Ellen" star has yet to be served with any official papers in the matter.

DeGeneres might be using her move abroad to hide out from President Donald Trump, but it seems like it's coming in handy to also avoid dealing with legal troubles. However, it appears that the woman suing DeGeneres for negligence will use the Hague Convention Service to properly serve papers to the comedian. While the move to request a jury trial hasn't been made explicitly clear, the wording of the filing suggests that DeGeneres' damaged reputation might come into play.

According to the paperwork filed by the plaintiff, she asserts that she "sustained serious injuries and incurred significant income/business loss," after Ellen DeGeneres allegedly collided into her car, per People. In the filing it sounds like DeGeneres might have run a stop sign, with the plaintiff claiming DeGeneres' appeared "suddenly and without any warning" in the intersection, possibly causing the crash. There's also language suggesting that DeGeneres was "negligent" and her perceived behavior "fell below the standard of care of a reasonable person." Which isn't a good look, considering how DeGeneres has struggled to rehabilitate her image since "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" was yanked from the air.

The woman suing DeGeneres also included that she's suffered a "loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and anxiety." While this is par for the course when it comes to trying to ramp up harm and suffering going into trial, it could still be a nasty blow to DeGeneres. The former talk show host suffered allegations of a toxic work environment in 2020, which saw many celebrities speaking out against DeGeneres. Perhaps filing for a jury trial is a strategy to drag DeGeneres back across the pond and poke at her misfortunes. Although, it could backfire, as DeGeneres has been successful in turning her scandal into comedy.