The Graham Norton Show sparks backlash after ‘awkward’ Ellen DeGeneres interview

The Graham Norton Show has come under fire after Ellen DeGenres made her TV comeback for no obvious reason whatsoever. 

The comedian has stepped back from the public eye since her self-titled talkshow was cancelled in 2022 following claims of bullying. 

After being inescapable on television for the last three decades, she has made very few public appearances in the time since, but was among the guests on The Graham Norton Show last night which is usually reserved for celebrities as part of their promotional tours. 

Graham even asked the Finding Nemo star: ‘Why are you here?’

Ellen even admitted herself she has no work lined up but simply said she ‘missed’ being on television. 

Later in the show, she elaborated: ‘I miss a lot about it, I miss laughing every single day with the writers, I miss the guests, I miss kissing Colin [Farrell], I miss a lot of it. I think about doing something here. 

‘It does seem easy to get on television here. I just call you up and say, “I’ve got nothing to promote, can I just sit on the couch?” And you say, “yeah”.  

‘There are shows here I’m just shocked someone went and sold it. You have a sewing show so you’re just watching someone sew, you have a pottery show there’s even have a show about people watching television.

‘I mow everyday, I like to mow so I thought people could mow and see how long they disassociate from their family.’

‘I think it is pretty easy to get on TV here – you have a pottery show, you have a sewing show, and you even have a show about people watching TV shows!’ 

She also touched on some of the milestone moments of her career, including her self-titled sitcom where she undeniably broke countless barriers as the first openly gay lead on a huge international sitcom when the show ran from 1994 to 1998 for five seasons. 

She recalled: ‘In the US they were not very thrilled about my character or me coming out so for it to be celebrated in London was such an honour. To be treated that way when everyone else was done with me was extraordinary.’

However, despite the flattery for the UK, viewers at home were not impressed that she’d been invited on the show at all, asking: ‘Why is Ellen DeGeneres on Graham Norton?’

One critic wrote on X: ‘When Ellen Degeneres asks to be on your show, you are more than welcome to say no Graham Norton! In fact. I think everyone implores you to?!’ While another agreed: ‘Ellen can absolutely eff off! Don’t want you in Britain! America didn’t want you and we don’t either! Jog on!’ 

A third joked: ‘How much did Ellen DeGeneres pay to get on The Graham Norton Show?’ 

Others were confused why she refused to join other guests on the sofa – Quentin Tarantino, Colin Farrell, and Gemma Chan – in their applause. 

‘Ellen not clapping and sitting so ominously in the corner.. evil beaming through the screen,’ joked one viewer while someone else branded her a ‘fun sponge’. 

Another baffled audience member asked: ‘Why does it look so awkward that Ellen DeGeneres is on The Graham Norton Show?’’

Ellen and her wife Portia DeRosi moved to the UK in 2024 following the re-election of President Donald Trump. 

However, disaster soon struck the couple who weren’t prepared for the torrential rain of Britain after moving from the Californian sun and their £18 million mansion in The Cotswolds was severely damaged by flooding due to Storm Bert. 

The move came two years after her talkshow was cancelled in the US, tarnished by accusations that the star was responsible for a ’toxic’ environment on set. 

Viewing figures drastically dwindled and in 2022, The Ellen DeGenres aired its final episode after 19 seasons. 

The Graham Norton Show airs Fridays at 10.35pm on BBC One.