Ellen DeGeneres posted to Instagram on Thursday to announce she tested positive for the coronavirus.
The 62-year-old informed her fans of the positive test while also assuring everyone she hasn’t been experiencing any symptoms.
“Hi Everyone, I want to let you all know that I tested positive for Covid-19,” the talk show host wrote to her followers. ”Fortunately, I‘m feeling fine right now. Anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified, and I am following all proper CDC guidelines. I’ll see you all again after the holidays. Please stay healthy and safe.”
While the show has not officially announced what will be happening with upcoming episodes this week or leading up to Christmas, it seems from her note that Ellen will be taking time off until the new year. By then, DeGeneres should be fully recovered and no longer contagious from the virus, giving her the ability to work alongside her limited cast and crew.
This news comes following reports that The Ellen DeGeneres Show is losing advertisers, celebrity guests, and ratings following reports of a toxic workplace. One Hollywood publicist told BuzzFeed News earlier this week, “I wouldn’t set up anyone on her show right now to do anything that could possibly cause them more negative headlines.”
Ellen addressed these allegations during her show’s season premiere, delving into the allegations that surfaced over the summer.
“As you may have heard, this summer there were accusations of a toxic work environment at our show, and then there was an investigation,” she told her viewers. “I learned that things happened here that never should have happened. I take that very seriously, and I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.”
“Being known as the ‘Be Kind Lady’ is a tricky position to be in,” she continued. ”The truth is I am that person you see on TV. I am also a lot of other things. Sometimes I get sad. I get mad. I get anxious. I get frustrated. I get impatient — and I am working on all of that...I am a work in progress.”
Since these allegations came to light, DeGeneres has since apologized to her staff publicly while the show’s three top producers — Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman, and Jonathan Norman — ended up parting ways with the show. In August, staffers on the show also learned that they would receive increased benefits.
