Ellen DeGeneres describes having coronavirus as she returns to show it

Ellen DeGeneres detailed her experience with covid after testing positive for the potentially deadly virus before Christmas when she was forced to cancel her show.

The TV host, 62, returned for her first New Years Eve show this week and told viewers she slept 16 hours a day and suffered from extreme back pain.

Ellen insisted she was ‘everything is fine now’ and thanked her fans for their support and kind messages as she battles the disease.

Discussing her plight, Ellen said: ‘There is a lot of negativity so I thought we would talk about something positive, my covid test. I tested positive before the holidays, I’m fine now.

“I want to thank everyone who reached out with kind words of support. I wish I could have kissed you all, but it would have been dangerous and illegal.

Ellen then addressed the audience, who should have attended her 12 Days of Giveaways special before it was canceled, and said: ‘Thank you to the audience that came back you were supposed to be in the audience in December but we had to to cancel “.

She revealed that it was right before the end of her show that she found out she was positive for the coronavirus, adding: ‘I was getting ready for the show you were supposed to be on, my extensions put on and my powdered face.

‘And my assistant Craig came in and said you tested positive for coronavirus. Then everyone around me ran away. People are really scared and have fled, some have not returned since. I left immediately and everyone was informed.

Ellen then spoke of her ordeal after returning home, where she lives with her 12-year-old wife, Portia de Rossi.

She joked: ‘Portia made me sleep in a different room on a different bed because she wanted the raised car bed for herself.

“ So for the first three days I slept 16 hours a day, then on the fourth day I woke up with back spasms so I thought I pulled a muscle or slept in a way. fun.

“ But it persisted so the doctor put me on pain relievers and muscle relaxers – jackpot! Finally, this thing is paying off.

“ Pain killers didn’t help, I felt like I had cracked a rib. So they put me on a steroid pack, but they make you really fast and nervous.

“ So I stuck on it all, pain killers, muscle relaxers and steroids – I don’t know if that’s the best way, I’m not a doctor. ”

“I’m always on them, I find relaxers useful. I talked to my brother and told him about the back pain he had a friend with the same then and then I talked to several other people. So now back pain is apparently a symptom of covid. Now you know! This is the only symptom I have had.

“I started to feel better so I’m very lucky and feel good now. I don’t know how I got it, I wear a mask, wash my hands and only lick three doorknobs.

“To those who are struggling with the disease at this time, my heart is with them.”

Ellen took to social media to announce that she had fallen victim to the highly contagious virus that has swept the world for the past ten months.

“ Hi everyone, I want to let all of you know that I have tested positive for Covid-19. Luckily, I’m feeling great right now, ” she wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.

“Anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified and I am following all appropriate CDC guidelines,” she added. “I’ll see you all after the holidays.” Please stay safe and healthy.

While Ellen typically records episodes of The Ellen Show at least a day in advance, the last episode before Christmas was a replay of an episode that first aired on October 15.

That meant the cancellation of the last day of its famous 12 Days of Giveaways holiday promo series, which typically attracts big sponsors and high marks.

Last year, the promotion ran later in the season and it broke up for the holidays after airing on the last day on December 23.

This year, the show is giving its daily giveaways to frontline workers, first responders, medical workers and families hardest hit by the pandemic.

The host’s coronavirus diagnosis came just a day after a scathing Buzzfeed News article claimed she was struggling to attract prominent sponsors and guests for this year’s holiday giveaway series – assertions which were strongly contested by the camp of Ellen.

A current employee of The Ellen Show told the outlet that the show’s giveaway segments had failed following reports of the show’s “ toxic ” work culture.

“In a typical year, 12 days of giveaways are huge. We basically called for Christmas on daytime television. When you think of Christmas on TV, you think of The Ellen Show, ”the employee said.

“Everyone wants to be in the audience. Everyone wants the freebies. And so we line up all these crazy sponsors, and people love that. But this year, our “12 days” are more condensed. We don’t have that many sponsors.

However, a source close to the show vigorously disputed the claims as being inaccurate, telling DailyMail.com that the typical format, which often focuses on lavish travel and vacations, had to be drastically changed due to the realities of the pandemic.

The show’s season 18 guests included Matthew McConaughey, Justin Bieber, Jane Fonda, Chance the Rapper, Kristen Bell, and Orlando Bloom, among others.

Many guest appearances have taken place via video link due to the pandemic, but some have also been conducted in the studio.

The Buzzfeed article also cited a source close to the show who defended the promotion of Christmas, saying that holiday gifts were not the order of the day in the pandemic.

“There are travel restrictions and she is currently offering appropriate freebies to the world,” the source said.

“ Maybe it looks and feels different, but it’s not a reflection on her or the company, but it’s directly impacted by the state of the world and the kind of show that is currently being done. ”