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Ellen DeGeneres has COVID-19; feels ‘fine’ but will pause her talk show

Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres announced Thursday that she has COVID-19.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Ellen DeGeneres has tested positive for COVID-19.

The talk show host announced her status Thursday morning via social media and said she was doing OK at the moment.

“Hi Everyone, I want to let you all know that I tested positive for Covid-19. Fortunately, I’m feeling fine right now,” she tweeted. “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.”

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“Please,” she tweeted, “stay healthy and safe.”

Telepictures, which produces “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” said Thursday that it had paused production on the chat show until January.

DeGeneres is one of the highest-profile celebrities to test positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic started. Back in March, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were the first A-listers to reveal their positive test results.

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has been back in production on the Warner Bros. lot since September, after a break that included criticism of top producers’ communication with the crew early on in the pandemic as well as allegations of a toxic workplace that resulted in the firing of the show’s top three producers in August.

A month after listing their Montecito, Calif., compound for $39.9 million, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have sold it for $33.3 million.

Nov. 9, 2020

“This is ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show.’ I am Ellen DeGeneres,” the host said in her monologue Sept. 21. “We have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks about the show, our workplace and what we want for the future. We have made the necessary changes, and today we are starting a new chapter.”

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