It’s been over a year since Ellen DeGeneres fled America and moved to rural England with her wife Portia de Rossi. They made this move in response to Donald Trump winning his second presidential election in the U.S.
Over the past few months, it’s been reported that DeGeneres has changed her tune and become desperate for a Hollywood comeback. Now, she’s finally landed a Hollywood comeback role six years after she was “canceled” for bullying allegations on the set of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
DeGeneres’ Hollywood Comeback
DeGeneres, 68, will be reprising her role as the lovable fish Dory in Disney’s billion-dollar Finding Nemo franchise. Deadline has confirmed that DeGeneres will voice Dory in an upcoming short film.
DeGeneres previously voiced Dory in 2003’s Finding Nemo and then again in 2016’s Finding Dory. The latter grossed $1.029 billion at the box office, making it one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time. DeGeneres has not appeared in another film since then.
DeGeneres and de Rossi fled America and moved to rural England after the second election victory of President Trump.
“We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in,’” DeGeneres said at an event in England in July of 2025. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.’”
DeGeneres went on to gush over her new life in the United Kingdom.
“We moved here in November, which was not the ideal time, but I saw snow for the first time in my life,” she said at the time. “We love it here. Everything here is just better — the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.”
DeGeneres ‘Misses Hollywood’
However, insiders have since claimed that DeGeneres has grown tired of England. Indeed, according to these sources, she’s more eager than ever for a Hollywood comeback.
“Ellen is realizing it’s hard to close deals or hold meaningful creative meetings from across the pond,” an insider previously told Radar Online. “Zoom can only do so much, and L.A. thrives on face-to-face interaction.”
“Ellen is desperate for a fully-fledged showbiz comeback,” the source added. “Whether that means a sitcom, comedy specials, or producing, she is up for anything at this point. And Portia wants to re-engage with the world. Both of them are craving a life that’s more than rainy pastures, cow muck, and chickens.”
Earlier this year, another insider alleged that DeGeneres “misses Hollywood.”
“During her talk show heyday, Ellen was treated like royalty,” said a source. This insider went on to claim that both DeGeneres and de Rossi had “a real effect” on popular culture.
“They used her show to make YouTubers they liked super-famous and the cultural feedback from them made them incredibly powerful,” the source continued.
DeGeneres’ Toxic Workplace Scandal
Unfortunately for DeGeneres, that all changed when her toxic workplace scandal exploded in 2020. At the time, dozens of current and former employees came forward to accuse DeGeneres of presiding over a toxic work environment that was rampant with bullying, sexism, racism, and more.
Prior to that, DeGeneres had been widely known as the Queen of Nice. She even ended each episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show by urging her viewers to “be kind to one another.” Nearly overnight, however, DeGeneres became relabeled as the Queen of Mean. Unfortunately for her, this moniker has stuck with her to this day. Some have even gone so far as to describe DeGeneres as “America’s most hated woman.”
DeGeneres is likely ecstatic that she has been given the chance to voice her iconic Finding Nemo character of Dory again. Only time will tell if DeGeneres can get the true Hollywood comeback that she craves!