Ellen DeGeneres vs Gordon Ramsay: The Real Story Behind the Rumored Show Ban

Ellen DeGeneres has been trying to stay out of the spotlight since ending her daytime run in 2022, but the stories keep coming. The latest batch includes a surprisingly specific Gordon Ramsay anecdote, a handful of harsh workplace claims, and some tabloid chatter that her comeback plans just took a hit.

The Gordon Ramsay thing

According to a former employee who spoke to the Daily Mail, Ellen allegedly froze out Gordon Ramsay after a rough on-air moment. Ramsay last appeared on the show in 2010. During a cooking bit, Ellen offered him a taste, and he did the toned-down version of his TV shtick — which is still, you know, Gordon Ramsay. The staffer says he took a bite and dropped a blunt review.

"This is rubbish. This is disgusting."

The claim is that Ellen did not take the ribbing well and Ramsay was quietly kept off the show for about eight seasons after that. The same source also alleges the segment used spoiled meat, which is what set off Ramsay in the first place. If true, that would be one way to ruin a cooking demo and a guest booking in one shot.

The heavier allegations

This new round of accusations comes from the same Daily Mail piece and a source identified as a former cameraman. Usual tabloid caveat applies — it is one person’s account, not a formal investigation — but the specifics are eyebrow-raising. The claims include:

• A high-ranking producer was allegedly pushed to move their child’s bone marrow transplant off the Christmas holiday week to accommodate taping. The source says the producer showed up on the day Ellen wanted, and "Ellen got exactly what she wanted."
• Ellen allegedly had a particular issue with male staffers. When Portia de Rossi was on set, the men supposedly "walked on eggshells." The source calls Portia friendly — she would say hi — but says the guys dreaded being seated near her during tapings to avoid the "Ellen gaze," described as a death stare.
• One supporting performer was allegedly banned after telling Ellen "Don’t fall" while she tried a unicycle on stage. She reportedly replied, "No, I won’t," then told an exec producer, "Don’t let this guy on the show again."
• The source claims Ellen got a staffer on another Warner Bros. show fired over a parking space dispute — and that some ex-employees who were fired struggled to get hired elsewhere because of behind-the-scenes pressure.

The comeback chatter

RadarOnline adds another layer: a separate source says these fresh allegations have stalled Ellen’s quiet plan to return to the business. After ex-employees detailed a toxic culture to BuzzFeed in 2020, her image cratered — "Queen of Mean," "Daytime Dictator" — and she ended the show in 2022. The Radar tipster claims Ellen moved to the English countryside, specifically the Cotswolds, partly to let the scandal blow over, and has been eager to re-enter the game once enough time passed.

Per that source, she had started working her contacts again — especially when rumors popped up about Kelly Clarkson potentially stepping back to focus on music. Clarkson’s show took over Ellen’s time slot after 2022, so you can see why that rumor would catch Ellen’s attention. But the latest accusations supposedly "hit Ellen like a ton of bricks," with the source saying she knows it is a bad look for anyone considering hiring her. The tipster also claims she has been in a foul mood and that Portia has been catching the fallout at home.

For what it’s worth, the couple just publicly shut down the internet’s divorce rumors with a 17th anniversary celebration last month.

Big picture

None of this is court-of-law stuff — it is tabloid reporting and one ex-staffer’s memories — but the throughline matches what sunk her show in the first place: the smiling on-camera persona versus the alleged reality behind the scenes. The Ramsay story is the headline-grabber because it is oddly specific (and frankly kind of inside baseball), but the workplace claims are the ones that would make any real comeback a very tough sell.