Ellen DeGeneres Compares Quarantining at Her Home to Living in Prison

Like a lot of talk shows these days, Ellen DeGeneres has started hosting her daytime series, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, from her home in an effort to help slow the spread of coronavirus. The new low-fi standard has led to some interesting, unscripted moments and occasional technical difficulties. However, it has made for an interesting environment for joke-telling, as DeGeneres’ joke about comparing self-quarantining to jail showed.

“One thing I’ve learned from being in quarantine is… this is like being in jail, is what it is,” DeGeneres said. “It’s mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay.” The host then immediately chuckled to herself, adding “the jokes that I have.” DeGeneres went on to say that “I feel bad for the kids at home, all the college students, all the parents. I feel bad for a lot of people.”

DeGeneres’ obvious joke still managed to draw a few comments from the show’s YouTube page. Particularly on the usual silence that comes from the lack of a live studio audience.

“It feels different that no one is laughing at Ellen’s jokes,” wrote one viewer.

“I watched the show from her living room. Totally boring,” added another. “Not good at all.”

“Multimillionaire says their home is like jail… must be nice,” commented a third.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show announced it would be going on hiatus back in mid-March out of concerns over coronavirus, after initial plans to tape without a live studio audience were scrapped. On April 3, DeGeneres announced via Twitter that her show would resume, albeit taped from the comfort of her own living room.

“Since going into quarantine two weeks ago, I’ve been doing my show at home every day, but only for Portia,” DeGeneres told Deadline, referring to her wife, actress Portia De Rossi. “Starting Monday, you’ll be able to see it too, and I can’t wait.”

While some late-night TV shows have been adjusting to their new format, several networks and studios have had to temporarily shutter dozens of productions. While there are a few new shows to look forward to in the coming months, others like Big Brother and Love Island have had their upcoming seasons pulled from the schedule altogether until the social distancing guidelines start to ease up. They’re currently in place until April, though that could change in the days ahead.