LOS ANGELES: Comedian-host Ellen DeGeneres is being slammed on Twitter for joking that self-isolating in her mansion here "is like being in jail". DeGeneres is self-isolating in her mansion with wife Portia de Rossi.
She joked about staying indoors when she returned with her show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Monday, reports dailymail.co.uk, cracking a joke that being home all the time during the coronavirus pandemic was just like being locked inside a prison.
"This is like being in jail. Mostly because I've been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay," DeGeneres told her fans in the episode as she sat in a spacious living room with windows opening onto a large plant-filled yard.
Soon, she got backlash on Twitter. "Ellen you quarantining in your mansion in designer sweats is nothing like prison," one Twitter user posted. Another tweeted: "What a great look for Ellen as thousands of people sit in actual jail cells just hoping for the best without soap and basic protections."
DeGeneres' daytime chat show was put on hold in mid-March as the coronavirus crisis intensified and people in California were urged to stay home except for essential trips. Last week, she announced that she would be returning to screens with shows taped from her home and featuring some of her celebrity friends including Chrissy Teigen and Jennifer Lopez.