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May 19, 2013

5 Questions With: Ellen DeGeneres

by Maggie Furlong, posted Nov 24th 2008 6:00AM
"They advertise kids very well, those Gap ads. [Laughs] I don't even look at the clothes -- I just go, 'That's a cute baby, I'll take that one.'"

'Ellen's Really Big Show' was a really big hit for Ellen DeGeneres last year, and the daytime talk show host and comedienne is at it again. Only this time, things have gotten even biggerer.

'Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show' (Saturday, Nov. 29, 9PM on TBS) is a major highlight of The Comedy Festival, TBS' annual event -- which will also be streaming live on their site for those who can't make it to Sin City -- held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. DeGeneres puts her own quirky spin on the homage to classic variety shows with dancers, performers, acrobats, singers and fellow comedians stopping by to play.

The funny lady joked with AOL TV about living it up at clothing-optional pools and all-you-can-eat buffets in Las Vegas, and talked best friends, branding, Bono and babies.


'Ellen's Really Big Show' was a really big hit for Ellen DeGeneres last year, and the daytime talk show host and comedienne is at it again. Only this time, things have gotten even biggerer.

'Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show' (Saturday, Nov. 29, 9PM on TBS) is a major highlight of The Comedy Festival, TBS' annual event -- which will also be streaming live on their site for those who can't make it to Sin City -- held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. DeGeneres puts her own quirky spin on the homage to classic variety shows with dancers, performers, acrobats, singers and fellow comedians stopping by to play.

The funny lady joked with AOL TV about living it up at clothing-optional pools and all-you-can-eat buffets in Las Vegas, and talked best friends, branding, Bono and babies.



1. Do you ever miss being out on tour?
I don't miss traveling and sleeping in a hotel every night. I mean, touring got really old and I did it for 15 years. I had no idea I was going to be a talk show host, but I used to tell the audience at the end of the show, "Someday I am going to make you come to me, and I'm not going to come to you anymore." And now they do come to me! So I get to do stand-up every single day. I still get that live energy exchange between the audience and myself. I still get to say the things I want to say and comment on.

2. This comedy special is taped at The Coliseum at Caesars Palace -- what are your favorite things to do when you are in Las Vegas?
Well, the buffet, obviously. I don't know how much it is now, but it's still a deal, isn't it? It's a bargain! I mean, I'm vegan, so I'll just have salad, but still that's a bargain. [Laughs] I'm going to gamble, that's what I am going to do. I'm going to gamble and if there are clothing-optional pools there ... [laughs] Did you know there was a clothing-optional pool? I just heard about [it], and I just was shocked. I guess there're a lot of European people that go there, and that's important to them.

3. You've had your pick of guests for the show -- people are just dying to come on and dance and talk with you -- but is there anyone that you haven't been able to get?
Well, I keep saying Bono just because I think he's an amazing man ... what he does as a humanitarian even more so than as a musician now. And George Clooney, of course -- we're going to capture him one day! We're going after him -- he has eluded us, but we will get him. And now I want Keith Olbermann on, just because I love him and I think he's brilliant. But no, I think we keep getting everybody that we ask for.

4. You've got a new Cover Girl campaign, your American Express campaign, your show -- what's next for the Ellen brand?
My pet food company, Halo. We are going to try to start a foundation, or maybe a couple. You know, obviously I love animals and want to do something. I support Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, which is the largest sanctuary for every kind of animal. But I would like to do something that's working with animals and also probably kids, so I am trying to figure out which -- I would like to be more philanthropic in that way.

5. Kids, huh? Do you and Portia have any plans for kids in the near future?
When I see those print ads that have the babies in them for Gap, maybe that's cute that you have a little Gap knit sweater on the head, little Gap outfit. They advertise kids very well, those Gap ads. [Laughs] I don't even look at the clothes -- I just go, "That's a cute baby, I'll take that one." So I don't know, we have a lot of friends who have babies, and they're amazing and change your life and there was a time we were thinking about it ... [but] today is no. I think that is one of the things about not being able to just accidentally get pregnant and have a child. You really, really have to want one, whether it's trying to figure out how you get pregnant or if you adopt. I think that's even more of a reason that people that aren't able to have kids should be allowed to adopt because you have to really want a kid, and that's a big responsibility. So we are not taking it lightly. We're ... we would really think about it before we did it.

Ellen DeGeneres Photos

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen DeGeneres holes out a chip shot on the first hole with oversized club during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada(Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen DeGeneres holes out a chip shot on the first hole with oversized club during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen DeGeneres hits a chip shot on the first hole with oversized club during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen Degeneres hits a chip shot on the first hole with an oversized club during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada(Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen DeGeneres hits a chip shot on the first hole with oversized club during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen DeGeneres plays in the 1st fairway sand trap during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen DeGeneres walks down the first fairway during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Justin Timberlake and Ellen DeGeneres walk to the first tee during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada(Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen DeGeneres and Justin Timberlake at the "Ellen Watering Hole" behind the first green during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

    LAS VEGAS- OCTOBER 15: Ellen DeGeneres at the "Ellen Watering Hole" behind the first green during the Championship Pro-Am of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at the TPC Summerlin on October 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Marc FeldmanGetty Images)

    Getty Images

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