Openly lesbian chat host Ellen
DeGeneres' show garnered twice as many Daytime Emmy nominations
Wednesday as talk show queen Oprah Winfrey's.
In the talk show category, The Ellen
DeGeneres Show received eight nominations – the most for the
category – followed by The View with five and The Oprah
Winfrey Show with four.
In
responding on her website to the nominations, DeGeneres joked: “A
bunch of people who work on my show were nominated for Emmys this
morning. I've always known they do a great job, but now whoever's in
charge of Emmy nominations knows too. I'd congratulate each staff
member by name if I knew 'em.”
DeGeneres isn't among those nominated
for best TV talk-show host – a competition she's won four times –
but that's because she withdrew her name.
“I didn't submit myself for 'Best
Talk Show Host' Emmy this year,” she said. “I feel my steroid
use gives me an unfair advantage.”
Ratings for DeGeneres' show spiked
after she began moonlighting as a celebrity judge on Fox's talent
show American Idol.
DeGeneres, who announced in 1997 she
was gay on the cover of Time, married actress Portia de Rossi
in 2008. She was ranked
the most influential openly gay celebrity by gay glossy Out
last month.
The 37th annual Daytime Emmy
Awards will be broadcast from Las Vegas on June 27th.