Fact Check: Did Marco Rubio refuse to reinstate Ellen DeGeneres' US citizenship?

NEW YORK, NY: A viral social media claim alleges that Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected former television host Ellen DeGeneres' application to reinstate her US citizenship, supposedly saying she had "no valid reason to immigrate to the US."

The rumor gained traction after being widely shared on Facebook, prompting confusion over whether DeGeneres had renounced her citizenship after relocating to the United Kingdom.

Claim: Marco Rubio rejected Ellen DeGeneres' citizenship reinstatement

Posts circulating across Facebook and X claim Rubio said the State Department denied DeGeneres' application to restore her US citizenship because she lacked a valid reason to immigrate back to the United States. 

The claim also assumes that DeGeneres had previously surrendered her American citizenship after moving to England following President Donald Trump's 2024 election victory.

Fact Check: The claim is fabricated and originated from a satire page

The claim is false. There is no evidence that Ellen DeGeneres ever gave up her US citizenship, meaning there would have been no need for her to apply for reinstatement.

Likewise, there is no credible evidence that Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the statement attributed to him or that the State Department processed or denied any such application.

Searches of major news outlets and official government sources found no reports supporting the claim.

Instead, the rumor can be traced to the Facebook page 'America Loves Liberty', which explicitly describes itself as publishing fictional political satire. 

The page identifies itself as "an authorized dumping ground for certified AI-free trollery and right-wing propaganda" and states that "Nothing on this page is real."

The original post also included a visible watermark reading, "Nothing on this page is real," although many reposts omitted that context, allowing the claim to spread as if it were genuine news.

DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, did relocate to the Cotswolds region of England after the 2024 election. However, there is no public evidence that DeGeneres renounced her American citizenship or later sought to have it reinstated.

The satire page had previously published a nearly identical fictional story claiming Rubio rejected DeGeneres' "application to repatriate" to the United States, demonstrating a recurring pattern of fabricated political satire involving the television host.