JOHNSON: Ellen DeGeneres move to U.K. about more than politics, source says

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi didn’t really move to England because Trump won, according to an insider. They were heading abroad regardless.
Earlier this week, sources told TMZ the couple moved to the U.K. because Trump’s victory left them “very disillusioned” about living in the states and resolved to “get the hell out.” But it appears they’d been considering a change for a while.
“They always wanted to have a new start once Ellen retired from her TV show,” said my source. “They were tired of their California life.”
People in their circle thought they would move to Australia since Portia is from there. But they apparently listened to their Montecito neighbors Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on where to live in England.
DeGeneres has been open about being “kicked out of show business” after staffers complained of a toxic workplace.
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Ryan Murphy and the cast of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” get an “A” from a man who lived through it.
Roger Smith was second in command to Jose Menendez at their video distribution company. He testified at the first trial.
“Javier Bardem [who played Jose] got the perfect blend of charm and evil,” Smith told me.
Smith came to believe the sexual abuse suffered by the boys after Leslie Abramson arranged a two-hour meeting with a leading sexual psychologist.
“Jose was a macho Cuban known to be cheating on his wife with other women,” Smith says. “But this kind of parental domination isn’t about sex, it’s about control.”
The two boys were perfectly cast. But Chloe Sevigny was “too classy” according to Smith. “I had dinner with Jose and Kitty at least a half dozen times and she was an alcoholic living under his thumb.”
As to whether or not the publicity from the series gets the boys out early, Smith says that’s a tough decision.
“They’ve done way more time than necessary. Gavin Newsom has to decide the political downside of letting them out.”
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Gay activist Allen Roskoff isn’t happy Donald Trump got reelected.
He also isn’t happy with Mayor Eric Adams, Queens DA Melinda Katz, Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, South Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres and several other “notorious hackmeisters” featured on the invite to his 35th annual holiday party on Dec. 20.
“It’s a legendary party. People wait with anticipation to see who gets skewered,” Roskoff said.
The invitation shows Trump and First Lady Melania with Hitler mustaches. Matt Gaetz has his arm upraised in a Nazi salute.
“The worst is yet to come,” proclaims the invite, accompanied by clips of “Springtime for Hitler” from Mel Brooks’ classic “The Producers.”
Among past guests are Lance Bass from NSYNC, Jamie-Lynn Sigler from “The Sopranos,” “Law and Order” franchise actors Kathleen Chalfant and Kathryn Erbe and Kyan Douglas from “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”
Invites also went out to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, State Attorney General Tish James, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Jerry Nadler.
Mayor Adams attended previous parties, but isn’t invited this year “since he turned far right,” Roskoff told me.
Roskoff, who heads the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, told me, “We are about to have a president who is a stark raving lunatic with unqualified and dangerous cabinet members and appointees. We are building a resistance to save democracy.”
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Brooke Nevin has been acting Hollywood since she was 14, but the 41-year-old has avoided multiple hook-ups.
She’s been steady with actor Michael Traynor for 20 years, and they have a 6-month-old son, Griffin.
“I’ve never swiped right in my life,” Nevin told me with a laugh.
The actress is promoting “F*** Marry Kill” a Liongate/Buzzfeed movie coming out Dec. 6 about some young women afraid their dates are serial killers.
“It’s a fun, irreverent, rom-com, thriller, mystery mashup,” said Nevin, who plays the older sister of one target.
Nevin is broadening her resume by directing and producing and has a film out soon titled “Jingle Bell Love.”
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Wilbur Ross knows how to to launch a book. After several parties in the U.S. for “Risks and Returns: Creating Success in Business and Life,” Ross went to Harry’s Bar in London.
His guests included architect Norman Foster, Emilia and Jose “Pepe” Fanjul, Laurence Graff, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild with her beau Lord Saatchi, and Lord William and Lady Annabel Astor.
After the bash, Ross and his wife, Hilary Geary, were the guests of the Duke of Marlborough and his sister, Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill at Blenheim Castle.
After he caught his breath, Ross flew to California for another book-signing at the Nixon Foundation.
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How do you take a song that’s 47 years old and get it back in the Top Ten?
For music curator Brad LeBeau, you choose the right record; get a contemporary mix and the promote it to the right ears.
The Village People’s “Goddess of Love” — which came out 47 years ago — has given the band their first Top 40 record in 40 years.
“The group has taken on mythical proportions since they first hit the scene in 1977. And this track was a natural,” said LeBeau.
LeBeau’s firm Pro Motion — which has worked on records by Adele, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and Madonna — just celebrated its 40th anniversary.
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This year’s New York Comedy Festival wrapped last Sunday after 11 days, more than 300 shows and 160 acts at more than 100 venues across the city.
But one special event was at Gracie Mansion where Mayor Eric Adams honored the founder and queen of comedy Caroline Hirsch and her partner Andrew Fox for creating the festival 20 years ago.
The Mayor recalled growing up in South Jamaica, Queens with his five siblings watching Flip Wilson’s show.
“We were able to forget that being dyslexic and being bullied in school and being called dumb students would engulf your entire life. You see comedy as a performance. I see it as a life raft.”
The mayor also recognized the significant impact comedy has on the city’s economy. More than 20 years later, laughter is still the best medicine.
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After “Saturday Night Live” ended and the cast celebrated at Mermaid Oyster Bar, Charli XCX and her crew partied at Fushimi.
Charli, who hosted the show and was its musical guest, unwound with cast members Kenan Thompson and Michael Che while JPatt from The Knocks performed and included a track from Charlie XCX’s “Brat” album to the delight of the late night party crowd.
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Broadway star Michael James Scott, who started out in the “Book of Mormon” and now stars in “Aladdin,” will sing songs from his holiday album, “A Fierce Christmas,” at a benefit dinner for the Children’s Oncology Support Fund (COSF) on Dec. 3 at the private club Coco’s at Colette.
The party also serves as a kick-off for the Snow Ball Gala in Aspen on Feb. 8.
The Coco dinner, with guests including Candace Bushnell and Peter Thomas Roth, will be hosted by media executive Monica Elias and COSF founder Thomas Pierce, who is getting Oscar buzz for “The Brutalist,” which he produced. The film stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones.
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Lauren Bush Lauren, granddaughter of President George H. W. Bush, was honored at a party hosted by James Borynack and Adolfo Zaralegui, who own the Wally Findlay Galleries.
The gallerists donated 25K to help Lauren and her non-profit FEED provide school meals to the underserved in Africa and around the world.
Lauren’s husband David Lauren (son of designer Ralph Lauren), mother Sharon Bush, Quest magazine’s Christopher Meigher, musician Lucia Hwong Gordon, divorce attorney Daniel Stock and socialite Lauren Day Roberts checked out the paintings of Bronx-born artist Ronnie Landfield and Hugo Greenville at the gallery’s East 57th Street location.
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Out & About: Leonardo DiCaprio, Janelle Monae and Robert De Niro are all expected to return to Miami Art Basel on Dec. 6 for the annual international art fair as famous for its parties as the art. Santina Semadar Panetta, the artist known for her neo-pointillism technique, will be exhibiting with Artifact Projects at the Red Dot Fair from Dec. 4 to Dec. 8 … The victims of the Twin Towers tragedy and the war in Ukraine are being honored in videos by artists Kostiantyn and Vlada Liberov in an exhibition at Mriya Gallery in Tribeca. The works are displayed using FRMD, a new digital art service that is revolutionizing how art collections are shown … Natasha Lyonne, producer Steve Garrin and Park West Gallery COO John Block at the Netflix screening of “His Three Daughters” at AMC Theatres, Lincoln Square.