It looks like Yvonne Orji’s wish has been granted, and Ellen DeGeneres is her fairy godmother.
On Tuesday, May 25, Orji appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” to talk about what her goals were before becoming a comedian as well as her new book, “Bamboozled by Jesus: How God Tricked Me into the Life of My Dreams.” In the midst of that conversation, Ellen was complimenting Orji on her looks and her suit before saying, “I just say yes.”
She continued, “Because I heard that you want to be a talk show host and I just say yes to that.” Orji, highlighting her sense of humor said, “You know I heard there might be an opening somewhere. The Grapevine and the Deadline told me,” she said as the audience began to laugh. Orji is referring to the announcement DeGeneres made earlier this month when she told The Hollywood Reporter that she would be ending the show after 19 seasons because “it’s just not a challenge anymore.”
Responding to Orji, the “Finding Nemo” actress said, “The Grapevine and the Deadline are right; there’s going to be an opening. I got one more year. I’m not going anywhere right now.” She then asked Orji if her dreams of being a talk show host was always in her plans. The 37-year-old responded, “It was a thing that I always wanted to do. And I specifically wanted to do daytime because I was like I want to give away free stuff. I want to help people go to college, maybe some cars, TVs, you know…the basics. But I also just, like, genuinely enjoy people.” Orji clarified that before stepping into the talk show host role she has “some things [she wants] to do first.”
After the two talked for a while and Orji had both DeGeneres and her audience laughing, the talk show host decided to give Orji the opportunity to guest host her show next year. She said, “I think you should, next year; I’d like you to guest host for me. You know, try it out, see how it feels.
Fans cheered Orji on, saying, “I know that’s right,” and someone else said “Yesssssss! I screamed when she said that! Congratulations!!!!” Another added, “A whole star. This is great! Claimed it!”
