The Story of Ellen's Dislocated Finger Is So Relatable

I think of Ellen DeGeneres as such a national treasure that I would lose it if anyone ever hurt a hair on her head, but her recent injury is all her own doing... and, you know, a little alcohol may have been involved. On Tuesday's edition of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, DeGeneres shared the story behind her dislocated finger, and even though what happened to her obviously sucks, it's also really funny... and totally relatable. I know you're not supposed to laugh at people who had to go to the emergency room, but she is a comedian, after all.

On Monday, DeGeneres posted an X-ray of her finger (click at your own risk) on Twitter with absolutely zero information, only promising to explain on Tuesday's show. In the photo, it's pretty clear her finger is in an unnatural position, and just looking at it makes me feel so bad for her because of how much it must have hurt. And after hearing the story, the suspense she kept her followers in was definitely worth it, because the way the Finding Dory star hurt herself is something that could happen to anyone, even those of us who do not star in our own talk shows or voice forgetful animated fish.

As DeGeneres tells it, she and wife Portia DeRossi were coming home from a dinner party — where she had two glasses of wine — and she tripped over their top step and fell into their front door. Yikes! Here's what she said on her show:

So you know how in gymnastics when you do a one-handed cartwheel and you have to spread the weight evenly between all your fingers? Well, I had two glasses of wine and fell into a door. So Portia and I were coming home from a dinner party, drive home, almost at the front door — literally, like, at the door — the dogs were so excited to see us, and I just caught the lip of the front step. ... It did something to my finger. I knew something was wrong.

Oh, DeGeneres. Poor thing! As someone who enjoys a glass or two of wine herself (especially to survive a dinner party) and who is generally clumsy even when not drinking, I have had a few near-misses that could have landed me in the hospital myself. Actually, who hasn't?! There's something about wine that just makes people topple right over like dominoes.

DeRossi drove her to the emergency room, where she did not have a good time. At first, she thought she broke her finger, but it's actually dislocated — which she said is an "incorrect term" since locating her finger was not the issue. In the end, they snapped her finger back into place, and now, she's wearing a bandage to help it heal.

I'm glad to hear that DeGeneres is doing better now — and that she's finding the humor in her situation. Hopefully, her finger has a speedy recovery!