Ellen DeGeneres has way fewer and fewer supporters in Hollywood as the days pass, which is part of the reason she moved to the U.K. with wife Portia de Rossi in tow, but a source exclusively tells In Touch she still has one old loyalist who’s firmly in her corner and longing for her Hollywood return – none other than Sofía Vergara. 

“It’s not an overstatement to say that some of the qualities that got Ellen shamed or cancelled in the public eye are the exact qualities that helped her initially bond with Sofía,” details the insider. 

“It’s more than just mutual respect,” the source continues, saying specifically, “they both have that ‘girl boss’ DNA and a killer instinct when it comes to making money.” 

After the queen-of-mean, 66, lost her once-dominant talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, following reports of abusive behind-the-scenes behavior by show staffers, she gave it one more shot with a new Netflix comedy special, For Your Approval. When that flopped and fans bemoaned the hour-long slog as “tone-deaf”, Ellen and wife Portia, 51, decided to high-tail it out of the U.S. and leave showbusiness behind for good. 

While the source says that most in the industry aren’t weeping themselves to sleep over their decision to swap their Montecito estate for the English countryside, Modern Family alum Sofía, 52, “is among the people in Hollywood who simply don’t buy that Ellen is done with show business, even if she has completely left southern California.” 

“As far as Sofía is concerned,” the insider continues, “Ellen is not a lost cause and just needed a break from the endless barrage of online criticism she was getting. Ellen certainly took all that stuff to heart a lot more than Sofía would in the same situation, but remember, Hollywood loves a comeback story and Ellen is still a household name that brings up a lot of fond memories.” 

Sofía now feels “it would be a shame if Ellen’s recent standup special really does turn out to be her permanent farewell to comedy and show business,” as the actress “is one of the people who sincerely believes it doesn’t have to be.” 

“Ellen can still reinvent herself, even if it’s just through a podcast or some other self-produced project, and Sofía is cheering her on to do so. They had great chemistry when Sofía went on Ellen’s show, and she would absolutely show up as a guest if Ellen ever got back into the celebrity interview game.” 

According to the insider, Sofía and Ellen go way back, even before the Colombian actress shot to fame during her tenure on Modern Family. She even defended the embattled host after fans renewed their criticism of Ellen for poking fun at Sofía’s accent during one of her appearances on the show, saying, “I was never a victim guys, I was always in on the joke,” and that the banter was just “two comedians having fun with each other to entertain.”

“Sofía does not want to see Ellen’s current ‘time out’ turn into a permanent retreat from the industry, that’s for sure.”