--- title: Animatronic Ellen DeGeneres Going Up for Auction description: An animatronic Ellen DeGeneres figure that went viral when the real DeGeneres drew attention to it on her talk show is going up for auction. canonical: https://time.com/5246815/animatronic-ellen-degeneres-auction/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-19T17:17:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:06:53.109Z og:title: Animatronic Ellen DeGeneres Put Up for Auction After Going Viral og:description: The figure is expected to sell for $3,000 to $5,000 og:url: https://time.com/5246815/animatronic-ellen-degeneres-auction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c0fc2cabb4d4f07/69892e2822fb856c83e25644/screen-shot-2018-04-19-at-12-03-56-pm.png?branch=production&width=1188&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1188 og:image:height: 668 og:image:alt: Screen Shot 2018-04-19 at 12.03.56 PM og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Animatronic Ellen DeGeneres Put Up for Auction After Going Viral twitter:description: The figure is expected to sell for $3,000 to $5,000 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c0fc2cabb4d4f07/69892e2822fb856c83e25644/screen-shot-2018-04-19-at-12-03-56-pm.png?branch=production&width=1188&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # That Animatronic Ellen DeGeneres That Went Viral Is Up For Auction > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5d10edae-b49d-48d0-b247-0f1518a2b13a&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: FIRSTS Ellen DeGeneres [Watch (HLS stream): FIRSTS Ellen DeGeneres](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ktq2EVeK.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2017-09-02. Ellen DeGeneres is the FIRST person who starred as an openly gay character on prime-time TV._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 19, 2018 5:17 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Apr 19, 2018 5:17 PM UTC An animatronic [Ellen DeGeneres](http://time.com/5230783/ellen-degeneres-kobe-bryant-ice-cube-basketball/) figure that went viral when the real DeGeneres drew attention to it on [her talk show](http://time.com/5177941/ellen-degeneres-jimmy-kimmel-son-dedication/) is going up for [auction](http://time.com/5231900/russell-crowe-divorce-auction/). After DeGeneres’ writers gifted her with the robot version of herself for her birthday in January, the Internet was quick to make note of the automaton’s less than striking resemblance to its real-life counterpart. The figure was originally housed in Epcot’s Ellen’s Energy Adventure attraction. However, after Disney World pulled the plug on the ride—which featured the animatronic Ellen fighting a dinosaur—over the summer, [DeGeneres put out a call to action](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdE0f2tE9k0) to get her robotic double back. Now, the robot will be available to bid on at dealer [Profiles in History’](https://profilesinhistory.com) upcoming Animation & Disneyana Auction on May 5th in Los Angeles. It is estimated to sell for $3,000 to $5,000, according to [Broadway World](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Animatronic-Ellen-DeGeneres-from-Epcot-Center-That-Recently-Went-Viral-Is-Going-Up-For-Auction-20180418). Watch the _Ellen Show_ clips below. ## Transcript People will look at you and they'll try and define you. Whether you're a woman, whether you're young, they'll try an cabin off what you are able to do. But people can only do that if you let them. And so, I always viewed my job as defining myself. If we are in a meeting, we are there for a reason. Not to just sit there and absorb. If you're only there not speaking you kind of create the impression that you're not prepared to be there. You need to participate and you need to know what you're talking about . >> You can ask a man to do a job that he is never qualified to do and he will raise his hand and say absolutely I'll do that job Women always say, I'm not sure if I'm ready yet, I need more experience. I don't necessarily know if there's anything wrong with being more cautious and careful. I mean why have we come to decide that being brash and overly aggressive should be the way we are? But we should also know that we're not going to feel any wiser or any more ready. In ten years than we did ten years ago, so we might as well just rip. There is a lot of perception of my gosh, this is really hard because of the gender, what do you gonna do about that, just not do it? If you wanna do something then just do it and then hope that people catch up to you. For girls that are gonna be playing Little League, anything could happen. You could be up by ten runs and you can lose the game. So stay focused, make sure you play as a team. And hopefully, you hit a home run, cuz no girl's ever hit a home run. And I'll be cheering for you. You'll never make everyone happy, so you just have to be exactly who it is that you are. And at least know that you've been true to yourself. It's about attitude, aptitude, and opportunity. Who knew I would be here? But it all started with folks that thought I had a good attitude. That put me in places, that challenged me, and then provided me opportunities, because I met and exceeded the standard. You often don't realize, people want you to succeed. And they often have very good solutions, both practical and in terms of thinking of opportunities for you. And the other thing is, I think it's not too bad To have periods of great intensity doing one thing or the other. Meryl Streep once said, every successful woman's life has its ebbs and flows. Know your power, know the power of your intellect, of your values and your commitment, the courage you have. And don't let anybody trivialize. How you have spent your years. All of them have contributed to making a very unique and special person. Just take joy, don't let anyone discourage you from that thing that you love the most. It's more about making a life [ MUSIC ] Cuz I'm making a living. That's what matters. 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