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During a Thursday, Aug. 14, appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Tracee Ellis Ross revealed the rude thing a man did during a recent dateThe actress also explained why she’s not on dating apps and how she prefers to look for love”I do enough swiping on TikTok and Instagram,” Ross joked

Tracee Ellis Ross shocked a live TV audience while looking back on a horrible date.

During a Thursday, Aug. 14, appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the 52-year-old actress opened up to guest host Nicole Byer about a recent date that was one of the “worst” that she’d ever been on. That was thanks in large part to the rude thing that her date did while they were out for drinks.

“I’m not going to tell the whole story, but in a nutshell, [we] sat down, the drinks came, and he took out his phone, put it and leaned it on the glass and watched a basketball game,” she recalled as the crowd broke out in shocked gasps.

Ross acknowledged the shock, saying, “Swear to God.”

Despite feeling snubbed, Ross attempted to bridge the gap between her and the man — unsuccessfully.

“And then I leaned back, and I took a deep breath. And I was like, ‘All right. Okay. I’m going to participate and lean in.’ So I was like, ‘So who’s playing?’ And he put his hand up. As in like, ‘Don’t let me miss anything.’ ”

She continued, noting that she texted her friends, writing, “I need to leave here.”

“I was like, ‘This did not go well. This is not good,'” she concluded, clarifying that they did not get a second drink during the date.

“I hope he’s not watching this,” Ross added. “My favorite is that he’s continued texting me.”

She is looking for love, but the black-ish alum said that you won’t find her on dating apps.

Explaining why, she said, “I don’t know about shopping for a partner like that. I do enough swiping on TikTok and Instagram.”

Speaking of the apps, Ross said that she does get DMs from people who are interested in winning her heart. Some of them are particularly interesting.

“My favorite [DM] was recently: ‘I want to buy you a Louis Vuitton Bag.’ That’s all it said. That was it. It didn’t say, ‘I want to get to know you.’ It didn’t say, ‘You seem like a nice lady.’ It just said, ‘I want to buy you a Louis Vuitton bag.’ I did not reply,” the Pattern Beauty founder said, explaining, “I don’t want a Louis Vuitton bag from that man. I don’t know that man.”

How does she find love if she’s not swiping on Tinder or replying to romantic DMs?

The star said that she likes to find men in “the wild.” Alternatively, she added, “I like to get set up. I have posed the question to many a friend.”

Tracee Ellis Ross in July 2025.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

One friend that she said she’d “never” asked to set up an introduction was Michelle Obama. While on the former first lady’s IMO podcast back in April 2025, Ross shed light on her dating history.

“I’ve never asked Michelle to set me up, which I think perhaps is dumb, and I need to get on that,” she said now, worrying that she might have “missed” her chance.

While she hasn’t found a forever partner yet, Ross emphasized that her “heart is still open.”

Tracee Ellis Ross in August 2025.

Arturo Holmes/Getty 

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“And I have the key,” the Solo Traveling star said, referencing her outfit on the late-night show, which included a ring of keys on her belt loop. “I have the key. It’s the biggest key on the chain. You know why? Because my heart is big.”

Speaking to SELF in July, Ross revealed how seeing her mom, Diana Ross, succeeding professionally made it clear to her that a partner wasn’t the most important thing in life.

“The example she set for me [was] that I didn’t need a man to build the life I wanted,” she said. “It wasn’t, ‘Look at me,’ it was, ‘This is me.’ And that informed something very important for me foundationally.”