In a recently released episode of
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen
DeGeneres talks about her groundbreaking coming out.
In 1997, DeGeneres came out gay on the
cover of Time magazine, and so did the character she played on
her ABC sitcom Ellen,
becoming the first openly lesbian character on network television.
ABC canceled Ellen the
following year. CBS canceled DeGeneres' The Ellen Show
after airing only 8 episodes of the sitcom.
“When I lost my sitcom, I didn't work
for three years solid until I got the talk show,” DeGeneres told
Seinfeld, referring to her hit daytime talk show, The Ellen
DeGeneres Show.
“I was bitter and sad and angry. How
did this change everything, just by me being honest and saying I'm
gay? Why is this such a shock to people? Why is it such a big
deal?” she rhetorically asked.
DeGeneres married actress Portia de
Rossi in 2008 in California.