Glee star Jane Lynch says Julia
Roberts can thank her for outing her as gay, People.com reported.
In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres
airing Wednesday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Lynch jokes that
Roberts is gay.
“If Julia Roberts were gay, I think
it would be harder. She's an ingenue,” Lynch says.
“So, you're saying Julia Roberts is
gay?” DeGeneres responds in surprise.
“That's what I'm saying. Right here
on this show,” Lynch jokes. “She won't admit it. I'm here to
tell you she's gay. You're welcome, Julia.”
DeGeneres came out in 1997 on the cover
of Time and married Australian actress Portia de Rossi in 2008
during the brief June-to-November window when gay marriage was legal
in California. De Rossi recently filed
paperwork to change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres.
Lynch, 50, who followed the chat show
host's footsteps, first coming out gay then earlier this year
marrying her girlfriend, psychologist Lara Embry, in Massachusetts,
thanked DeGeneres for paving the way.
“You were at the height of your fame
and you came out,” Lynch said. “And that just blazed a trail for
me. It really did. It made it so much easier for me, what you did.”
Glee, which stars Lynch as the
sharp-tongued coach Sue Sylvester, returns to Fox for its second
season on Tuesday, September 21.