Actress Portia DeGeneres, formerly
Portia De Rossi before she married talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, is
disappointed at Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's opposition
to gay marriage.
Gilliard
is not paying mind to pleas from marriage equality advocates to allow
a conscience vote on an upcoming gay marriage bill. Without her
endorsement, Labor lawmakers are required to vote the party line and
against the measure.
Speaking on ABC Radio (the Australian
Broadcasting Company), the Ally McBeal and Arrested
Development star called Gillard's decision disappointing.
“I'm a little disappointed with the
new prime minister,” she said. “I'm hoping that Australia will
be a leader on this.”
Portia and Ellen married during the
brief window when gay marriage was legal in California.
She added that California was also at a
stalemate on the issue: “Marriage in California was only legal for
I believe about six or seven months, so while Ellen and I are still
legally married, gay couples can't marry here at this moment.”
In an earlier appearance on ABC's
Nightline, Portia said her previous
eating disorder had been an attemp to starve away her sexuality.