What happened when Ellen DeGeneres came out in TIME magazine 25 years ago
msn.com1997, comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the cover of TIME magazine, dressed in black in front of a white background, under the words: “Yep, I’m Gay”. “Ellen opened the closet door. . .
for other out performers to live their lives openly and honestly,” former Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) president and Tempe mayor Neil Giuliano told PinkNews. “We know that with this kind of visibility comes understanding and acceptance. ”At the time, DeGeneres was one of the most high-profile figures in Hollywood to publicly come out – and the fallout was intense.
Speculation over DeGeneres’ sexuality began ramping up the year before, when it was reported that DeGeneres and other members of her writing team were locked in negotiations with ABC over whether her character on her ABC sitcom Ellen would be allowed to come out on an episode of the show.
On 3 March of that year, ABC announced that DeGeneres’ character on the show, Ellen Morgan, would in fact come out as lesbian on an upcoming episode.
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