It may be hard to believe but when Ellen DeGeneres came out as gay during her sitcom “Ellen” in 1997, there were just a handful of gay characters on TV and none starring in their own shows. After the episode where her character accidentally reports her sexual orientation over an airport loudspeaker, "I heard from so many people saying that they heard people cheering around them and that restaurants were closing and having parties and celebrating. It was explosive. It was such an exciting time, and looking back in hindsight, I can see what a big deal it really was," DeGeneres says.
The show was canceled in 1998 after losing network and advertiser support, and she waited three years before being offered her daytime talk show. Only after the talk show had become a huge hit was she able to talk about her wife and their daily lives. While her reputation has taken a hit now over reports of a toxic workplace, it is without question that she paved the way for shows that followed like “Will & Grace,” “The L Word,” and “ Queer as Folk.” She showed the everyday normalcy of her life as a lesbian in an atmosphere where very few celebrities felt safe to be out as their authentic selves on screen.
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