Random Things When Ellen DeGeneres Came Out Publicly (14 items)

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  (#10) DeGeneres And Girlfriend Anne Heche Appeared On 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' The Same Day As The Episode

  At the time of DeGeneres's coming out, she was dating actress Anne Heche. The couple appeared together on The Oprah Winfrey Show the day "The Puppy Episode" aired to talk about their relationship.

  Heche said she hadn't known she was gay until she saw DeGeneres "across a crowded room" at an Oscars party and was attracted to her:

  In the beginning, souls connect. There are times when souls come together and they are just meant to be... My soul was meant to be with hers... In love there’s... no segregation... It’s actually very exciting to be a representation not only of truth but of love.

  Heche and DeGeneres broke up in 2000. DeGeneres began dating actress Portia de Rossi in 2004, and they married in 2008.
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  (#13) 'The Ellen Degeneres Show' Premiered On NBC In 2003 And Remains Widely Popular

  In 2003, Ellen DeGeneres made history once again by being the second LGBTQ+ woman to host a major daytime talk show (Rosie O'Donnell was the first). The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which has won 11 Daytime Emmy Awards from 2007 through 2019 for outstanding talk show/entertainment talk show, was renewed in 2019 until 2022.

  DeGeneres offers a kind, "negative-free" atmosphere on the show, interviewing celebrities and extraordinary real people, playing games, dancing, and interacting with and empowering audiences.

  DeGeneres also hosts NBC's Ellen’s Game of Games. 
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  (#14) Megan Mullally Credits 'Ellen' With Paving The Way For 'Will & Grace'

  The 1998 fall TV season following the cancellation of Ellen was host to the first major show to benefit from Ellen DeGeneres and Ellen Morgan coming out of the closet: Will & Grace, which featured Eric McCormack and Sean Hayes playing two gay friends, Will and Jack.

  In 2019, Will & Grace actress Megan Mullally, as a guest on DeGeneres's talk show, thanked the host for making Will & Grace possible:

  Your show really laid the groundwork for Will & Grace. I don’t know if there would have been a Will & Grace if you had not done that show and come out, so thank you for that. 

  Other shows featuring prominent LGBTQ+ characters and themes in the wake of Ellen included Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), Queer As Folk (2000), Six Feet Under (2001), and The L Word (2004).
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  (#9) Ellen's Coming Out Took Over The News Cycle

  In 2018, Ellen DeGeneres told Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast that even though she only gave three interviews around the time of her coming out - the Time cover story, an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's 20/20 - people thought she was talking too much about coming out because the news media and late-night TV jumped all over the topic. 

  “During the time, because there was so much talk about it, everyone was just sick of it,” she said. DeGeneres was depressed and hurt by the backlash, she said. She even recalled a comment from Elton John, who apparently said, "Shut up already. We know you’re gay. Be funny."

  "I had never met him and I thought, 'What kind of support is that from a gay person,'" she said. "But everybody assumed I was just nonstop talking about [it]. It hurt my feelings."
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  (#8) DeGeneres And ABC Received Threats 

  After Ellen DeGeneres came out in Time magazine, she received ominous threats. She told Adweek, "When I came out, I had death threats and there was a bomb threat, but they misjudged the time of the taping. We had already finished, and thank God."

  The show beefed up its security tactics after the threat. Other critics called the director with angry comments, and the network received a great deal of hate mail. 
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  (#7) Following The Episode, Some Guest Stars Had Difficulty Finding Work

  Some of the guest actors on "The Puppy Episode" faced backlash for their participation in the show. Oprah Winfrey received numerous prejudiced comments and letters.

  Laura Dern, who played Ellen Morgan's romantic interest, Susan, later told DeGeneres she didn't work for a year in the TV industry after taking on the role. However, she had no regrets: "I remember the same bliss of getting to be part of supporting you and this moment, and what a privilege and an honor it felt like."  

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