Ellen DeGeneres on Breaking Barriers and Bowing Out — For Now
Ellen DeGeneres on the Time magazine cover with the attention-grabbing title “Yep, I’m Gay.” Or more likely, while watching her sitcom Ellen, when she announced over an airport loudspeaker that she was gay.
Both were great stories for us — but controversial at the time for society.Ellen’s story is perhaps one of the most storied in LGBTQ+ history.
And how times have changed, and that’s partly because of Ellen, who led the way so that we wouldn’t have to be stunned at a magazine cover that blared the word “gay.”Our generation remembers what happened during those spring days in 1997, but for those who weren’t of age at that time, we can tell you Ellen’s coming-out was a tectonic pop-culture event.
It changed most of our lives.It was also a precarious time, particularly for Ellen. She paid the consequences for being honest.
