Ellen DeGeneres - On April 30th, 1997 Ellen
DeGeneres the star of ELLEN ABC/1994-98 played a
young bookstore owner named Ellen Morgan who
finally admitted (with the help of a counselor)
that she was a lesbian thus becoming the first
lesbian character to star in a lead role in a
prime time series.
After accidentally announcing her gayness to
Susan, a TV producer (Laura Dern) over an open airport microphone,
Ellen
declared "It felt so Great! It felt so LOUD!"
Ellen:
You know how you said in the room, you
know, that you thought, maybe I was, you
know, and I said, “no, no, no, no,” well,
I was thinking about it, and I think that
maybe I am, er, I am ... I guess what I'm
trying to say is ... I did get the joke
about the toaster oven.
Susan:
Are you saying what I think you're trying
to say?
Ellen:
What do you think I'm trying to say?
Susan:
Oh, I'm not going to say it again and be
wrong.
Ellen:
No, you're not wrong. You're right. This
is so hard. But I think I've realized that
I am ... I can't even say the word. Why
can't I say the word, I mean, why can't I
just say ... I mean, what is wrong, why do
I have to be so ashamed, why can't I just
see the truth, I mean, be who I am, I'm
thirty-five years old... I'm so afraid to
tell people. I mean, I'm just...Susan...
[Ellen turns back towards Susan, putting
one hand on the counter and accidentally
pressing the PA system] I'm gay.
Ellen DeGeneres had already announced to the
world that she was a lesbian on the front cover
of
Time
magazine. It carried the simple
declaration "Yep, I'm Gay."
