Season 3: Episode 3: Ellen DeGeneres

Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive

Making Gay History

Sexuality, Personal Journals, Health & Fitness, History, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 November 2017

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Everybody loves Ellen. But that wasn’t always so. When she came out on screen and in real life the backlash was fierce and her future cast in doubt. In this 2001 interview, hear a beloved icon at a crossroads. Visit our episode webpage for background information, archival photos, and other resources. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠Patreon community⁠. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I history
0:02.0	Eric here
0:03.0	A few months ago we launched Making Gay History's Patreon channel
0:06.0	a place where we're sharing new video interviews
0:09.0	Never Before Heard Clips from my archive
0:11.0	that didn't make it into the episodes and more.
0:14.0	If you're not a member of our Patreon community yet, I hope you'll join today.
0:18.4	Just $5 a month gets you access to these Making Gay History extras, and you'll support us as we work to bring LGBTQ history to life
0:26.1	through the voices of the people who lived it.
0:28.8	Find out more at Patreon.com slash Making Gay History. or go to making gay history
0:34.0	and click on the link in our home page banner and thank you so much.
0:41.0	I'm Eric Marcus and this is Making Gay History. Back in the 1990s I went to a couple of unforgettable celebrations. One was a commitment ceremony, my own, which my grandmother called our wedding.
1:05.0	This was long before marriage equality was the law of the land and people like us had commitment ceremonies, not weddings.
1:11.0	The other celebration was a viewing party for the coming out
1:15.1	episode of Ellen, the popular ABC television sitcom starring Ellen Degenerous.
1:21.5	20 years ago the one hour two-part episode in which Ellen's character, Ellen Morgan, came out of the closet, was watched by more than 40 million people.
1:31.0	That included me, my partner, and 100 lesbians packed into a one bedroom apartment in Chelsea in New York City.
1:37.0	Our host that evening was my friend Anne Northrop, the famous Act Up activist.
1:42.0	It was such a different time.
1:44.0	There were no lead gay characters on television
1:46.0	until Ellen Morgan came out.
1:48.0	And what made her coming out even more exciting
	...

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