Laura Dern has reflected on the dangerous aftermath of appearing in Ellen DeGeneres’ landmark coming-out episode of her sitcom, Ellen.
In April 1997, the Marriage Story actor played DeGeneres’s love interest for a revelatory, two-part episode, in which DeGeneres came out as gay, making her the first lead queer character in U.S. TV history.
Speaking to Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers on their Las Culturistas podcast, Dern said it took “years” for the world to see the cultural impact of the TV moment, despite the cast expecting an immediate positive reaction from viewers.
When the episodes aired, Dern said that the assumption was, “You're going to do this thing and thank God people will wake up, love their relatives and their neighbors, see them, everything will expand, culture will catch up, and it will be a beautiful celebration.”
But for those involved in the making of it, including guest stars Oprah Winfrey and Demi Moore, there was “major security” needed for them in the months following the release of the episode, revealing that they experienced “bomb threats, losing sponsors, and advertisers” during a “crazy” week post-release.
“The world went, 'No, no, no.' She lost her show. It was, you know, it took years,” Dern said.
During the episode, DeGeneres’ character Ellen Morgan realised that she is a lesbian after connecting with a friend’s colleague, named Susan, played by Dern.
After initially brushing off Susan’s advances, Ellen rushed to the airport to track her down and confess her feelings, making her the first lead queer character in television history.
Recalling the moment, Dern remembered Ellen “looking in my eyes, saying for the first time, out loud, with people watching.”
“The privilege, the luxury of feeling it for someone in a moment was so beautiful. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.”
But Dern said the episode's cultural impact on the LGBT+ community has become more far-reaching over time.
“I had a couple of people, part of the Gay Men's Choir of Los Angeles come up and go, ‘I was a kid who didn't even know what was going on. I saw that episode,’” she recalled.
“And you go, 'Oh right. That's why you want culture to catch up later.’ That is culture. Culture is doing it when nobody's caught up. I mean, it's just such a gift.”
DeGeneres went on to host the primetime talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show until it was axed in 2022 after a BuzzFeed News investigation accused it of fostering a toxic work environment.
DeGeneres subsequently retired from the entertainment industry in August 2024 after playing the final dates on “Ellen’s Last Stand… Up” tour, which were filmed for her 2024 Netflix special For Your Approval.
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