We do... We have a tendency
to stereotype people.
This is uh...
This is a true story.
I was talking to this uh, this woman
and uh, she was telling me
about her kid's recital or something.
You know, how people are, hmm, and uh...
I said, "I gotta get going.
I uh, gotta get home to feed my cats."
And I...
She said, "Oh, how many cats do you have?"
And I said, "Three."
And she goes, "Oh, you are a lesbian."
I said, "I got news for you, that's not
what makes you a lesbian, it's uh..."
Nuts...
It's other stuff. It's uh...
I said, "I have three dogs.
Does that cancel it out in any way or..."
What if I had two cats,
does that make me questioning
or am I not quite gay at that point?
I don't know...
I am still gay by the way.
Still uh...
Oh, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Yes, I'm enjoying it. It's uh...
really working out for me now.
It's...
in the beginning, not so much, but now...
Yeah, it was tough in the beginning.
For five minutes it was really celebrated
and then everyone changed their minds. Um...
But I really... For a few minutes there
it really seemed like it was
going well and I thought
everyone in Hollywood that's closeted
is gonna come out after me. There, I...
I pictured like a stampede of wild elephants like...
every closeted actor and actress in Hollywood...
But instead, they were like little meerkats
coming out of their little meerkat closets. Just...
"How's this gonna go?
Is she gonna be OK?
Before I make a decision I wanna see how this is.
Nope, not going well. I'm going down...
back in...
stay there for a little while."
I just think, it would help if more people came out.
There are a lot of children that it would impact
a lot of kids would be helped
by that, you know, and...
and It's not just-- and it's not just actors and actresses.
I mean, there are gay football players,
there are gay baseball players
there are gay hockey players,
there are gay doctors, lawyers
there are gay hairdressers, you guys.
I just think when something is talked about
and when you see representatives
of whatever the subject is
it demystifies it.
People aren't afraid of it anymore like...
like dandruff.
I mean...
People weren't talking about dandruff.
Everybody was all nervous about dandruff
and then Sofia Vergara does this
Head & Shoulders commercial...
Her son has dandruff. He's a handsome boy.
We don't care. He's got dandruff.
Nobody's worried about talking
about dandruff anymore, you know.
Jen Aniston has dry eye.
We know that now.
She's your friend, she's my friend.
She has dry eye and that's okay.
She's actually... She is my friend
and she hid that from me.
I had to learn about it
on the commercial. She was...
ashamed.
So, I think, you know,
if, if more gay people would would endorse...
and not in a commercial, like, but, although...
Can you imagine?
"Hi, I'm Ellen DeGeneres.
Now I'd like to talk to you about gay.
Do you find yourself in love with,
attracted to or just curious
about the same sex?
Maybe it's time you try gay.
You'll notice the difference in as little as 48 hours.
And I should know.
I'm not just a spokesperson, I'm a gay.
Side effects may include, loss of family,
loss of friends, unemployment."
Yep, unemployment is a side
effect. That is definitely...
I lost my sitcom when I came out and uh...
And it's not like nobody warned me.
I mean everybody warned me.
My publicist, my agent, my manager
anyone making money off of me said: "Don't do it."
But, you know, my worst fears came true because...
you know, and that's why people stay closeted.
The same people who loved me,
overnight, just hated me.
Just because they knew I was gay.
Everything changed.
And I, you know, I went through a depression
and people made fun of me and,
and people were writing articles about me,
dissecting the whole process
and why I did it and that I shouldn't have done it
and you know, it was just a really tough thing.
It took three years for me
to get back on television.
And, and so when I was offered this talk show
I was really excited about it,
but they were trying to sell the talk show
and a lot of people didn't wanna buy it
because no one thought they'd watch.
There was this one station
manager that said, and this is a quote,
"No one's gonna watch it.
No one's gonna watch a lesbian during the day."
And I said, "Well, they weren't watching me
at night. What time of day is good for...
a lesbian?"
So...