TIME readers responded with a wide range of reactions, from commending her bravery to calling the article “an affront to decency in general.” One offended reader summed up his response to her admission in his own three-word confirmation: “Yep, I’m done.” And, even within the story itself, experts in the television industry predicted that DeGeneres’ career would suffer.ĭecades, however, it’s clear that no matter how many viewers and readers guessed that DeGeneres might rue her very public coming out, she has little cause for regret.
YES I AM GAY MEME FULL
Read the rest of the interview and see the full issue here, in the TIME Vault: The Ellen DeGeneres Exclusive And I thought that was one experience and it was just her, and I started dating guys again, thinking, “Well, I just need to meet the right one.” Never could, really. My first gay experience was literally someone else’s idea–I was freaked out even by the thought of it. I thought, “If I were a guy I’d go out with her.” And then I thought, “Well, I don’t want to be a guy, really.” So I went, “Oh, well,” and just went on with my life. I ignored it because I didn’t really know what it was until I was 18 years old. TIME: Is being gay something you struggled with?ĭeGeneres: No. I’m going to get one of those haircuts that they all have.”
I’m going to start wearing leather vests. He said, “You’re not going to go all flamboyant, are ya?” I was like, “Yeah, Dad, I’m going to completely change.
My dad said the most hilarious thing when I told him what I was going to do on the show. I mean, I don’t understand a fear of coming out to your friends and family. TIME: What was harder, this or coming out to your family?ĭeGeneres: This. Now I feel comfortable with myself, and I don’t have to be fearful about something damaging my career if it gets out, because now I’m in control of it-sort of. I did it for my own truth.ĭeGeneres: I don’t think I could have done this a long time ago, and I don’t think people would have accepted it as readily as they do now. And you know, I watched my friend Melissa come out, and she became “the lesbian rock star.” I never wanted to be “the lesbian actress.” I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. But I didn’t want to talk about it until the show was done.
You’re the first person that I’ve-I mean I knew that I was going to-that was one of the things when I decided to have my character on the show come out, I knew I was going to have to come out too. TIME: So, for the record, are you yourself gay?Įllen DeGeneres: Yes. When DeGeneres sat down with TIME to talk it over, this was her take on the matter: If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. Bowie called this declaration “the biggest mistake I ever made.For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. “I’m gay,” he said to the journalist Michael Watts in 1972, “and always have been, even when I was David Jones,” his name at birth.Įleven years later, in an article for Rolling Stone titled “Straight Time,” Mr. Bowie freely experimented with fluidity in music, gender and fashion, he was frequently asked to categorize his sexuality with a label. In fact, he probably did it for two or three.”Īlthough Mr. “Bowie certainly did that for my generation.
“When people are growing up they’re generally looking for something in the culture that reflects their subconscious yearnings,” Grayson Perry wrote in The Guardian. Bowie’s longevity as a star extended his influence. “It was obvious that it was not Bowie playing a captain, but Bowie playing Marlene Dietrich playing a man.” “At the beginning of the show, he appeared as a kind of Marlene Dietrich, but with a white captain’s jacket and a cap,” Mr. In an essay for Out magazine, the French designer Jean Paul Gaultier recalled one example from Mr.