Time 23Mar2020

(Frankie) #1
Time March 16–23, 2020

Ellen DeGeneres
1997 | DARING TO BE REAL
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the cover of TIME in 1997 along with three seismic
words: “Yep, I’m gay.” The lead character on her sitcom, Ellen, came out at the same time, making
DeGeneres the first to play a gay lead on American network TV. It was an enormous risk. At the time,
polls showed more than half of Americans believed same-sex relations were “always wrong.” But the
risk paid off, providing generations of LGBTQ people with a new sense of possibility. —Katy Steinmetz

‘NEVER FOLLOW

SOMEONE ELSE’S

PATH, UNLESS

YOU’RE IN THE

WOODS AND

YOU’RE LOST AND

YOU SEE A PATH.’

1990s

82 WALT DISNEY TELEVISION/GETTY IMAGES

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