“And I said, ‘OK, then, I’ll be on daytime every day. “Twenty-five years ago, they canceled my sitcom, because they didn’t want a lesbian to be in prime time once a week,” she continued.
‘What are we having for our gay breakfast?’ Or, ‘Pass the gay salt.’”Īfter mentioning that she also couldn’t say the word “wife” in the time before same-sex marriage was legal, the camera turned to the audience to capture DeGeneres’ spouse, actress Portia de Rossi, before returning to the host. “When we started this show, I couldn’t say ‘gay,’” DeGeneres said. On Thursday, at the start of the 3,339th and final episode of her talk show, she recalled what she had been through and how much times had changed. DeGeneres had been in limbo five years at that point, ever since ABC had canceled her sitcom a year after her groundbreaking announcement that she was gay. When the program made its debut in 2003, it seemed unlikely to be a hit. The outpouring signaled the end of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” a daily hour of daytime escapism that had reached its peak in less contentious times, when Beyoncé, Madonna, and Barack and Michelle Obama were happy to show off their goofiest dance moves side by side with the show’s star before an audience of millions. Fans blew kisses, made heart shapes with their hands and screamed the host’s name.
In the days leading up to the finale, the ovations grew longer and louder.
