Ellen DeGeneres Talks Coming Out, Death Of Former Girlfriend
During an interview on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Ellen DeGeneres discussed surprising topics like the death of a former girlfriend and taking criticism from Elton John.
By austind03 on March 15, 2018
We’ve all seen Ellen DeGeneres interview famous celebrities on her hit talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. However, have you ever seen the comedian on the other side of the interview? Well, thanks to Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, you now can!
According to Billboard, DeGeneres was Shepard’s guest this week, and they discussed some topics the comedian usually doesn’t talk about.
One such thing was DeGeneres’ former girlfriend who died in a car accident when Ellen was only 20. The couple had been living together at that time, and her death forced Ellen to move somewhere new because she couldn’t afford the rent by herself. The talk show host revealed:
“I moved into this tiny little basement apartment that I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor infested with fleas. I thought, ‘Why is this beautiful, 21-year-old girl gone and fleas are here?’”
Having to go through such a traumatic experience at that age must have been devastating, but the comedian stayed strong.
DeGeneres also talked about the aftermath of her publicly coming out on her sitcom, Ellen. While the moment brought in huge ratings, things later took a turn. ABC made the decision to end the show not long after the episode aired, leaving an upset DeGeneres in a lurch. She admitted:
“[It ended] because I came out. They really didn’t want me to come out … they finally let me come out and it was a huge success the night of. It was celebrated … then they just stopped promoting it because they were scared.”
Following her show’s cancellation, she even had to face criticism from a surprising celebrity: Elton John. DeGeneres explained:
“Even Elton John said, ‘Shut up already. We know you’re gay. Be funny.’ I had never met him and I thought, ‘What kind of support is that from a gay person?’”
However, despite the criticism and setbacks, she still fought to get where she is today. We couldn’t be more happy for her, and we wish her the best!
Head right here to learn more. Also, make sure to listen to the full interview for yourself right here.
