Ellen DeGeneres [YouTube]
Ellen DeGeneres opened up on her battle with depression, telling how Elton John ‘hurt her feelings’ after she publicly came out in the nineties.
The talk show host and comedian revealed that she struggled with mental health after she publicly announced her sexuality during ABC sitcom, Ellen, in 1997.
But she also revealed that pop music icon and LGBT figure Elton John made ‘mean’ and ‘hurtful’ comments to the star, allegedly telling her to ‘get over it’.
Ellen speaks out on her battle with depression
Speaking on the American Expert podcast, she told host Dax Shepard:
‘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?”
‘But everybody assumed I was just nonstop talking about. It hurt my feelings,’ she said.
Ellen faced backlash after her historic announcement in 1997
The episode went down in history and pulled in huge viewing figures.
However, despite its success, the network cancelled the show as advertisers and sponsors began to distance themselves from the brand.
‘People were making fun of me. I was really depressed
‘And because of that and because the show was canceled, I was looked at as a failure in this business.’
‘No one would touch me. I had no agent, I had no possibility of a job, I had nothing.’
Furthermore, Ellen also discussed the tragic loss of her girlfriend before her career began, aged 20.
‘When she was killed, I couldn’t afford to live where we were living together. I moved into this tiny little basement apartment,’ said the star.
