Okay, so I know that it was a a big deal when Ellen the actress came out in real life, and then when she came out on her show. Everyone says it was a landmark TV episode. But, on Friends, we were introduced to Ross' lesbian ex-wife Carol in 1994, 3 years before Ellen came out.
Am I missing something???
"Smithers, I believe this dog is a member of the Skull and Bones."
that is true but Ellen was the first 'Lead' actress to come out as gay and also have her character come out as gay.
Ross's ex-wife was a secondary character and wasnt in the show very much. It was a big deal with Ellen simply because she was the first lead role to come out
Ahhhh I see.
"Smithers, I believe this dog is a member of the Skull and Bones."
I also think it had a lot to do with the fact that Ellen was coming out personally at the same time, not just the character. (The actress playing Carol was not gay herself.)
By the way, it says "balls" on your face.
~Garden State
The misconception is that Ellen Morgan was the first gay character ever on a television series. This is untrue, because there had been gay characters before, dating as far back as the '70s (Billy Crystal had a recurring role as a gay man on Soap), but they were either secondary or minor characters. Also, they tended to be stereotypical, i.e. flaming for men, butch for women.
However, before Ellen, no gay character had ever been the lead character of a TV show, with the main focus on them. Furthermore, that gay character was being played by a gay actress, to boot. So that was a double-whammy! In short, Ellen DeGeneres made history because 1) she was a gay person leading a show, and 2) the lead character of said show was gay.
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Yeah, and Leon came out as gay on "Roseanne" in 1991, and Nancy came out in 1993.
shareBut they weren't the leads of those shows. In fact, they were merely recurring/guest stars.
Furthermore, they made Leon more effeminate once they established he was gay, and in the last episode, when talking to Darlene's newborn baby, he addresses himself and his partner Scott (played by Fred Willard) as 'Aunt Leon' and 'Aunt Scott.' Ugh!
As for Nancy, she comes out as lesbian after Arnie leaves her but later settles on bisexual.
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Carol - in Friends - was not a major character, but a character occasionally seen (with her girlfriend and later wife). Ellen was a major character (the star) in the series.
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