Posted at 8:00 a.m.
“Yep, I’m Gay”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TIME MAGAZINE
Ellen DeGeneres made the headlines Time Magazine.
It is one of the Time Mmagazine who got the most buzz. A certain April 14, 1997 that has gone down in history. It was 25 years ago, and for one of the very first times, an American lesbian star came out of the closet in the media, in a sober and resounding way. “And that had a major impact on American society,” comments Julie Snyder. She then even lost her job! […] At the time, I was doing a talk show: The J Fist. Ayoye, she loses her job! Wow! Me, I already found it precarious to be a woman and host a talk show at TVA. Just being a woman, I found it tough. Lucky I was straight! “An outing that awkwardly stirred up American society, and, for this, “bravo! “. “She changed society, she opened the door – knocked down the door! – for all homosexuals! And she paid the price…
Coming out of his character
Le 30 avril 1997, soit deux semaines après ce fameux coming out, le personnage qu’elle incarne dans la sitcom Ellen sort à son tour du placard dans un épisode à la fois mémorable et historique. The Puppy Episode bat à l’époque des records de cotes d’écoute. « C’est un grand moment, souligne Julie Snyder, et c’est très intéressant, parce que Ellen était une sitcom, mais aussi une sorte de téléréalité, quand on l’analyse avec le prisme actuel. […] There was something autofiction. […] There is really something precursory. “But there is more:” She created a convergence, continues Julie Snyder, with her one in the Time Magazine, then its record ratings. There is an opportunist strategy there, a good opportunism […] because she made something very constructive out of it. For better, but also for worse. The controversy around his homosexuality will indeed be right for the show.
Dory, the big comeback
IMAGE PROVIDED BY BUENA VISTA PICTURES
scene of Finding Nemo
After disappearing from the set, it’s with Dory’s understudy (Finding Nemo), a few years later, that Ellen DeGeneres “rebuilt” herself and especially made her big public comeback. A contract that occupies him no less than three years. “Ellen DeGeneres told me in an interview that she was a bit like Dory, a bit mixed up, remembers Julie Snyder. But it’s still incredible that it was a fish that brought her back to Hollywood! “During the interview, the American host also returned to this troubled period which preceded this great return, tackling his disgrace and his depression head on.
The trip to Rwanda with the gorillas
Since 2003, Ellen DeGeneres has hosted her homonymous show, with the resounding success that we know (despite the turmoil of recent years). Among other key moments, Julie Snyder retains this one. It was four years ago. For her 60th birthday, Portia de Rossi, Ellen DeGeneres’ wife, made a surprise incursion on her set to offer her an unusual gift: a trip to Rwanda to see the gorillas, and above all a foundation in her name. (the Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund). A key moment, according to Julie Snyder, because he alone embodies many aspects of the character: “It’s just beautiful, it’s a gift from his wife, in tribute to his idol, Dian Fossey. […] And then I really like animals. To know that his idol is Dian Fossey [NDLR : célèbre primatologue américaine], it makes us aware of the protection of the environment. Her, her dream is not to go to a castle in Spain […], but to go see the gorillas. It’s really fun as a dream, it’s inspiring! And the vegetarian in me is happy! »
The underside of the interview
Julie Snyder will remember it for a long time. It was in June 2019, in the studios of Warner, in California. “Ellen DeGeneres’ offices are next to Clint Eastwood’s, it’s really impressive! But don’t come in there who wants. “It’s quite military,” she laughs. It’s almost more complicated than entering Lebanon! Very structured and formatted. That said, “we were treated very, very well,” first passing her through a dressing room (stocked with photos of the host with several of her star guests, aka “the whole world!”) and then a trailer, before finally arriving on the set. We can hardly imagine the stress. “Me, I threw up my stress,” she remembers, still laughing. “But in the end, it went really well. She was super funny, super generous. »