Ellen DeGeneres Reveals She Was Bullied In Hollywood After Coming Out

It is never easy to come out of the closet, and Ellen DeGeneres can attest to that.

DeGeneres is a picture of success in Hollywood, having fame, recognition and money, but it wasn’t a smooth journey, especially after coming out.

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” host announced that she was gay on April 14, 1997, gracing the cover of Time Magazine with the words that read, “Yep, I’m Gay.” After 20 years, DeGeneres shared how her confession made her life more challenging.

READ: Ellen DeGeneres was emotional two decades after coming out

“The bullying I endured [in Hollywood] after I came out made up for the lack of it during my childhood,” DeGeneres said in the September issue of Good Housekeeping. After opting to be honest with herself, her self-titled sitcom was canceled in 1998 and more opportunities vanished. “I moved out of L.A., went into a severe depression, started seeing a therapist and had to go on antidepressants for the first time in my life,” she said.

“It was scary and lonely. All I’d known for 30 years was work, and all of a sudden I had nothing. Plus, I was mad. It didn’t feel fair — I was the same person everyone had always known,” she added.

The “Finding Dory” star never gave up on herself. She eventually found the strength to meditate, work out and write again. From there, DeGeneres made her way up and has since become even more successful. In fact, looking back, she can’t believe her own strength.

“I can’t believe I came back from that point,” she told GH. “I can’t believe where my life is now.” DeGeneres’ success silenced her bullies.

Time noted that when the actress opted to come out as a lesbian, a number of sponsors in her then show pulled their ads, including J.C. Penney. Ironically, the company hired DeGeneres for an ad campaign later on, which drew another round of controversy.

DeGeneres’ “Ellen” sitcom had great ratings. It even won an Emmy for DeGeneres, Dava Savel, Mark Driscoll and writers Jonathan Stark and Tracy Newman. The “Finding Nemo” star also received a Peabody Award for “groundbreaking humor,” Vanity Fair reported.

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