Ellen DeGeneres shared a stunning wedding photo and a loving message in honor of National Coming Out Day on Wednesday.
The 65-year-old comedienne posted a black-and-white photo from her 2008 wedding to actress Portia de Rossi on Instagram to celebrate the annual LGBTQ+ awareness day, which began in 1988 to support everyone “coming out of the closet.” to live openly as a member of the queer community.
In the photo, Ellen wears a white tuxedo and beams with joy as she holds the hand of gorgeous Portia, who looks like she stepped off the cover of a magazine in her stunning white wedding dress.
“Happy coming out day,” Ellen captioned the photo.
“I hope you have the courage and support you need to be yourself. And for those who didn’t know this: yes, I’m gay. #NationalWalkDay.”
Ellen teasing her fans for not knowing she was gay and writing “yes, I’m gay” was a reference to her groundbreaking April 14, 1997 Time magazine cover where she came out to the world.
Two weeks later, her sitcom character Ellen also came out as a lesbian in a now-iconic episode called “The Puppy Episode,” which celebrated its 25th anniversary last April.
Wrapping up her eponymous talk show in April, Ellen marked the anniversary with an emotional monologue.
During the episode, she broke down in tears after showing a video of her coming out moment, telling viewers she was crying because she was remembering the impact she made years ago.
“I just have to say it’s very emotional for me because you forget that doing something like that to me was kind of selfish – everyone around me was making money off of me and thought it was the wrong decision because they all they still made money from me. me — and you forget that when you do something, it affects a lot of other people,” she explained.
Ellen then said that she understands how she helps change people’s lives, admitting that this is more important to her than a successful career.
“When I came out, people warned me it would ruin my career, and for a while they were right. In fact, I lost my career for exactly three years. But look at me now.
“It really shows you how important it is to be yourself and how important it is to accept others for who they are,” she added.
Ellen then expressed gratitude for the success she has had in the daytime format. ‘
A lot of people didn’t think the show would work because I was openly gay and you proved them wrong,” she told viewers. “This job has been one of the greatest rewards of my life, and thank you for inviting me into your homes for 19 years and accepting me for who I am.”
“I’m so grateful that I have this platform to give a voice to not only the gay community, but to all the people who feel like they’re not being seen,” she added. “For me, that’s what I’m most proud of. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”