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Ellen DeGeneres: “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’m openly gay and finally getting more success”

Judging EllenWith a five-year deal at American Idol in place and viewership of her daytime talk show up an average of 15 percent over last year, Ellen DeGeneres is on a career roll.

She is on the cover of the current issue of TV Guide magazine. Here is a portion of it:

Q. Your Q score, or likability factor with the public, is reportedly higher than Oprah’s. Surprised?
A. All I’ve ever done is try to learn more and more who I am and try to be fully who I am. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’m openly gay and finally getting more success, because I’m not hiding anything. I’m completely, fully present. And I can relax. It’s so funny, I spent all these years trying to hide [being gay], because I thought it would keep people away from me. And actually, as soon as you embrace who you are and keep diving deeper, that’s when more people show up. Because I think everybody wants to do the same thing—everybody’s goal in life is to be comfortable in your own skin and trust that.

http://www.geekforcefive.com/images/uploads/ellen-and-simon.jpegQ [On Idol] you seem very compassionate when giving people the bad news that they didn’t make it.
A. I struggled for 15 years. I did stand-up and I was rejected before I got the Letterman show, and before I got The Tonight Show and before getting my own HBO special. There were a lot of times I thought I was ready and people wouldn’t put me on those shows because they didn’t think I was ready. I think that’s why I’m kinder in the way I deliver [negative] news. I have that compassion because I was that person that people said cruel things about. And I had that time in my life where I wasn’t given a chance. So it’s a pleasure for me to be able to show someone a different way you can be turned down.

Q. And now you’re sitting next to Simon Cowell, who some feel is too harsh.
A. He’s a nice guy. But he’s also really mean to people [in a way] that I think goes beyond just constructive criticism. It becomes almost taunting, which I don’t like. Because [as a performer], I know what that feels like. It’s entertainment value for people who like that kind of drama. And as a fan of the show, I’ve usually agreed with what he says, to a limit.

Q. This is the first time he’s on that panel next to a star bigger than he is.
A. I don’t know that he’s allowed that to sink in. I don’t know that he thinks that. I think he’s still the biggest star on that panel, in his head. And it has been his show this entire time. I think that we definitely have had moments of fun and have gotten along, but at the same time, I don’t know. It’s a tough year for him, ’cause he’s leaving, so I think it’s bittersweet for him.


FILE UNDER: Lesbian

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