Ellen DeGeneres says she faced death threats, including a bomb threat, after coming out

When Ellen DeGeneres came out as gay in 1997, she paved the way for countless other LGBT people – but it wasn't all easy.

The talk show host and comedian told Adweek that she faced multiple threats after the groundbreaking announcement 21 years ago. 

“When I came out, I had death threats and there was a bomb threat, but they misjudged the time of the taping,” she said. “We had already finished, and thank God.”

After DeGeneres announced “Yep, I’m Gay" on a Time cover, her character on the ABC sitcom "Ellen" also came out.

A year later, the show was canceled – a decision that left DeGeneres feeling "blindsided."

“I knew there would be people that didn’t like it, but I didn’t realize my show would be canceled,” she said. "I just thought, 'It’s going to be interesting.'"

She continued, "We’re living in a time now, the more controversial something is, the more popular it is. I just didn’t happen to have a show on at that time."

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