🎙️ The Night Ellen Came Out to 42 Million People | LGBTQ+ History Sleep Story

A microphone at an airport gate. Two words. Forty-two million people listening at once. Tonight, fall asleep to the story of April 30, 1997: the night Ellen DeGeneres, and her sitcom character Ellen Morgan, came out on national television. ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 Welcome and settling in Drift off to sleep learning about "The Puppy Episode," the two-part episode of ABC's Ellen that aired April 30, 1997 and drew 42 million viewers, the most in the show's history. Ellen DeGeneres, born in Metairie, Louisiana in 1958, worked as a waitress, house painter, and oyster shucker before a Showtime contest named her Funniest Person in America and, on November 28, 1986, Johnny Carson waved her over to the Tonight Show couch after her "Phone Call to God" routine, the first woman comedian ever invited on a first appearance. Her sitcom Ellen premiered in 1994 as These Friends of Mine, and by 1996 the network was so unsure what to do with a lead who had no love life that Disney suggested she get a puppy. Instead, DeGeneres asked to let Ellen Morgan come out. The secret leaked in September 1996, GLAAD launched "Let Ellen Out," and the writers code-named the script The Puppy Episode. Oprah Winfrey played the therapist, Laura Dern played Susan, and Betty DeGeneres sat among the extras in the airport scene where her daughter leaned on a public-address microphone and said, "Susan, I'm gay." Two weeks earlier, the April 14, 1997 cover of Time had said it in three words: "Yep, I'm Gay." Chrysler and J.C. Penney skipped the hour, Wendy's pulled out for good, and ABC's Birmingham affiliate refused to air it, so a local group rented a 5,000-seat theater and a satellite feed. GLAAD hosted more than 1,500 "Come Out With Ellen" parties. The episode won the Emmy for comedy writing, a Peabody, and a GLAAD Media Award. Then came the parental advisory, the 1998 cancellation, and five quiet years, before Finding Nemo, The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003 to 2022), her 2008 marriage to Portia de Rossi, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. The story is told twice: first at a natural pace, then again slowly with long pauses to carry you into sleep. Along the way: a wet oyster counter in New Orleans, a telephone connected to nothing, a plywood airport gate, the blue light of a thousand living rooms, and a theater in Alabama with every seat full. 🌙 Perfect for: Falling asleep to gentle history LGBTQ+ history and 1990s pop culture Coming out stories Television history Bedtime stories for adults Anxiety and racing thoughts at night National Coming Out Day and April 30 💜 Subscribe for a new LGBTQ+ history sleep story every few days, and tell us in the comments: where were you on April 30, 1997? 🎧 Restful Rainbow is also a podcast. Search for it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. ☕ Restful Rainbow is independent and listener-supported. If these stories help you rest, you can support the show here: https://restful-rainbow.captivate.fm/... And if not, no need at all. Sleep well either way. Related episodes: The Unfolding Story of Elliot Page Tom Daley's Olympic Gold George Michael Marlene Dietrich: The Bisexual Icon Who Refused to Hide The Quiet Bravery of Early AIDS Caregivers "Yep, I'm Gay." — Time magazine cover, April 14, 1997 #EllenDeGeneres #PuppyEpisode #LGBTQHistory #SleepStory #ComingOut #YepImGay #1997 #TVHistory #LauraDern #Oprah #BedtimeStory #QueerHistory #SleepMeditation #LesbianHistory #NationalComingOutDay #90sTV #DeepSleep #CalmHistory #Sitcom #RestfulRainbow