It’s been over 20 years since DeGeneres came out publicly in a Time article. What made it an even more groundbreaking moment in pop culture was that her character, Ellen Morgan, on her sitcom Ellen came out with her, becoming the first gay lead character on television . With 44 million people tuning in, DeGeneres – and her character – came out. While the studio was flooded with thank you notes and letters from fans who had been inspired by the episode, many of the actors involved in the episode received death threats and were snubbed by Hollywood. The dichotomy was severe. The episode won an Emmy, DeGeneres won a Peabody award, yet the show was cancelled a year later.