'She's not coming out': Ellen DeGeneres relives fight to announce she was gay 20 years after becoming the first lead character to do so

By Ross Mcdonagh For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:12 EST, 26 April 2017 | Updated: 19:46 EST, 26 April 2017

It's been 20 years since Ellen came out to Oprah Winfrey — twice.

Now DeGeneres is preparing to sit down with her fellow talk show queen for a third time to relive it.

Ellen shared a sneak peek of Friday's upcoming episode, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of her monumental 1997 interview with Winfrey in which she announced to the world she was gay.

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20 years later: Ellen DeGeneres shared a sneak peek of Friday's upcoming episode, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of her monumental 1997 interview with Winfrey in which she announced to the world she was gay

20 years later: Ellen DeGeneres shared a sneak peek of Friday's upcoming episode, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of her monumental 1997 interview with Winfrey in which she announced to the world she was gay

Just two months later, her character Ellen on her sitcom sat down with her therapist - also played by Winfrey - to break the same news. 

'This was before Facebook so if you wanted to announce something, it was the only way; you had to get a sitcom,' Ellen joked in Friday's sneak peek.

 'It was called the Puppy Episode' because we wanted to keep it a secret until it aired,' she recalled. 'And because 'Ellen Throws Her Career Away' seemed too on-the-nose.'

Joking aside, she went on to reveal the real reason behind the name: when the writers told the executives they wanted her to come out because they needed her to be in a relationship after four years, they replied: 'get her a puppy — she's not coming out'.

Blocked: She discussed how execs on her sitcom refused to let her come out

Blocked: She discussed how execs on her sitcom refused to let her come out

Rejoining her two decades later, Oprah told her: 'Your whole calling is about you being who you were meant to be. You would not be who you are ... had you not had the courage. And 20 years ago, you had no idea it would put you in this seat.'

The duo were also joined by Laura Dern, to whom Ellen first uttered the words 'I'm gay' to in the show. 

'Saying I'm gay — gay people, just for you straight people out there, don't just go around saying I'm gay, because you don't need to for the people that know you're gay, so no-one one says it — for those words to come out of my mouth for the very first time, even rehearsing it, I would burst into tears every single time,' Ellen remembered. 

Reunion: The duo were also joined by Laura Dern, to whom Ellen first uttered the words 'I'm gay' to in the show

Reunion: The duo were also joined by Laura Dern, to whom Ellen first uttered the words 'I'm gay' to in the show

 'Of all the things I feel privileged to experience in my life, as a human but also as an actor, there's no greater gift than being the person that was with you and looking in your eyes as you said those words,' Dern replied.

'Watching you have this catharsis or ritual and having the audience support and us sort of holding - literally holding - each other up through this very emotional moment it was so profound and I feel so blessed that I got to be there and witnessed that.'

The episode of the Ellen DeGeneres Show airs on Friday.

Help from her friends: Oprah played a special role in Ellen's coming out. The star first announced she was gay on Oprah's talk show in 1997, pictured above

Help from her friends: Oprah played a special role in Ellen's coming out. The star first announced she was gay on Oprah's talk show in 1997, pictured above

Fact and fiction: After revealing she was gay on Oprah's talk show, Ellen later had the host play a character on her sitcom. Above you can see the fellow talk show talents acting opposite each other, where Oprah played the star's therapist

Fact and fiction: After revealing she was gay on Oprah's talk show, Ellen later had the host play a character on her sitcom. Above you can see the fellow talk show talents acting opposite each other, where Oprah played the star's therapist

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