Laura Dern says that costarring alongside Ellen DeGeneres on the episode of her sitcom Ellen, in which the former talk show host came out publicly, was one of the most complicated but impactful moments she’s experienced in her life.
“I had the honor and privilege of being part of Ellen DeGeneres’ coming-out episode called ‘The Puppy Episode,’ and it was a massive moment,” Dern told hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers during an appearance on their Las Culturistas podcast on Wednesday, February 11.
The 1997 episode of the sitcom marked the first time a queer character led a major television show.
“But the moment, now reflected on, seems like, ‘Well of course, obvious, duh!’ A million people must have done it before that, and people must have been going crazy, and celebrating, and it must have been such an emotional moment,” she added.
The Jurassic Park actress, 59, explained that her assumption was that the episode would receive a positive response.
“The assumption is, you’re going to do this thing and thank God people will wake up, love their relatives and their neighbors, see them, everything will expand, culture will catch up, and it will be a beautiful celebration,” she said.
Instead, the stars of the show got “bomb threats, losing sponsors and advertisers, and [endured] a crazy week during the filming,” she revealed. “Major security for a couple of years for any of us involved. The world went ‘no, no no,’ she lost her show.”
While the negative repercussions of the episode disappointed her at the time, Dern says she’s since been approached by people in the gay community who have thanked her for her role in depicting a coming out story on TV for the world to see. In addition, she regards the moment with her friend, DeGeneres, as something she’ll never forget.
“Let me just say, being part of that moment with Ellen, it wasn’t that I was somebody supporting an actor or a friend by being part of the show… It makes me emotional, but I was holding her hands as they were shaking and she was looking in my eyes, saying for the first time, ‘I’m gay’ out loud with people watching,” Dern explained. “The privilege, the luxury of feeling it for someone in a moment was so beautiful. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.”