A Hollywood star allegedly got fired from a huge film just for dating Ellen DeGeneres: "The stigma..."
Ellen DeGeneres historically came out as a lesbian on television in 1997, in March of the same year, she met actress Anne Heche at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, and the two became Hollywood's first openly gay couple. However, their relationship wasn't received with open arms and Heche faced severe setbacks in her illustrious career. "I was in a relationship with Ellen DeGeneres for three-and-a-half years and the stigma attached to that relationship was so bad that I was fired from my multi-million dollar picture deal and I did not work in a studio picture for 10 years," she recalled while appearing on a 2020 episode of 'Dancing with the Stars' with partner Keo Motsepe.
As per People, Heche described how she defied convention to publicly express her love for DeGeneres. "My movie premiere for Volcano, I had told them that I was taking Ellen as my date and I was told if I took Ellen I would lose my Fox contract," she alleged. However, despite the television host's caution to follow the production network's work ethics, Heche disregarded it and brought DeGeneres along to the red carpet event. The bold move came with repercussions Heche wasn't allowed at the after-event, "I took Ellen to the premiere and I was ushered out before the movie even ended and was told I was not allowed to go to my own after party for fear that they would get pictures of me with a woman."
The Tony nominee and the standup comedian sparked a revolution with their relationship, but they couldn't sustain it for long due to constant public scrutiny. They split in August 2000, calling it "amicable" Their joint statement read: "It is an amicable parting and we greatly value the 3 1/2 years we have spent together." According to Newsweek, Heche went on to marry Coleman Laffoon, a real-estate businessman and the couple had a son in 2002 named Homer. Decades later the Emmy-winning actress revealed the real reason behind their sudden breakup. "I broke up with her because her goal was to have a lot of money. Mine was to find love, and hers was, 'I want $60 billion," Heche disclosed while appearing on the 'Better Together' podcast in 2021.
"Good, good luck; our forks are never going to meet. The further we stay on with this, the further we will be apart," Heche sounded bitter while further discussing her breakup with the late-night host. As per The Guardian, Heche had some strong words about their doomed relationship and her sexuality status, “I did not, personally, identify as a lesbian. I simply fell in love!" she wrote in her memoir titled 'Call Me Anne' which was released a few months before her tragic passing. “I was labeled [sic] outrageous because I fell in love with a woman. I had never been with a woman before I dated Ellen,” she shared.
This is a sad day. I'm sending Anne's children, family and friends all of my love.
— The Ellen Show (@EllenDeGeneres) August 12, 2022
'The Supercell' actress met with an accident on August 5, 2022, after which she was left battling for her life, on August 12th she passed away. "We're not in touch with each other, so I wouldn't know. I don't want anyone to be hurt," DeGeneres told the media. She later posted a condolence message on X. Their relationship paved the way for the LGBTQ community to come out in the open. "Our time was a beautiful part of my life and one that I wear with honor," Heche had said. "I was a part of a revolution that created social change, and I could not have done that without falling in love with her."