Ellen DeGeneres made history when she came out as a lesbian in the 1990s.
The comic was the first openly gay prime-time star in America – breaking down barriers for many LGBT stars who have followed.
But she has now revealed she nearly quit comedy after a nightmare gig.
In 1997 she appeared on the cover of Time magazine and gave an interview to the Oprah Winfrey show, opening up about her sexuality.
20 years on Ellen has spoken to Time reflecting on her coming out, and how a string of homophobic performers nearly ended her career.
Ellen told the magazine: “There was a night in particular that there were two guys on before me and their stuff was very homophobic – slamming women in every kind of way.
“And no one knew that I was gay necessarily, it was just a very angry testosterone-filled crowd by the time I got on stage.
“The entire front row of guys got up and turned their chairs around and faced the audience.
“That was a night that I thought I would never do comedy again.
Ellen DeGeneres: "You have this one moment in time to be fully who you are. That's what I decided to do, and I got rewarded for it." http://ti.me/2wcd1un
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