Ellen DeGeneres - Be True to Yourself

Ellen DeGeneres - Know Who You Are

Ellen Degeneres opens up about her decision to finally come out as gay, and says that the most important thing is to be true to yourself, even when the costs are high.

Transcript:

"I was living with so much shame and so much fear that I just couldn't live that way anymore and I decided to come out and make it creative, and my character would come out at the same time. It wasn't to make a political statement. It wasn't to do anything other than to free myself up from this heaviness that I was carrying around. I just wanted to be honest."

"I'm so afraid to tell people. I mean, I just ... Susan, I'm gay."

"I thought, what's the worst that can happen? I can lose my career. I did. I lost my career. The show was canceled after six years without even telling me. I read it in the paper. The phone didn't ring for three years. I had no offers. Nobody wanted to touch me at all, and yet I was getting letters from kids that almost committed suicide but didn't because of what I did.

"I realized that I had a purpose and it wasn't just about me and it wasn't about celebrity, but I felt like I was being punished. It was a bad time. I was angry, I was sad. And then I was offered a talk show.

"Really when I look back on it, I wouldn't change a thing. I mean, it was so important for me to lose everything because I found what the most important thing is is to be true to yourself. Ultimately, that's what's gotten me to this place.

"I don't live in fear. I'm free. I have no secrets. I know I'll always be okay because no matter what, I know who I am."