Jeff Dodge: Thank You, Ellen DeGeneres

(Photo Source: The Ellen DeGeneres Show/Facebook)

September 2003.

That’s when everything changed.

I was transferring to a brand-new high school that was about to open its doors. However, this new venture was put on hold when the longest teacher strike in Washington State history began. My mom, who worked in the same school district, and I were home as a result. Along with going out on the picket line to support our teachers, we also started watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a history-making talk show that debuted that same month.

Right from the start, we were hooked and watched every single day. Once the teachers' strike ended and we both headed back to school, I recorded the show and we’d watch when we got back home. There are people in all of our lives with whom we have bonds for various reasons. In my family, I bonded with my great-aunt over books and movies like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. For my mom and I, we bonded over Ellen. We were fortunate enough to be able to see her in person when she did a Q&A event up in Vancouver, BC, after I won two tickets through our local radio station. While we never attended a taping of Ellen’s talk show, I will never forget being able to see her live, where we were just feet away from her. It was surreal.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show was not guaranteed to be a sure-fire hit when it began. About six years earlier, Ellen DeGeneres came out as gay on the now-iconic cover of TIME magazine. Her sitcom character came out around the same time in a moment that rightly made history but wrongly resulted in the show’s eventual cancelation. Ellen was out of work for a few years. No one wanted to hire her. But she did eventually find work. She got a new sitcom, though it didn’t last very long. She scored an HBO stand-up comedy special, The Beginning, which is some of the best stand-up I’ve seen her deliver, as well as another HBO special, Here & Now. And she voiced the character of Dory in the hit Pixar film Finding Nemo, one of the best animated films of all time. A few months later, she started a new venture, one that would last for 19 years and change the face of daytime television forever.

A lot of talk shows have come and gone over the past several decades. But only some of them stand the test of time; only a handful of them become iconic. That’s what happened with The Ellen DeGeneres Show. When it first started, viewers didn’t hear much about Ellen’s personal life—because she wasn’t allowed to. As she said during her final episode, “When we started this show, I couldn’t say ‘gay’ on the show.” But things started changing a few years in as she opened up more and we go to learn more about her and the people in her life, including Portia de Rossi, whom she married in 2008 after same-sex marriage became legal in California. It would take another seven years for marriage equality to become the law of the land nationwide.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show was more than just a talk show. It meant everything to her viewers and fans—and it meant even more to her LGBTQ+ audience, myself among them. But back in 2003, I was not out, and I didn’t even know my sexual orientation yet. For me, that journey didn’t begin until college. I can’t imagine what it was like for someone like Ellen to go through this on a national and global stage. In 2012 (10 years ago this month, in fact), I came out as bisexual, eight seasons into Ellen’s show. Once I knew who I was, Ellen and her talk show meant more to me than ever before.

To some, TV shows and movies are just that—TV shows and movies. But to others, they have a deeper meaning and connection. Representation does matter. It’s not just a slogan you hear. It actually matters. Being able to see yourself in various forms of entertainment, especially during formidable years, is life-saving for many young people. Imagine a closeted teenage girl sitting in the living room watching Ellen’s sitcom character come out in 1997 and what that would have meant to her. Imagine a queer person hearing the news in 2008 that Ellen and Portia got married and thought, ‘I want to do that too someday—and it seems possible.” Representation matters. Whether we’re talking about race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, mental health, etc., seeing someone on TV, whether it’s a fictional character or a real person, who looks like you or is going through something that you can relate to is a big deal.

(Photo Source: TIME)

As I said a moment ago, The Ellen DeGeneres Show was more than just a talk show. It changed lives—and not just in the ways mentioned above. Oprah Winfrey famously gave away cars to an entire audience on her show years ago. She also gave away trips to Australia. Because of these moments, she became known as the giveaway queen. But the truth is—the real queen of giveaways is Ellen. She’s probably given more away than every talk show in history combined. The amount of money alone is astounding. She changed people’s lives by giving them opportunities to flourish and then to turn around and pay it forward to others. Houses. Cars. College tuition. Vacations. Jobs. Once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The list goes on and on. She has done it all.

Talk shows are mainly known for conducting celebrity interviews—and Ellen’s was no different in that regard. But she also invited regular, everyday people who shared inspiring, heartbreaking, touching and hopeful stories. They weren’t doing it for the attention or to receive gifts or money. But Ellen made sure to reward them or to help them out when they needed it. She is one of the most generous people around.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show was also one of the most fun and funniest talk shows ever. Whether it was Robin Williams’ hilarious antics, audience member “Kitty” getting startled by the music, executive producer Andy Lassner going through a haunted house, Sarah Paulson’s back-to-back-to-back-to-back scares, a viewer saying “I love Jesus but I drink a little” (causing Ellen to completely break down into a fit of laughter), DJ tWitch getting his legs waxed, Dennis Quaid’s iconic “Dennis Quaid is here” moment at Starbucks, the entertainment games and so much more, there has never been a talk show with this many “best of” moments. You could spend an entire season just running through the highlights of the entire 19 years and it still wouldn’t be enough time.

Ellen absolutely loved to scare anyone and everyone. Her pranks and scares were certainly some of the best moments on the show. Her producer Andy was constantly on the receiving end of many jokes and pranks—and he took it all in stride, likely knowing that the audience would just eat it up. And it’s not just Andy. There have been a lot of producers, writers and staff members who’ve made appearances on camera, and they all became an integral part of the show. This clearly felt like a family. They’ve all been through so much together, both in their own lives and together as a group.

As the popularity of Ellen and her talk show grew, she ventured out into other projects, including being a judge on American Idol, launching a lifestyle brand, signing a deal with HBO Max, returning to stand-up for a Netflix special and much more. Something she takes a lot of pride in is The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, which was gifted to her by her wife, Portia, on her 60th birthday. She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama as well as the Carol Burnett Award at the Golden Globes.

She’s done it all. She’s given so much. That saying, “Laughter is the best medicine,” can be applied here. P!nk told her during her final show, “You help people find their joy,” and that’s exactly right.

The joy and laughter each and every one of her viewers and fans got out of this show has been sorely needed. We needed this show. I needed this show. As Ellen once said, “Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come.” She also said, “Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need.”

You know that line from Wicked, “Because I knew you / I have been changed for good”? I believe that. I am a better person because of Ellen. I wouldn’t be the same person I am today if The Ellen DeGeneres Show had not existed. We all go through various changes during our lives, both good and bad. But since September 2003, we could always turn to Ellen. She was always there when we needed her.

Thank you, Ellen, for 19 seasons of laughter, joy, inspiration, kindness and hope. I can’t come up with nearly enough words to show my appreciation for what you have meant to me and millions around the world. For many years, you would end your show by saying, “Be kind to one another,” and eventually, “I feel the love and I send it back to you.” Ellen, we also feel the love, and we send it back to you.