Ellen Degeneres has revealed Sir Elton John’s reaction when the comedian came out as gay in the 90s. The popular presenter came out in a special episode, titled Coming Out, in her sitcom in 1997. Now, speaking to Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast, the talk show host spoke about how she didn’t receive the sort of support from the gay community she thought she would, signalling out the Rocket Man in particular.

Axar.az reports citing metro.co.uk.

She said: ‘Even Elton John said, “Shut up already. We know you’re gay. Be funny”. I had never met him and I thought, “What kind of support is that from a gay person?” But everybody assumed I was just non-stop talking about. It hurt my feelings.’ Ellen – who’s been married to Australian actress Portia de Rossi since 2008 – said ABC had ‘finally’ let her come out and it was a hugely celebrated success. However she said that the response from the gay community surprised her, and the backlash left her depressed – especially when the show was cancelled not long after and she was ‘looked at as a failure in the business’.

‘No one would touch me. I had no agent, I had no possibility of a job, I had nothing,’ she said. ‘The gay community, it’s a really difficult line to walk. Some people thought, “You’re not gay enough, and you’re not doing enough for our community, and there are so many that have done more.” And I was like, “I didn’t say I was your leader, and I didn’t say I have done more. I just want to be a comedian, and I just happen to be gay”.’

Now, of course, the situation couldn’t be further from the truth as Ellen now hosts the wildly popular The Ellen Show and has been a massive advocate for equality and gay rights. Last year, she celebrated the 20th anniversary of that particular Coming Out episode with plaudits and congratulations coming in from the likes of First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah – Ellen went on to describe that episode as the hardest thing that I ever had to do in my lifet.