April 5, 2016
Actor Johnathon Schaech: 'It Was an Honor' to Be Ellen's Beard
READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Actor Johnathon Schaech recently participated in a Reddit Ask Me Anything and opened up about the mid-nineties when it was rumored he was dating Ellen DeGeneres (a.k.a. acting as her beard), who was not out at the time.
"My manager asked me to accompany her to events. She was scared people would not watch the show, her sitcom 'Ellen,' because she was gay. It was an honor," Schaech, 46, said.
"I grew up with two gay aunts and a gay uncle. My aunt died of cancer," he continued. "She was a proud woman and she didn't get proper care because she didn't want to be away from her partner. Hospitals didn't allow partners the same rights as a spouse. When you have someone you love in your life that is gay or a lesbian it's very clear that they deserve the same rights as anyone else. It's not about religion. If you don't love ELLEN now - you don't watch her show. She's a great example for the human race."
He later added: "I was [supposed] to perform in her coming out episode [on her sitcom] but I ran the marathon and couldn't walk the next day, the network fired me cause they thought I was lame. I was lame, DONT RUN A MARATHON when your given a great gift."
If you're feeling nostalgic, watch DeGeneres' iconic coming out moment on her sitcom "Ellen."
