ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 7, 1997 TAG: 9704070148
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: the People column
Ellen DeGeneres is coming out in real life, too.
After a season of rumors, her character on ``Ellen'' will acknowledge her homosexuality on the ABC sitcom April 30. Now, DeGeneres says she's a lesbian, too.
``When I decided to have my character on the show come out, I knew I was going to have to come out, too,'' DeGeneres says in the latest Time magazine. ``But I didn't want to talk about it until the show was done. I never wanted to be the lesbian actress. I never wanted to be the spokesperson for the gay community. Ever. I did it for my own truth.''
DeGeneres says she was confused sexually as a young woman.
``I dated guys,'' she says. ``I liked guys. But I knew that I liked girls, too. I just didn't know what to do with that.''
The 39-year-old comedian says she quit dating men at about age 20 and recently met a woman she hopes to forge a lasting relationship with.
Asked about the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who resorted to name-calling in blasting DeGeneres' morals after news of the upcoming on-air announcement was released, the sitcom star said she'd heard it all before.
``Really, he called me that? Ellen DeGenerate?'' she said. ``I've been getting that since the fourth grade.''
Fame is starting to fade for one-time teen heartthrob Jason Priestly, and the ``Beverly Hills, 90210'' co-star couldn't be happier.
``All of a sudden, I'm the celebrity of yesteryear - even on Fox, on my own network,'' Priestly said. ``I'm not David Duchovny, I'm not Scott Wol. I'm not the next generation of superstars. I'm the last generation of superstars. I might as well be George Hamilton, you know what I'm saying?'``There was a point in time when I was a television star. I never left my house. It was a freak show. I was the dogfaced boy every time I stepped outside my house. I'm much more comfortable now.''
Priestly has signed on for an eighth year on ``Beverly Hills, 90210.''
``I swore up and down that this would be the last year of the show, but Fox wanted us to do another year,'' Priestly says.
``Chasing Amy'' gave little-known actor Ben Affleck a major ego boost.
The offbeat comedy about a young man's amorous pursuit of a lesbian was written especially for Affleck by ``Clerks'' filmmaker Kevin Smith.
``I'm sure Tom Cruise has no shortage of people writing scripts for him,'' Affleck said. ``But when you're a guy who's one or two episodes of `Family Matters' away from flipping burgers, it's a bit more rare.''
Affleck, 24, has appeared in ``School Ties,'' ``Dazed and Confused'' and ``Mallrats.'' Upcoming films include ``Going All the Way,'' ``Phantoms'' and Affleck's own screenwriting debut, ``Good Will Hunting.''
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB