A resurfaced podcast episode from 2021 revealed that Anne Heche once warned Portia de Rossi not to pursue a relationship with Ellen DeGeneres.
Heche, who tragically passed away last week at the age of 53, had previously dated Ellen from 1997-2000.
In a resurfaced episode of her podcast, Better Together, she revealed to her co-host Heather Duffy that Portia thought dating Ellen would make her a “poster child” for a gay relationship.
Ellen publicly came out in 1997, famously on an episode of her sitcom at the time and with a Time Magazine cover that read, “Yep, I’m Gay.” Ellen was dating Anne at the time of the public reveal.
However, Anne claimed she stepped in to tell Portia that the “poster child” position had already been filled.
“‘You won’t be the poster child, girl, because guess what? That poster child has already been taken, and by the way, it wasn’t a great spot,'” Anne recalled telling Portia years back. “‘But yours ain’t gonna be any easier. And I’m telling you now, like, red flag, red flag, red flag!'”
Anne Heche warned Portia de Rossi against dating Ellen DeGeneres
“I warned Portia,” she said in the June 2021 episode. “Portia even asked me about Ellen before she came to my wedding [to Coleman Laffoon], and Portia even said, ‘I’m gonna go after Ellen.'”
Anne also claimed she told the Ally McBeal star that pursuing a relationship with Ellen would not gain her fame.
She continued to shade the now-wife of Ellen by comparing her name to the car Ellen would always drive.
“I realized that Ellen drove a Porsche … and then she married one. All she used to do was drive Porsches, and she collected them, and I just thought it was so stupid because they were so loud.”
Anne Heche clearly had animosity in terms of her relationship with the former talk show host, as she previously claimed she was “blacklisted” by Hollywood because of it.
“I didn’t do a studio picture for 10 years,” said Anne. “I was fired from a $10 million picture deal and did not see the light of day in a studio picture.”
Anne Heche pronounced dead after multiple car crashes
On August 5, the Another World alum suffered brain injuries after crashing her Mini Cooper into a home located in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was later reported that it was her third crash of the day.
On August 12, she was officially pronounced dead at the age of 53 after remaining comatose from the catastrophic injuries she was not expected to recover from.
“Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend. Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact,” her rep told People.
The rep continued, “Anne had a huge heart and touched everyone she met with her generous spirit. More than her extraordinary talent, she saw spreading kindness and joy as her life’s work –especially moving the needle for acceptance of who you love. She will be remembered for her courageous honesty and dearly missed for her light.”