When Ellen DeGeneres came out of the closet 10 years ago - an announcement that made the cover of Time, with her picture accompanied by the headline, 'Yep, I'm gay' - many predicted a swift end to the comedian's Hollywood career. The religious right in the US hounded her, with televangelist Jerry Falwell dubbing the actress Ellen Degenerate.
But, despite a brief hiatus, DeGeneres has gone on to become one of America's most popular talk-show hosts, and will host this year's Academy Awards (coverage starts at 8am Monday, Hong Kong time on TVB Pearl).
'Things have changed,' DeGeneres said on her show during an appearance by T.R. Knight from TV series Grey's Anatomy, who was reportedly described as a faggot by fellow cast member Isaiah Washington.
And things do seem to have changed. The Grey's Anatomy fallout focused on the homo-phobic behaviour of Washington (who has since repeated it and again apologised) rather than Knight's now public sexuality. A similar apathy has greeted many a coming-out during the past year, from that of actor Neil Patrick Harris (who plays a womanising doctor in the series How I Met Your Mother) to that of former N'Sync heartthrob Lance Bass.
But it's not all good news from Hollywood. Earlier this month, casting director Matt Messinger said gay actors' chances of landing straight roles can be drastically reduced once they decide to come out of the closet.
'Gay people are cast as straight all the time,' he said. 'But if you're asking whether things have improved for openly gay actors, I can't say it's any easier now.'
Is it any easier for actors in Hong Kong? It's hard to say, because there are so few openly gay screen stars.