Ellen DeGeneres's Beard from the '90s Speaks

Johnathon Schaech, an actor with credits including 1998's Gwyneth Paltrow thriller Hush, The Client List, Ray Donovan, and most recently DC's Legends of Tomorrow on CW, held an AMA on Reddit and was asked whether he'd dated Ellen DeGeneres in the '90s.

The actor started the thread with the intention to speak about his upcoming TV roles, fatherhood and fitness, but one user, @pokeymon247, asked:

"Is it true that you dated Ellen DeGeneres? I saw that online one time that someone said you had dated and didn't believe it, but when I googled you and Ellen, pictures came up! Were you just friends? I love Ellen! Her show is the best!"

The actor's response:

"My manager asked me to accompany her to events. She was scared people would not watch the show, Ellen, because she was gay. It was an honor. I grew up with two gay aunts and a gay uncle. 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."

Schaech added that he was supposed to be in the infamous coming out episode of Ellen, when the actress told the world she's a lesbian, but was fired because he couldn't walk after running a marathon. The comedy series ran from 1994 until 1998, and Ellen DeGeneres ended landing the cover of TIME (below) after her landmark move.