Portia de Rossi Talks Gay Marriage on 'The View'

"It's just simply a civil rights issue," so says Portia de Rossi on Friday's The View.

There to promote the second season of her ABC sitcom Better Off Ted, de Rossi spent the bulk of her time there discussing the importance of marriage equality with hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd.

"Without the word, we don't have equal rights," she said to cheers from the audience, "because everybody is allowed to be married."

"The word actually does mean something," she added.

The actress, who married everyone's favorite talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres on Aug. 16, 2008, said that when she last visted the ABC morning talker in 2003 she was terrified that she'd be asked about her personal life.

"I, at the time, was very closeted and very, very afraid that one of you would ask me about my private life," she said. "Somebody asked me something about my private life, or we were kind of getting into that realm, and then, like divine intervention ... saved by the bell."

At the time, de Rossi was starring as Lindsay Bluth Funke on Fox's critically acclaimed but lowly rated sitcom Arrested Development, and dating singer Francesca Gregorini, the daughter of former Bond girl Barbara Bach and the stepchild of Ringo Starr.

De Rossi added that dating DeGeneres prompted her to publicly come out.

"It's hard to be with Ellen and not let people know," she said Friday.

"It took me quite a while because I was one of those actresses worried that my whole career would be over," she continued.

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Asked how Family Ties' star Meredith Baxter's coming out this week as a lesbian would impact her career, de Rossi said she was unsure how being out would impact Baxter's career and how being out even effects her own. DeRossi pointed out that she plays a straight character with romantic interests with men on Better Off Ted. 

de Rossi on Better Off Ted

When Behar brought up the "she hasn't met the right man" bit, de Rossi chuckled and revealed that her mother started out thinking that way. "People didn't believe me for a really long time," she said.

On how marriage has changed her, de Rossi said it was a "calming, relaxing thing." "We're just more of a team, working for the common goal of us."

Now that's a team player.

Watch the wonderful interview here:

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