Ellen DeGeneres Suffers Power Outage

Who took the talk show star's place at the top of Out magazine's most powerful gays and lesbians?

By Marc Malkin Apr 09, 2009 3:13 PMTags
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Ellen DeGeneres has been outranked by a politico. But not by too much.

The openly gay talk-show queen was last year's No. 1 on Out magazine's Power 50 list, but this time around she's slipped to No. 2. Instead, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank has been crowned this year's queen king because of the political clout he now carries in our nation's Democratic-heavy capital.

DeGeneres isn't the only Hollywood hotshot to make the third annual list. Read on to find out more boldfaced names deemed worthy of a ranking.

Neil Patrick Harris makes his debut on the list at No. 28. "Harris could do no wrong," the editors wrote, listing How I Met Your Mother, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and the upcoming L.A. stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest among his notable achievements.

Funnylady Wanda Sykes is also a first-timer. In 2008, No. 35 came out of the closet, announced she married her girlfriend, and she continued to impress TV audiences with her perfect comic pitch on The New Adventures of Old Christine. She'll also be hobnobbing next month with the likes of Mr. Frank when she becomes the first openly gay person to headline the 89-year-old White House Correspondents Dinner, according to the mag.

Rosie O'Donnell got props for her children's advocacy work, but she dipped from 31 down to 42 because, well, she's just not as loud and outspoken as she's been in the past. Time to start sounding off in your blog again, Ro!

Style maven Tim Gunn also took a nosedive from an impressive 28 down to 45 because Project Runway went on a messy court-ordered hiatus. We're sure Tim will gain some points once Heidi Klum & Co.—finally!return this summer on Lifetime.

Those behind the scenes who made the list include billionaire mogul David Geffen, director Gus Van Sant, freshly minted Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, MTV honcho Brian Graden, television wonderboy Greg Berlanti, producer Scott Rudin, über-agents Bryan Lourde and Kevin Huvane, publicity spinmasters Simon Halls and Stephen Huvane and Sex and the City god Michael Patrick King.