It’s been 20 years since Ellen DeGeneres uttered the words, “I’m Ellen and I’m gay,” and made history doing it.

On Friday, The Ellen DeGeneres Show will honor “The Puppy Episode” of the sitcom, Ellen, which aired on April 30, 1997. The double episode featured Ellen’s character, Ellen Morgan, coming out on the show, while the real Ellen did so as well on the cover of Time magazine with a simple, “Yep, I’m Gay.” This marked the first time a lead TV character had ever come out.

“The Puppy Epsiode” got its title when writers went to execs saying Ellen’s character needed to come out to have a relationship after 4 years without one, and someone replied, “Well, get her a puppy. She’s not coming out.’”

In a clip released before Friday’s episode, Ellen said, “At the time, it was so controversial,” she said of coming out. “Which is why I thought this was important to celebrate the anniversary and to remember what it was like back then and to appreciate how far we’ve come.”

To celebrate, Ellen invited Laura Dern and Oprah Winfrey to join Ellen costars, Clea Lewis, Joely Fisher, and David Anthony Higgins for a reunion.

While seated on Ellen’s couch, Oprah told her, “You would not be who you are … you wouldn’t be able to open hearts and touch hearts and change peoples’ minds and make a difference in the world had you not had the courage to do that.”

Laura, whose character was the one that Ellen’s character looked at when she spoke her iconic line, felt it was an incredible honor to share that moment. She said, “[There is] no greater gift than being the person that was with you and looking in your eyes as you said those words.”

Catch the emotional episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Friday, April 28.