The group One Million Moms is
protesting Ellen DeGeneres' new role as spokesperson for JCPenney
because the comedian is openly gay.
“Funny that JCPenney thinks hiring an
openly homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of
their customers are traditional families. More sales will be lost
than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly,” the
group said in a statement.
“By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon,
JCPenney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process
will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful
to them over all these years.”
One Million Moms is closely associated
with the Christian conservative group American Family Association
(AFA), which is opposed to gay rights.
DeGeneres announced in 1997 during the
fourth season of her ABC sitcom Ellen that she is gay. After
coming out publicly, Ellen's ratings plummeted and the show
was canceled. Today, the 54-year-old DeGeneres hosts her own daily
talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and is a spokesperson for
CoverGirl and American Express.
In announcing the decision to retain
DeGeneres as their new spokesperson, Michael Francis, president of
JCPenney, said the company could not “think of a better partner to
help us put the fun back into the retail experience.”
(Related: NOM's
Brian Brown chides Starbucks over gay marriage support.)