Ellen DeGeneres Rips One Million Moms' Anti-Gay Boycott, Thanks JC Penney Partnership Supporters

Though she claims not to pay attention to her haters, Ellen DeGeneres nonetheless has addressed an anti-gay organization's plea to have her fired as the new spokesperson for JC Penney.

On an episode of her show today, DeGeneres speaks at length about the online boycott launched by OneMillionMoms.com, a division of the American Family Association, who have pressed the retail chain to replace the talk show host because she is a lesbian.

"They wanted to get me fired, and I'm proud and happy to say that JCPenney stuck by their decision to make me their spokesperson," she says. "Which is great news for me because I also need some new crew socks."

Reading through several comments written in her defense on the group's Facebook page, she goes on to note, "I usually don't talk about stuff like this on my show, but I really want to thank everyone who is supporting me. Here are the values I stand for: I stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you'd want to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values. That's what I stand for."

JC Penney's CEO, former Apple executive Ron Johnson, explained why the company chose DeGeneres as part of a multifaceted company makeover in an earlier interview with the Associated Press. "I think Ellen is someone we all trust. She's lovable, likable, honest and funny, but at her soul, we trust her," he said.

Last week, a JC Penney spokesperson said in an e-mail to Reuters that the company "stands behind its partnership" with DeGeneres.

Comments

[zootycoonkid148]

09:28 PM on 05/20/2012

Ellen DE-Generate sucks who cares

[shad0w24]

22 minutes ago ( 9:24 PM)

Well since not only did you read the article but you also commented. I guess you do.

[Brooke Billingsley]

06:16 PM on 05/09/2012

Its time for a BUYcott, time to start shopping at jc penney!

[VanessaOrtiz]

07:24 PM on 04/10/2012

Not shopping at JCP anymore. Changing the world back to the way we like it one store boycott at a time.

[Green Lantern]

03:54 PM on 03/17/2012

Remember when the right wanted to boycott NPR because it sponsored Planned Parenthood?
Before it sponsored Rush Limbaugh, CLEAR CHANNELS sponsored Howard Stern!
Lawrence Welk and Big Bird are more offensive than Stern?

[freeetob]

02:24 PM on 03/09/2012

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

[harrisa]

02:15 AM on 03/18/2012

Please give credit to those words from the Rodgers & Hammerstein movie South Pacific

[freeetob]

09:37 AM on 03/18/2012

It's assumed that EVERYONE alive today is aware that the lyrics are from South Pacific.That show, via revivals and local stagings, has more miles on it than Sound of Music (almost).

[Mia Olson]

06:38 PM on 02/19/2012

I just spent over $200 at a JCP in Minnesota for no other reason than some bigoted moms told me not to....and it felt really good. As Ellen said, "Haters are my Motivators" and it worked!! Just one thing -- I was surprised to find that the sales clerk had no idea what I was talking about when I told her why I was shopping there. Does this mean that I was the only one to say something? Or the only one to "shop in protest" at this particular store? (I hope not!) Clearly they hadn't informed their salesclerks about the controversy.

[jackster12]

06:29 AM on 02/15/2012

Ellen, in the sea of support you're getting, you'll probably never see this... but I want to say it anyway: You're great. Really, you are. You're so very clearly a decent, thinking, and -- important for your profession -- hilarious person.

I came across you years and years ago (decades?) in a radio show that featured standup acts. I had no idea who you were, but you did this routine about a phone call to God. I laughed so much I had tears. It was genius.

I confess I never saw your sitcom, because I was intentionally "off" TV for about a decade. But I hear that was brilliant too... and while I'm sorry it got weird there at the end, with the wider audience struggling with your coming out, even that has clearly become an important stepping stone for you.

Not just because you're out, something that's clearly rough for many (a close college friend of mine went through it too... courageous but tough in today's society), and not just because you're now happily married... but because you've clearly shown that it's always been about your talent anyway, as it should be. You're terrific on your show because you're simply terrific.

Anyway, great stuff and best wishes. You've done plenty for gays and lesbians... and for millions of us straight Americans who had something to learn too... but you've also kept us laughing. And that's great, too.

[mpunfun]

12:48 PM on 02/13/2012

I most certainly WILL be going to Penneys to shop to support their stance on anti-hate and discrimination. Ellen is a great role model for a HUMAN BEING. That's all I care about.

[kevinbaja]

01:38 AM on 02/13/2012

too bad ellen's ''traditional'' values don't jibe with her ''haters''........

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

Mahatma Gandhi

[giftsthatpurr]

07:42 PM on 02/13/2012

I love that quote.

[Steven Peters]

10:19 AM on 02/12/2012

We LOVE Ellen and JC Pennys!

"When Did You Choose To Be Straight?" http://bit.ly/lsVWUd

[piakea]

12:47 PM on 02/11/2012

how could anyone not like Ellen.

[Lauramae]

11:39 PM on 02/11/2012

Exactly! She's fantastic

[gypsyskirt]

12:18 PM on 02/11/2012

Good for you Ellen and JC Pennies! I happen to have been born straight ( I appreciate that it doesn't seem to bother you) I have and will continue to shop at JCP. I don't unerstand people who think they should be able to intimidate people. I teach my daughter that some people are born straight, some are born with the mind and soul of the same sex. It is no different than what color eyes or hair you are born with. Jeses loves us all.

Raylene "Randi" Milliser

[Faith Roby]

01:51 PM on 02/11/2012

How is someone born straight? Scientifically support your answer?

[dannywanny]

06:29 PM on 02/11/2012

Oh, please! Stop trying to create problems where none exist. The empirical evidence is a matter of public record, for those who are smart enough to look for it.

[giftsthatpurr]

07:44 PM on 02/13/2012

Are you not capable of doing your own research?

[Antifish]

12:07 PM on 02/11/2012

It's so refreshing to know that I can now go shop at JC Penney and be surrounded by people who have evolved beyond hatred, bigotry, fear and intolerance. So glad they stuck by Ellen.

[yodaveg]

11:02 AM on 02/11/2012

I read the headline as far as "Ellen DeGeneres Rips One" and thought it was going to be a different article. Meanwhile, hooray for JC Penney!

[jenkait]

09:53 AM on 02/11/2012

When JC Penney DIDN'T back down under pressure from this group, I just had this sense of, "Wow...finally!"