Ellen DeGeneres' JCPenney Partnership Defended By Company CEO Ron Johnson (VIDEO)
The controversy over Ellen DeGeneres' new appointment as JCPenney spokesperson seems never ending.
Just one day after Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly defended DeGeneres, a more likely advocate has come forward on the comedian's behalf: JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson.
Johnson, who stated once again that his company "shares the same values" as DeGeneres, spoke to "CBS This Morning" about an online boycott of his Texas-based retail chain by anti-gay group One Million Moms, a division of the American Family Association, who say they want the talk show host fired because she is a lesbian.
"We don't look at it like a controversy," he said. "One of the great things about America is people can speak their mind. And you know, the organization that believes one thing has spoken and it was great to see Ellen share her views yesterday. And we stand squarely behind Ellen as our spokesperson, and that's a great thing. Because she shares the same values that we do in our company. Our company was founded 110 years ago on The Golden Rule, which is about treating people fair and square, just like you would like to be treated yourself."
Before calling DeGeneres' hiring as a "no-brainer," Johnson concluded, "We think Ellen represents the values of our company and the values that we share."
On her own show yesterday, DeGeneres thanked the retail outlet for standing by her despite the protest. "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," she said. "To me, those are traditional values. That's what I stand for." She also thanked O'Reilly for his support, noting, "You didn't really make it clear if you were going to shop at JC Penney or not, but if you do, you can use my employee discount any time you want."
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Posted: 02/ 9/2012 12:49 pm