As part of their $800 million makeover, JCPenney hired Ellen DeGeneres to be the spokesperson for their shiny, new, revamped brand. She seems like a perfectly lovely choice, too — she’s pretty, funny, and appeals to mainstream Americans. However, conservative group One Million Moms, a division of the American Family Association, has denounced JCPenney’s decision because they’re offended by DeGeneres’s homosexuality.
Here’s part of their statement, which they posted on their website, OneMillionMoms.com:
Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families … DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there. The small percentage of customers they are attempting to satisfy will not offset their loss in sales … By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon, JC Penney 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.
That’s right! All those loyal anti-gay folks deserve to shop for pillows in peace without being assaulted by pictures of Ellen DeGeneres smiling like a happy, normal person! JCPenney hasn’t dignified One Million Moms’s statement with a response, and nor should they feel the need to.
