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Staff Reports

Hate Group Affiliate Slams Retailer J.C. Penny For Hiring Ellen DeGeneres As Spokesperson

Ellen with her wife Portia

TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI -- Last week, retail giant J.C. Penney announced a new partnership with the hugely popular daytime television talk-show host, Ellen DeGeneres.

“We share the same fundamental values as Ellen,” noted the company's President, Michael Francis. “At J. C. Penney, we couldn't think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience.”

The decision has been met with criticism as the anti-gay group "One Million Moms.com, a project of the American Family Association" – an organization designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) – has launched a campaign demanding that the retailer fire Ellen simply because she's gay.  [According to SPLC, "hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics."]

“DeGeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store,” says the group. Funny that J.C. Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families," the group wrote on its website. "More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless J.C. Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war, then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful."

In response to the attack launched on DeGeneres by the AFA, Thursday the LGBTQ Equality Rights and anti-defamation organisation GLAAD launched an online campaign to defend her. Herndon Graddick, a senior GLAAD official, said in a statement, 

"While designated hate groups try to start 'culture wars,' it's clear that a vast majority of Americans today support Ellen as well as their LGBT friends and family members. Selecting an out performer who has inspired and entertained millions is not only a smart business practice, but a reflection of how LGBT Americans today are an integral and valued part of the fabric of our culture."