'1M Anti-Gay Moms' Protest Ellen's Hiring by JC Penney

A group calling itself "One Million Moms" isn't happy about JC Penney's new spokeswoman, openly gay talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families,” the group says. "More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless JC Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war, then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful."

JC Penney's CEO is standing by his decision to have Ellen as the face of the store, notes the New York Daily News. "I think Ellen is someone we all trust," he says. "She's loveable, likeable, honest, and funny, but at her soul, we trust her." Thousands of people have signed a gay rights group's "Stand Up for Ellen" petition. One Million Moms is an offshoot of the right-wing American Family Association. It's not clear how many members the group has—or how many of them are actually moms. (More Ellen DeGeneres stories.)