On her TV show today, Ellen DeGeneres opens by celebrating yesterday’s decision by the 9th Circuit to overturn Prop 8, which banned gay marriage in California, and then goes on to discuss the group of bigots that tried to get JC Penney to drop her as a spokeswoman.
I’m purposely not naming the hate group behind this attempted boycott because, like other special interest groups, they thrive on publicity. As most bigotry-based boycotts do, this one is destined to fail. Unfortunately, while that should shut them up, it won’t. But, it would be nice if media outlets would refuse to give them the attention they so desperately seek.
The irony of this is that Ellen’s audience is primarily made up of the same viewers who supported Rosie O’Donnell (also a lesbian) and Oprah Winfrey (unmarried, has lived with boyfriend Steadman for many years). These viewers are overwhelmingly heterosexual women who don’t care at all about the sexuality of those hosts — the “traditional value” that counts most is being entertaining. Ellen, Rosie, and Oprah all know how to do that, which is why they connect with American women much better than the haters.
