Ellen DeGeneres' Christmas Ad Sparks Conservative Protest: 'Christians Must Now Vote With Their Wallets

Gay talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is, once again, the focus of a debate between J.C. Penney and the conservative media watchdog One Million Moms (OMM). The comedian appears in a comical Christmas commercial for the company, during which she interacts with Santa's elves. Rather than instilling holiday cheer, OMM believes that DeGeneres' presence in the clip, considering her sexuality, is offensive.

Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres pose on the red carpet during The 15th Annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on October 22, 2012 in Washington, DC. Credit: Getty Images

"Since April, JC Penney's has not aired Ellen DeGeneres in one of their commercials until now. A new JCP ad features Ellen and three elves," the organization said, according to Boston.com. "JCP has made their choice to offend a huge majority of their customers again. Christians must now vote with their wallets."

The organization went on to say that it has conveyed its concerns to the company before, but that they have been ignored. See the ad in question, below:

As we've reported in the past, OMM's comments against J.C. Penney are nothing new. The popular department store chain found itself in the middle of controversy earlier this year when it first formed a partnership with DeGeneres.

The organization continues to express its feeling that, as a result of being gay, the comedian is a poor spokesperson, role model and personality for the company to select. Here’s what OMM wrote about DeGeneres on its web site earlier this year:

“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.”

Photo Credit: YouTube

While the organization inevitably backed off the call for a boycott in early 2012, Monica Cole, the director of the group, said, ”We have heard back from men and women — not just moms — saying they will no longer shop there at JC Penney, as long as Ellen DeGeneres is their spokesperson.”

Ellen, of course, defended herself, joking, “I mean, if they have a problem with spokespeople, what about the Pillsbury Doughboy? I mean, he runs around without any pants on and basically begging people to poke his belly. What kind of message is that?”

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Related:

• JC Penney Catalog Featuring Lesbian Moms Prompts Another Boycott From One Million Moms
• Ellen DeGeneres Thanks Bill O’Reilly for Defending Her in JCPenney Debate
• Here Are 7 Other Faith-Related Boycotts Against American Companies (in Addition to Chick-fil-A)