In the end, everyone's a happy shopper.
Anti-gay group One Million Moms has dropped its boycott of JCPenney after the retail giant hired openly gay host Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson last month.
The group initially slammed JCPenney for "jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon" and urged the company to "correct their mistake fast to retain loyal customers and not turn away potential new, conservative shoppers."
So much for that. The group is singing a different tune these days…
One Million Moms director Monica Cole tells Christian news network One News Now—which happens to be affiliated with the group's parent organization, American Family Association—that that they are moving on from DeGeneres and JCPenney to focus on other issues.
Still, the group isn't backing down from its anti-gay stance.
"We have heard back from so many of our members…saying they will no longer shop at JC Penney as long as Ellen DeGeneres is their spokesperson," Cole says. "JC Penney stated that Ellen DeGeneres shares the same values that they do. So obviously, it's not the same as Christians or conservatives."
When news of the protest broke last month, JCPenney stood firmly behind DeGeneres. "We share the same fundamental values as Ellen," company president Michael Francis said. "At JCPenney, we couldn't think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience."
The move was lauded by GLAAD, which promoted a successful campaign to support the partnership and noted that "Americans are fair-minded people who know that firing someone just for being gay is not what this country is about. JCPenney is standing with Ellen and so do we."