Ellen Makes Haters Her Motivaters

Most people have someone they can rely on to act as their personal role model. For me, Ellen DeGeneres stands out as a trustworthy person to look up to. Not only does her humor and wit force me to laugh no matter what, but everything she stands up for encourages me to fight for what I believe in as well.

Her efforts to unite society, that is, every single individual member of society, speak to me personally as she herself is a unique individual that on the outside seems untreatable. Ellen DeGeneres was one of the first celebrities to publicly announce being homosexual. Even though it was a shock to society, Ellen never gave up her humor, confidence, or good nature in helping others. She remains a public role model because of her willingness to change the world to be a more accepting and cheerful place to be.

Ellen beamed with excitement when she announced on her talk show The Ellen Show that she landed the spot as the new spokesperson for JC Penny ads, and was also so happy after she explained that Prop 8 recently was declared unconstitutional in the state of California, calling it a “step in the right direction”.

Her mood transformed, however, as she began to mention the hatred she received from a group of Christian women called One Million Moms. They publicly humiliated Ellen when they posted on their Facebook page that people would shop at JC Penny less now because of her choice to be in the new commercials. The One Million Moms stubbornly alerted others that they support Christian values and are not in favor of Ellen because of her sexual orientation.

As Ellen stood on the television screen alone pointing out what the One Million Moms had said, viewers of her show were shocked at the negativity that Ellen had received. I would almost guarantee that every person watching The Ellen Show that day was thinking, “Okay, what other bad comments did this group say about our beloved Ellen so we can hate them even more?” Except Ellen, being such a kindhearted person, did not present another bad thought from this group again.

Instead, she did the complete opposite.

A twist appeared on the show when Ellen presented comments from some of the members of One Million Moms who were actually thrilled that Ellen was the new spokesperson. Ellen showed her viewers funny comments from a few of the members on the Facebook group that supported Ellen and her decision to take the opportunity to be the new JC Penny spokesperson.

These included comments such as, “Guess I have to start shopping at JC Penny now”.

Not only did this send a chuckle out to viewers of The Ellen Show, but it showed these viewers that not everyone in a particular group shares the same thoughts even though it may seem like it on the surface.

            Ellen showed her strength to her viewers when she explained, “I want to be clear, and here are the values that I stand for: I stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated and helping those in need. To me those are traditional values. That’s what I stand for”.

The One Million Moms argued that they would not shop at JC Penny any longer because this group supports only “traditional” values. Ellen fought against this statement in a peaceful way rather than acting embarrassed and feeling self-pity, which is what many would probably do. She continues to show how much she cares about promoting a positive attitude even when faced with a sticky situation and being unaccepted by thousands only because of her sexual orientation.

 Ellen spoke to the millions of viewers of her talk show that “My haters are my motivators”. To me this statement alone proves that Ellen holds countless values in that she stays true to what she believes in. She is willing to take on a challenge even if she has to do it alone. Ellen not only does this for herself, but she does it to help others around her. This act of generosity to try and prove to society that homosexuality is not to be frowned upon shows how Ellen stands her ground when it comes to benefiting others as well as herself. 

Ellen has helped me personally by staying strong even when being bombarded by hate everywhere. She makes my situations seem less of a big deal. This alone inspires me to keep a positive attitude at all times.

I find myself thinking, “If Ellen can do it, so can I”.