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"Retail chain JCPenney has addressed criticism from a conservative group for hiring Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson.  Earlier today, the organization One Million Moms called for JCPenney to fire the daytime talk show host because of her sexuality. &amp;quot;By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon, JCPenney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful to them over all these years,&amp;quot; the organization said. However, JCPenney will not remove DeGeneres, stating that it &amp;quot;stands behind its partnership&amp;quot; with her, reports Yahoo. JCPenney and DeGeneres have received support from the Gay &amp;amp; Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) by launching the &amp;#039;Stand Up For Ellen&amp;#039; website.  DeGeneres recently celebrated her 54th birthday on January 26, with many stars such as Lady GaGa and Bono wishing her well on her special day. Watch Ellen DeGeneres announce her collaboration with JCPenney below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a363874/jcpenney-stands-by-decision-to-hire-ellen-degeneres-as-spokesperson/>