Proposition 8 was overturned, and now we have to see that lesbian comedienne Ellen Degeneres as the new face of JCPenney? Where on EARTH will I shop now? Ladies, we’ve got to do something about this. Let’s protest that crazy talk show host so that her homosexuality doesn’t taint all our kids’ back-to-school clothes and our Christmas shopping.

Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating the thought process of a member of One Million Moms, a conservative group that’s got their high-leg briefs in a twisted bunch because out and proud Ellen Degeneres is the new JCPenney spokesperson. The group issued a statement following the company’s announcement:

“Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families. More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless JC Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful…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.”

Fox News contributor Sandy Rios, who supports the One Million Moms perspective, summed up this week’s Hot Button Issue while on The O’Reilly Factor: ”The problem is that Ellen DeGeneres has chosen to act out her lesbian lifestyle and marry her partner, it’s what that represents,” she said. “And the fact that JCPenney is supposed to be middle America, the place where families shop…and people who believe that marriage is between a man and woman and children should not be exposed and propagandized in homosexuality have a moral problem with that.”

Well I’m sorry, Sandy, and the members of One Million Moms, but America—the land of opportunity, the land of the free and the home of the brave—is changing. And for the better. Thank goodness it’s been allowed to change, or else women would never be able to proudly make a buck in any workplace and we’d still stupidly have slaves everywhere who each only count as three-fifths of a person. Though the country has managed to acknowledge the basic human right of being considered an entire person to these minority groups, why can’t such a given be also applied to those who aren’t perfectly heterosexual? Those who choose to be both free AND brave?

If you’re protesting Ellen’s employment with JCPenney, you’re asking that the company discriminates based on her sexual orientation. Hm, discrimination definitely sounds like one of “the negative influences our children are forced to contend with”—you know, the part of society’s “filth” that you should be working to fight, rather than avoiding the hilarious and kindhearted Ellen Degeneres and every product she’s ever endorsed. I’m guessing you’re missing out on the greatness that is CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara and the daily dose of awesome on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Oh man, your kids must have never even seen the movie Finding Nemo! Do you tell them that they can’t go on the Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland because that funny blue fish is the voice of an evil lesbian?!

Oh, and by pushing Ellen down and calling her names, you’re being a bully. That’s right, One Million Moms, all 40,000 of you are guilty of anti-gay bullying.

Thankfully, the group’s protests and cries were no matter for the department store, as the company stood behind their decision. And yesterday, the free and brave Ellen Degeneres addressed her haters and, therefore, her motivators, on her talk show. ”I’m proud and happy to say that JCPenney stuck by their decision to make me their spokesperson. Which is great news for me because I also need some new crew socks.”

On a more serious notes, she continued, “I really want to thank everyone who is supporting me…Here are the values I stand for. I stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you’d want to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values. That’s what I stand for.“

To be honest, I’m surprised that One Million Moms even had the time to jumpstart a JCPenney protest. The group has also requested action against Macy’s, ABC’s Modern Family and Mattel. Don’t shop at Target for promoting the destructive program that is Degrassi, don’t watch Dancing With The Stars because the show “aired a definition of ‘transgender’” and don’t support Ben & Jerry’s because of their “tasteless” ice cream flavor names. Thank goodness—that means there’s more Schweddy Balls for me!

Watch Ellen’s full speech now. It’s hilarious, it’s heartwarming, it’s all things Ellen Degeneres.

Should JCPenney be concerned about losing conservative customers? Or will they gain more respect for taking a stand?

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

Not to get all hipster “I liked it before it was COOL” on you guys, but I have loved Melissa McCarthy since she played the role of Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls. She was the much needed comic relief when the actual girls “witty” banter got to be super annoying.

Ever since Bridesmaids and her Emmy award winning role as Molly in the CBS sitcom, “Mike and Molly,” Melissa McCarthy is stealing every single person’s heart. She is talented, beautiful and hilarious! Ellen DeGeneres posted a new clip on her YouTube page from when McCarthy stopped by her show recently to talk about the Golden Globes. Her hilarious encounters with other celebrities had everyone cracking up. Check it out below!

To see more great clips from Ellen, check out her YouTube channel!

Are you an aspiring actress? Or maybe you just really liked The Devil Wears Prada? Either way, it’s totally acceptable to dream of becoming as fabulous as Meryl Streep. Well, now you can learn to be a great actress just like Miss Meryl, all thanks to Ellen DeGeneres. Watch as Ellen gives her audience an acting lesson, and look out for a guest appearance from Meryl herself.

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Ellen is now living in Brad Pitt’s house?

Let me start off by saying I don’t ever plan on becoming famous. I don’t even want to be famous. Enduring the public 24/7 is not my idea of fun. With that being said, there are some famous people I kind of would LOVE to be friends with. Also keep in mind some of these people I’m basing on either public appearances or characters they have played. I have no real connection to them.

I wish I could tell you that I want to be friends with these celebrities based on their stance on some political thing, or that they stand up for a cause I believe in. But it’s not even that deep. They are funny, attractive, and I feel like going to jail with them would possibly be one of the most exciting nights of my life. So in no specific order:

initiating the gallery...

We all have celebrities we want to be friends with, so who is in your inner celebrity friend circle…let it out, it’s a safe space.

Ellen DeGeneres reviews ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’…and Ryan Gosling’s abs.

Blake and Leo spend a romantic weekend in Disneyland.

Single? Summer’s your best season!

What to wear when seeing your exes.

Lady Gaga, apparently in love with herself.

How to survive that fall from heaven…and other tragic pick-up lines.

When you can’t find the words, Dear Blank Letters!

Emma Watson doesn’t understand why guys won’t approach her.

Mark your calendars, TwiHards, Nikki Reed’s engaged!

You’re welcome.

In honor of Women’s History Month, CollegeCandy has decided to spotlight some of the world’s most influential women. First, naturally, we focused on the women from our generation. Then, we highlighted some fierce females in their 30s. After that we celebrated the phenomenal women in their 40s. And now we’re cheering on the women who inspire us to be our best selves every single day.  Anything can happen, and just like these women have done in their 50s and beyond, we can make a difference in the world at any age.

10. Sandra Bullock. Recently Bullock has begun to present herself as a truly empowering woman in my mind. She handled the whole Jesse James thing with such grace and elegance that you can’t help but love her. Plus, she actually left her cheating husband, which is more than you can say for some people.

9. Queen Latifah. An actor. A singer. A producer. A model. And also, a writer. I bet you didn’t know about her autobiography, Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman. She tells her life story openly and honestly, without apology, reminding girls to “keep your roots.” Where we come from helps to shape who we are, after all.

8. Ellen DeGeneres. She’s never been afraid to be anything other than who she is, but she also has the good sense to be able to laugh about it. And just about everything else too. She’s done everything from starring in her own TV show to starting her own talk show, and judging on American Idol. Now she’s even starting her own record label. She takes life seriously without, taking life seriously.

7. Michelle Obama. A first lady that doesn’t fade into the background. A smart, accomplished, vibrant, woman who doesn’t lose her luster when with her very charismatic husband. She’s been complimented and criticized and handled both the way only a first lady could, but her clothes are just so much better.

6. Audrey Hepburn. Classic. Elegant. Stylish. She played complex characters while wearing Givenchy! She rocked the skinny jean way before we did. She brought us that “I believe in pink” speech that everyone always quotes but no one ever knows who said it first. Well, she did. And if that’s not enough to convince you, she’s also a favorite of one Blair Waldorf.

5. Meryl Streep. This woman has played more characters than I could ever hope to name, reinventing herself time and time again. She’s allowed herself to age. In Hollywood. And she’s still working. She’s well respected, gorgeous, and a real woman. One day, she’ll be one of the classics.

4. Tina Fey. In 2008 the Associated Press named her the performer who had the greatest impact on American culture and entertainment. And for once, that’s a stat that doesn’t make me shudder. This woman is funny and talented, and holds her own, whether she’s acting or impersonating.

3. Katharine Hepburn. The blonde Hepburn liked to wear pants in an age where most women just didn’t. While on the set of Bringing Up Baby her producers asked her to wear dresses and skirts instead of pants, and when she didn’t her pants disappeared. So Hepburn simply walked around set in her underwear until they returned. She was a woman who always spoke her mind, when most didn’t know they could yet.

2. Abigail Adams. Think back, way back, to the very beginning of the creation of our country. Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States, but the reason I remember this particular first lady is because of the letters she often wrote to her husband. In 1776, two centuries before women would have the right to vote, before women’s rights were even a thought, Adams was writing to her husband asking him to “remember the ladies.”

1. You. And you. And you. And me. We are empowering women.  Or at least we can be, if we want to. Webster defines empowering as “to make (someone) stronger and more confident, esp. in controlling their life and claiming their rights.” We all have the ability to do that, this week, and every week. So take a cue from one of these lovely ladies and live your life the way you want, not the way someone else tells you to.

And while you’re at it, let’s take a moment to honor the empowering female figures in our lives the best way we know how: by taking it to Facebook. Change your profile picture to that of a woman who empowers you, then tell all the other ladies out there to do the same by copying the following message into your status:

“It’s Women’s Empowerment Week and CollegeCandy.com is asking women everywhere to celebrate empowering women by changing their profile pic this week to a woman that empowers and inspires them! Change your pic and copy this into your status to honor these women and get everyone else to do the same!”

Keep that photo up all week and hopefully we can start a women’s empowerment revolution that reminds everyone that women can be empowered for more than 7 days a year!

If there’s one thing I know for sure it’s that when it rains it pours. And that couldn’t be more true than with Hollywood gossip. Yes, the drama drought is over and now we’re swimming in scandal. Is it all true? Who knows? But if the media’s printing it, we’ll trust it. I mean, they don’t lie, right?

Venti Caramel Frappucino With An Extra Shot

1. Did Ashton Kutcher cheat on Demi Moore? We’re not sure, but that’s what the tabloids are saying. While there have been rumors about this before, now there’s texts involved. According to reports, Ashton was involved with a 21-year-old woman named Brittney Jones (why are they always named Brittney?) and even had sex in his house when Demi wasn’t there. His lawyer already spoke out saying that it’s a lie. However, Brittney claims to have texts messages that she saved despite Ashton asking her to delete them. I’m a little skeptical – home girl’s friends say she’s been creepin’ on Ashton for a while – so we’ll see how this one pans out.

2. In another cheating scandal, Posh and Becks are having tabloid trouble over a hooker. The rumor mill is saying that David Beckham hired former prostitute Irma Nici at $10,000 a night. (Editor’s Note: Damn! Time for a career change.) She says they had unprotected sex and a threesome in 2007. Posh and Becks are saying it’s completely false and are planning on taking InTouch Weekly to court. God, please don’t let this be true. I’d like to retain some sort of faith in relationships.

3. Some happy couple news: Joel Madden and Nicole Richie are tying the knot! But not quite yet. Nicole had her bachelorette party last weekend, but the two aren’t getting hitched until December because of their busy schedules! Nicole turned 29 this week and wanted to have her bachelorette party close to her birthday. That sounds like a good plan to me! No other details about wedding plans have been released yet.

4. Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy may be getting back together! They split in April due to Jim’s depression, but apparently they’ve been meeting secretly for the past month. Sources say that Jenny realizes how much she misses Jim. Jenny’s daughter, Jane, has been asking Jenny to take him back. Hopefully they do reconcile, they were presh!

5. More trouble for Lindsay Lohan. After failing  two of her drug tests, LiLo was served with an arrest warrant today. Although Lindsay admitted that she made a mistake and needs help, she’s is still in legal trouble for violating her probation. And now she’s facing up to 30 days in the slammer. Hopefully she’ll spend a full sentence instead of 12 days like last time.

Tall Skinny Decaf Latte

1. Portia de Rossi is now officially Portia Lee James DeGeneres! Ellen and Portia got married in 2008 and she’s finally decided to take on her wife’s last name. Congrats!

2. Kristen Bell and Matthew Morrison dated in college! You heard me. Kristen and “Matty,” as she called him, briefly dated back in the day. Not sure what she was thinking letting him go. Despite his bad rapping on Glee, he’s most definitely a keeper.

3. Michael Buble disguised himself as Justin Bieber! Why? Oh just for his new music video, Hollywood. Ha!

4. Justin Timberlake may be getting an Oscar nomination! His role in The Social Network has already be getting Oscar buzz. Do I smell an EGOT in his future?

5. Check out Chuck hottie Ryan McPartlin in Da Man magazine!