Ellen DeGeneres Fired After She Jumps the Shark for American Idol

By Gary McCullough

When it comes to the business relationship between American Idol and Ellen DeGeneres, to the chagrin of Pansy Hilton and a multitude of homo-fascist bloggers, I am on an I-told-you-so roll.

In January, I wrote, "I am confident that the producers of American Idol will be shocked when their market share has cratered, and will in all honesty find a dozen other reasons for the drop in ratings. After all, what successful television producer could have a clue what wholesomeness is as long as they see promoting homosexuality as a virtue."

In May, I wrote, "Here is my next prediction. There will be no left wing social activist as a judge for the tenth season of American Idol. Not only will DeGeneres be gone, she will not be replaced by anyone close to a Rosie O'Donnell wanna-be."

The question now is; can American Idol be saved. I say no. Ellen DeGeneres skied over that bull-shark and the audience she drove away will never return. Idol may as well succumb to slobbering panders of Hilton and bring him on as a judge and nuke the fridge.

There is a moral to the story of this DeGeneres-Idol saga. There is a limit to what Christian viewers will tolerate, and I am using "Christian" in the broadest of definitions. The revenue generating ability of television programming that promotes homosexuality has its limits. If primetime network programming becomes indistinguishable from HBO and Showtime someone else will take ownership of the family-friendly entertainment market.

The encouragement I take from the firing of DeGeneres is that someone in Hollywood understands what I have been saying; that the promotion of homosexuality and the production of family entertainment do not mix. There is money to be made and there are cultural battles to be fought; if you try to do both you will lose twice. That has been my business advice.

Cultural battles have two sides, one of which is immoral. Choose to fight on the immoral side of a cultural battle and any victory you experience will only be temporary. That is my spiritual advice.

Gary McCullough is director of Christian Newswire.

Idol's New Judge Will Lose Middle America

By Gary McCullough

The FOX hit TV show American Idol had families across the country watching somewhat wholesome singers compete for votes from mostly tween girls. Last season's loss of the more talented performer, Adam Lambert to Kris Allen may be attributed to a wholesomeness factor often ignored by the entertainment industry.

I propose that those behind American Idol view Lambert's defeat as evidence of an underlying anti-gay bias among voters. As good community activists in the skewed world of Hollywood, this season's change in judges was an opportunity to confront this homophobic bias. Thus viewers to the ninth season will get a steady dose of wit from one of the nation's most well known lesbians, Ellen DeGeneres.

In the seconds I have before the blogs tear into me as a bigot; allow me to give you a glimpse into how many across America's Bible belt and throughout the Midwest will be affected by this change in the show's judging personnel.

Lambert's male-on-male activities garnered the majority of 2009 Idol news coverage. Rather than distance themselves from what many American's consider perverse behavior and increase the show's image as family entertainment; the producers of American Idol went the opposite direction to make the show edgier, more trendy.

Like it or not, the multi-talented DeGeneres is more known for her same-sex sexual preference than any expertise in the music business. The most visible change in the show is one more step in making sexuality the prime topic when discussing American Idol.

Call them ignorant, homophobic, whatever, the fact remains that fewer families will view the upcoming Idol season because young girls and their traditional families are uncomfortable with the topic of homosexuality. I am confident that the producers of American Idol will be shocked when their market share has cratered, and will in all honesty find a dozen other reasons for the drop in ratings. After all, what successful television producer could have a clue what wholesomeness is as long as they see promoting homosexuality as a virtue.

Gary McCullough is Director of Christian Newswire, the nation's leading distributor of religious press releases.