J.C. Penney fires CEO after plummeting sales following gay ad campaign
April 11, 2013 ( Family Research Council ) - Plenty of companies have argued that natural marriage is " bad for business "--but they'll have a tough time persuading J.C. Penney . After a series of radical decisions, the retailer is struggling to survive a 25 percent drop in sales. It started in 2011 when the company hired Ellen DeGeneres , a vocal proponent of same-sex "marriage" as its spokesperson. The choice drew fire from organizations like the American Family Association (AFA) because it was a departure from the store's longstanding values. When AFA's One Million Moms complained, J.C. Penney's new CEO, Ron Johnson , stubbornly dug in his heels. Then, on Mothers' Day , the company shocked customers with a blatant endorsement of homosexuality in an ad that featured two moms--followed by a two-dads ad for Fathers' Day . Coupled with an overhaul of the stores' pricing system, the stock never recovered. Now, months