Ellen on Prop 8 and the JCPenney Protest

Ellen DeGeneres is speaking out about the overturning of Proposition 8, and the controversy sparked by "One Million Moms" over her role as JCPenney's new spokesperson.

"I'm sure the people who oppose it will try to appeal it, but it's a step in the right direction. So I'm happy," Ellen told her studio audience in an episode set to air Wednesday, February 8.

"However, it leads me to something else I'd like to talk about. You all may know that I've recently teamed up with JCPenney," she said, adding, "But there's a group called One Million Moms that isn't happy about it. And normally I try not to pay attention to my haters, but this time I'd like to talk about it, because my haters are my motivators.

"They wanted to get me fired, and 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. I'm really going to clean up with this discount."

She continued, "I mean, if they have a problem with spokespeople, what about the Pillsbury Doughboy? He runs around without any pants on, basically begging for people to poke his belly. What kind of message is that?"

"I usually don't talk about stuff like this on my show, but I really want to thank everyone who is supporting me. If you don't know me very well, if you're just watching maybe for the first time or you're just getting to know me, I want to be clear. 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."