When Bluewater Productions president Darren Davis received a call from a Walter "Bud" Pidgeon, president of the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, demanding he withdraw the new Female Empowerment: Ellen DeGeneres issue because of her support of the U.S. Humane Society, the Washington-based publisher thought it was someone playing a joke. As e-mails flooded Bluewater's server from USSA's members castigating him for "elevating" gays, supporting "less than acceptable lifestyles," and for honoring Ellen's request that issue proceeds go the to U.S. Humane Society, he quickly discovered Pidgeon was a real person and had in fact called upon his 3 million members to take action against Bluewater.
"Being the subject of a Bluewater issue has become quite the celebrity 'get' with the attendant national publicity," said Bluewater publisher Darren Davis. "We hear from A-list publicists every day pitching one celeb or another." Davis explained that the subject of each issue, if they choose to participate, gets to select a charity and 1/3 of the proceeds go directly to their nonprofit of choice.
"Ellen chose the U.S. Humane Society," said Davis, "an animal rights organization she has supported for years."
In a letter demanding Davis take immediate action, Pidgeon explained the USSA's objections - including the U.S. Humane Society's campaign to ban dove hunting and their seeking regulation of dog breeders. Pidgeon followed-up with a release to the group's 3.1 million members asking them to contact DeGeneres and Bluewater and share their outrage.
And contact Bluewater the USSA members did. For example, one email expresses outrage for supporting the Humane Society, which the writer alleges is "headed by vegans." Another writes "I am amazed that a comics publisher would elevate a person of 'DeGenerates' [sic] background... Children are the readers of comics, and they do not need indoctrination into less-than-acceptable lifestyles..."
© C Harris Lynn, 2010
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
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