Ellen DeGeneres is the most beloved talk show host in America, possibly the world. But after years of proclaiming to be vegan and supporting animal rights, she has shockingly released a clothing line that features leather. Please sign the petition to urge Ellen DeGeneres to return to her stated vegan ethics and stop manufacturing any animal products in her name!



As an out lesbian woman, DeGeneres helped pave the way for LGBT equality by announcing she was gay in 1997. The revelation temporarily destroyed her career until she reemerged in the now-classic Disney/Pixar film "Finding Nemo."



Ellen began embarking on another strain of advocacy after meeting her wife Portia de Rossi. She announced she'd become a vegan. Her wedding was famously animal-free, including the huge vegan cake. Ellen used her public platform to talk about the horrors of animal exploitation. She even famously schooled Katie Couric on veganism during a 2010 interview.



Unfortunately, Ellen has been slowly abandoning animal rights. She made an odd remark recently about eating eggs from "happy chickens," despite mocking the idea of people eating a "happy cow" in the past. The vegan section of her website ("Ellen's Vegan Corner") disappeared and she handed out cheese pizza at the Oscars during her 2014 hosting stint. She became the face of CoverGirl, which tests on animals and is not a plant-based line.



Now, the ED by Ellen line is confirmed to feature leather shoes. She's also working with Kanye West on more fashion products, despite his open use of fur.



This new Ellen is not the person fans came to love over the past decades, and it's sad. Ellen knows better, because she used to serve as an educator on these issues. Cows used for leather are castrated, burned, dehorned and generally tortured. Pigs have their tails cut off, ears mutilated and testicles cut out. All of these awful procedures happen without painkillers, not that any of them would be okay either way.



Animals are emotionally complex. They think and feel in similar ways to humans. Cows have families, and mothers will search miles for their children when taken. Pigs have intelligence levels that surpass young human children. They recognize their names and, as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals notes, have social structures that rival primates.



Ellen is fully aware of the intelligence of these creatures and the awful lives they lead when humans unnecessarily exploit them.



In her interview with Katie Couric, Ellen said this of animals used for human consumption and products: "They're all in pain. They're all treated badly […] I saw the reality and I couldn't ignore it anymore […] Every time you think of what's on your plate, what it was, you just can't do it."



I couldn't agree more.



Sign the petition urging Ellen DeGeneres to return to her stated vegan ethics and stop manufacturing any animal products in her name.