Remember when people-matching website eHarmony.com refused to accept gay applicants? And they blamed it on not having a proper psychological algorithm for it (and not because they were homophobic)? And competitor Chemistry.com had a whole ad campaign to point that out? And the policy even got them sued? No longer! Because not only does eHarmony now want you to find your same-sex life partner, it’s a sponsor of Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show. And what, pray tell, are they sponsoring? None other than “The Newlywed Game,” where a straight couple faced off against none other than Ellen and wife Portia de Rossi on today’s program. Thankfully Portia has a new show to plug, Better Off Ted, which meant she got to hang out for an interview, too.
[flv:https://www.queerty.com/media/EllenWeddingGame.flv https://www.queerty.com/media/EllenWeddingGame.jpg 640 420]
The Gay Numbers
Hey, even bigots in a bad economy have to make sacrifices.
atdleft
Ha. At least eHarmony figured out that it doesn’t pay to mess with teh gay. 😉
Brianna
I picked up on that too when I was watching it earlier. Sarah Warn just put up a blog post about the show
http://www.afterellen.com/blog/sarahwarn/ellen-interviews-portia-who-also-happens-to-be-her-wife
Charles J. Mueller
Maybe they figured out where their bread is actually being buttered?
The Gay Numbers
Two of the responses here are indicative of how the right is able to use gays. Rather than realizing the right is perfectly willing to take our money, and run Prop 8 ads against us with it. We see their taking of our money as a virtue because it means they ‘accept’ us.
Ellen Has Degenerated
Word to the wise: do not, under any circumstances, stoop to interviewing your own other half on your own talk show. It makes people wonder about your own mental health.
Brianna
@Ellen Has Degenerated:
(rolls eyes) Portia isn’t *only* Ellen’s wife. She’s an actress promoting her new TV show. Don’t act as if she is some random nobody who just gets on the show because they’re together.
markfmckinney
I wonder what Tina would say if she say this?
RTEFE
El barely mentions her orientation
Smokey Martini
Is it me, or do I have the sense that Ellen and Portia were trying really REALLY hard not to kiss? I feel a bit of tension there…
sam
watched it today. they are so freaking adorable. like seriously i had a big dumb grin the whole time
Alexa
I forgot to set the tivo, so thanks for posting this. They are too, too cute.
hardtobelieve
Even more ridiculous – they are promoting the actual eHarmony.com site, which STILL does not allow gay and lesbian users. I hope that Ellen realizes that she is allowing a blatantly discriminatory company to advertise on her show…
Andy P.
@ Hardtobelieve
Actually, eHarmony is going to start offering their service to gays by the end of March. My guess is this sponsorship was meant to herald that fact. Although, really, it wasn’t very smart of them to do the sponsorship prior to the change in service. And, true, they only acquiesed due to a lawsuit, not exactly demonstrating that they’ve had a change of heart but merely a fear of litigation. Either way, I won’t be using eHarmony for that fact alone.
Cam
They are creating a DIFFERENT site to handle gays. they after all wouldn’t want the straight people coming to their sites to have to see the icky links for “Men 4 Men” or “Women 4 Women”
A
And eHarmony was hardly sponsoring the Ellen show – look more closely, they are sponsorning the entire “The Newlywed Game” which the game show happened to be promoting on Ellen that day.
Telly_Smitts
I’m sorry but I don’t buy it AT ALL! eHarmony has been up and running for a long time now and they have also rejected gay applicants. Even if they do begin accepting them I would not be one to support the site. To me they are playing both sides of the fence. Just like Maureen Mullarkey, the staff at eHarmony are all opportunists!
Basically it boils down to either financial or political gain.
Telly_Smitts
slight typo:
“eHarmony has been up and running for a long time now and they have also rejected gay applicants.”
I meant to say they have always rejected gay applicants.
Broken
I loved Joshua and Tanyalee until I found out they were Jesus freaks. 🙁
getreal
Even if e-harmony decides to start allowing LGBT people starting next month they still ran a discriminatory site and I think they should be boycotted. There are plenty of sites like this I’m sure don’t have the same unfair history. I think we should all gay or straight support companies that don’t discriminate against people. Just my opinon.
jhohanna smit
I love Big and Sweet Asses