This Gay-Inclusive Sephora Christmas Ad Has Conservatives Fuming

Antigay, far-right Christian group and professional online petition makers One Million Moms are back at it again -- and this time, they have a bone to pick with Sephora!

In a recent commercial for their "It's the Beauty You Give" campaign, the popular makeup and skincare retailer features people of different shapes, sizes, colors, races, and genders, and that included a super cute gay couple (and their puppies) gifting each other goodies from Sephora for the holiday season. Because we can't have nice things, though, One Million Moms' lone, singular voice, director Monica Cole, took issue with the 30-second ad, claiming it is the latest attack in the "culture war" on Christian values.

"Sephora, a company that sells cosmetics, beauty products, and fragrances, has really crossed the line by featuring two gay men in its newest commercial," a statement from Cole, which was published on JoeMyGod.com, reads in response to Sephora's recent gay-inclusive commercial. "The Sephora Holiday Gifting 2021 ad shows various friends and family members smiling while giving each other Christmas gifts, but the homosexual couple is the only romantic couple included in the advertisement. After one man is shown opening a gift from their dogs (which is obviously from his partner), the commercial concludes with the two men kissing on the lips. Sephora's primary customer base is women, yet the company ends the commercial with two men kissing."

"Promoting same-sex relationships should have nothing to do with marketing makeup and skincare products," Cole's statement continues. "Yet Sephora wants to make it clear where it stands on this controversial topic instead of remaining neutral in the culture war."

Cole then goes on to urge folks to sign an online petition (which we will not be linking to and that currently has over 12,000 signatures at the time of writing) urging Sephora to stop running the commercial as it "attempts to glamorize sin."

Although its name suggests otherwise, One Million Moms does not actually have one million mothers from all over the world as members. Instead, the conservative, antigay media watchdog group (whose parent organization, the American Family Association, has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group) writes on its website that they are "looking for one million moms to fight attempts by the entertainment and media industries to 'normalize sin' and 'promote same-sex relationships.'"

Earlier this year, sustainable mattress company Avocado Mattress's "Natural as Love" ad campaign featured same-sex couples and drew the ire of One Million Moms, which resulted in the group launching yet another online petition calling for the mattress retailer to immediately pull the ad, labeling it "sexual perversion" and part of a "gay agenda" to lead folks astray from the teachings of the bible.

In 2017 the group campaigned against the Disney Chanel program Andi Mack because it featured a gay character, and in the same year, One Million Moms pushed back against the Disney Junior show Doc McStuffins for featuring a lesbian couple (voiced by Wanda Sykes & Portia de Rossi) with their children in an episode of the animated series. Also in 2017, the group called out the Hallmark Channel for airing a lesbian-themed commercial for the online wedding registry Zola.

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