Ellen DeGeneres responds to homophobic priest: 'I do celebrate my lesbianism'

The talk-show host hit back at accusations from pastor Larry Tomczak's accusation that she pushes gay "propaganda"

Ellen Degeneres hit back at claims she was trying to "brainwash" young girls into becoming lesbians (Getty Images)

Ellen DeGeneres issued a withering response to accusations made by US pastor Larry Tomczak, saying: "Larry, the only way I'm trying to influence people is to be more kind and compassionate with one another."

This came after Tomczak wrote an opinion piece for the Christian Post, saying: "Ellen DeGeneres celebrates her lesbianism and 'marriage' in between appearances of guests like Taylor Swift to attract young girls."

The article was published under the headline: "Are you aware of the avalanche of gay programming assualting your home?" In it, Tomczak called on Christians to oppose "gay" media, including TV shows such as Glee ("features over five gay characters"), Scandal ("has two gays") and Dancing With The Stars ("hosts a gay judge and gay couples").

He wrote: "LGBTQ advocacy groups have multimillion-dollar budgets and work aggressively to convince Americans that homosexuality is a beautiful way of life – maybe for your child or grandchild?"

DeGeneres, whose wife is actress Portia de Rossi, hit back at the idea of gay "indoctrination", saying: "First of all, let's just break this down, I'm not 'married,' I'm married, that's all,” said DeGeneres, using finger quotation marks.

"And, Larry, I don't even know what it means to celebrate my lesbianism. Well, I guess I do," as she pulled a party popper.

The comedian added: "Larry, the only way I'm trying to influence people is to be more kind and compassionate with one another. That is the message I'm sending out. I don't have an agenda. I'm not here to brainwash anyone."

"In the article, the pastor criticises a lot of TV shows for promoting gay agendas. He says that Glee has over five characters. Modern Family had a gay wedding. [News anchor] Anderson Cooper boasts about his homosexuality," DeGeneres said.

"If you ask me, Larry is watching a lot of gay TV."

Speaking to her 4million viewers, DeGeneres said: "Be true to yourself. The most important thing is to be true to yourself."