Claim: Ellen being gay hurt 'Idol' ratings

A Christian news site is making headlines by claiming Ellen DeGeneres is responsible for the ratings erosion of Fox's "American Idol."

Christian Newswire director Gary McCullough says the sexual orientation of the newest "Idol" judge was the reason "Idol" ratings were down about 9% this season.

McCullough said he predicted that "Idol" ratings would drop after DeGeneres was announced as a judge and says Fox has paid the price:

"At this moment in entertainment history, network television is on a
pro-homosexuality bender," McCullough wrote. "The producers of 'American Idol' chose to be a
part of this push; it was a huge mistake. The consequences of this
choice were a drop in market share and a reduction in advertising
dollars ... it actually drives away a significant market share of
parents and teens who used to watch the show together, until mom and dad
decided that the subtle promotion of an 'alternate lifestyle' to their
kids was not worth the entertainment trade off."

"Perhaps next we will see the pro-pedophilia group NAMBLA use its
influence in Hollywood to have 'Dancing with the Stars' seat Roman
Polanski as a judge," he added.

Few points:

To claim that DeGeneres is detrimental to TV ratings conflicts with the reason she was chosen for the show -- her established popularity with TV viewers via her daytime talk show and other outlets.

"Idol" ratings have been dipping steadily for the past few years. This season's "Idol" ratings drop was  about the same as the previous year, when DeGeneres wasn't on the show, and were in line with network performance expectations at the start of the season.

The biggest new scripted ratings hit of the season is one of the most gay-friendly broadcast shows ever created -- Fox's "Glee," whose ratings increased after an early pivotal episode focused on a gay character.

"I can hear the bloggers loading their homophobe-blasters, but think this
through with me," McCullough wrote. "If one of the judges was an abortion activist, or a
political right winger -- and continued to insert comments in line with
their activism -- the same criticism would be true, and the show would
suffer. The advice, 'Shut up and sing!' comes to mind."