Dammitall

Earlier this week it was announced that Ellen DeGeneres has been named the newest face of CoverGirl (SFGate: Daily Dish : DeGeneres Confirms CoverGirl Status).

I'm curious to know your gut reactions, your feelings on what this might do for the brand, whether you think it's a step in the right direction or the wrong direction (or whether you have any opinion of that sort), whether you anticipate any backlash, if there's any question of her appropriateness for the role, and anything else you can think of.

Admittedly, I'm not a makeup user so I can't really speak as a consumer of the Cover Girl product, nor am I particularly familiar with their company as a whole. That aside, I think this is incredible and I'm more than a little surprised. I can remember very clearly the initial fallout from Ellen coming out publicly, both in character on her sitcom and in real life. At the time I was struggling with my own sexual identity; it was a major milestone for her to have taken at a time when many were convinced her career would be in ruins afterward, but it was a hallmark moment for me in dealing with my own situation then.

Fast forward a decade later and she's the host of an award-winning daytime talk show, has millions of adoring fans and just got legally married to another woman in California. I personally think it's freakin' awesome, but I'm still surprised. For all intents and purposes in our cultural context, Ellen is "the butch one" (or at least moreso than not) in her relationship with Portia de Rossi. It leaves me curious to know the process that lead up to this choice on Cover Girl's part.

Anybody else have any reactions to share?

__________________
If one million people replaced a two mile car trip once a week with a bike ride, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 50,000 tons per year. If one out of ten car commuters switched to a bike, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 25.4 million tons per year. [2milechallenge.com]