Catholic School Regrets Using Photo Of Ellen DeGeneres On Dance Invitations

St. Andrew Elementary, a Catholic school in Philadelphia, recently apologized for sending out invitations to an Oscar-themed dance that featured a picture of Ellen DeGeneres. The principal of the school, Nancy Matteo, is asking students to return the invitations or destroy them.

According to Philly.com, the school seemingly regrets using the photo of DeGeneres because she is a lesbian. While principal Matteo never explicitly said that the apology was a result of Ellen’s homosexuality, her email to the parents explained that the choice to include her on the invitation was wrong because DeGeneres “lives her life outside the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

Matteo called DeGeneres a “poor role model” and then went on to explain in her email what a role model should be:

“A role model, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is a person who is unusually effective or inspiring in some social role, job, position, etc. This does not describe [Ellen DeGeneres] at all. We work so hard to be good role models and then I go and do something stupid!”

The Huffington Post described the invitation as a photo of Ellen DeGeneres holding an Oscar statue with the text “Live from the red carpet.” Ellen’s association with the Oscars has nothing to do with her sexuality, but is merely a result of her having hosted the Academy Awards in both 2007 and 2014. DeGeneres was, however, the first openly gay entertainer to host.

Philly.com tried to reach principal Matteo to discuss Ellen’s appearance on the invitation, but she declined to comment. However, a spokesman for the Catholic church, Ken Gavin, did release the following statement:

“All Catholic schools in the Archdiocese are firmly rooted in Gospel-based values and the teachings of the Church. As such, it is expected that any promotional materials developed by these schools would feature images and themes that correspond with their core mission and identity. That approach is logical and our school families have a right to expect it.”

This isn’t Ellen’s first incident with the Catholic church. Philly reported on a previous incident when an 11-year-old Catholic school girl named Caroline Pla appeared on Ellen’s talk show to discuss her petition to the Catholic church to allow girls to play in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Catholic Youth Organization football league. Possibly thanks to Ellen’s help in raising awareness of the issue, the Archbishop Charles Chaput did eventually allow girls into the league.

Ellen came out as gay in 1997 and married Portia de Rossi in 2008. However, rumors have been circulating that the couple may be on the verge of a divorce.