Ellen DeGeneres, A Vegan, Is Criticized For Crafting A Leather Shoe Line

Ellen DeGeneres, a sworn vegan, has been criticized for designing the “ED by Ellen” shoe line, which contains real leather products.

Ellen DeGeneres has been an outspoken critic of animal cruelty on her daytime talk show, and she even has her own vegan website, but Ellen apparently isn’t against having her own shoe line with real bits of leather in them.

According to the Washington Times, the Global Conservation Group issued an open letter to Ms. DeGeneres asking her to remove the leather products from her shoe line. The group also started a petition on Change.org asking Ellen to remove those particular shoes from her line.

“As members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community, we know what it’s like to be voiceless and to be treated as second-class citizens. When we look into the eyes of animals, we can see ourselves in them. As a vegan, you likely know that animals raised for food are routinely beaten, neglected and brutally killed. However, animals in the leather industry are often treated much worse. With every pair of leather shoes, you sentence an animal to a lifetime of suffering.”

Instead, the Global Conservation Group suggests that the leather be replaced by with cruelty-free materials that imitate leather, such as faux leather, pleather, and waxed cotton.

Ellen DeGeneres’ line comes from the Camuto Group in Brazil and is marketed and sold through Bergdorf Goodman in New York, according to the Scavenger. “ED by Ellen” features leather boots, specifically.

Ellen DeGeneres, a vegan, is criticized for crafting a leather shoe line because she reportedly tried to tone it down by saying that the shoes only have a small amount of leather in them.

“Ellen’s representatives have been quoted in the media as saying her new line contains only ‘a little bit’ of leather – as if that’s acceptable. But that’s like saying a little bit of homophobia is ok. It’s not. Ellen has been a wonderful, outspoken advocate for animals. She and her wife Portia went vegan after witnessing the unspeakable abuse inflicted on animals for food. The same kind of horrors are experienced by animals killed for leather,” says Katrina Fox, an award-winning journalist.

“I urge Ellen to follow the lead of the vegan shoe brands who are pioneering fashion with compassion,” Fox added.

Ellen DeGeneres, a vegan, is criticized for crafting a leather shoe line not just because the shoes have leather in them, but because now she seems like a hypocrite who only has an interest in a certain lifestyle when it works for her.

So far, Ellen DeGeneres has not been moved by the petition or the outcries of people who want her to remain true to her vegan way of life.

[Photo by Dave Kotinsky / Getty Images Entertainment]