One Million Moms Goes Ballistic Over Gay TurboTax Ad
One Million Moms is accusing the national tax preparation company of seeking to "redefine family" and "push the gay lifestyle."
One Million Moms, a right-wing, anti-LGBTQ organization, is outraged over a humorous 30-second commercial for TurboTax featuring a same-sex couple. They claim that the company is trying to “push the gay lifestyle and redefine ‘family.'”
The organization previously blasted TurboTax in 2023 for including a fleeting glimpse of two men marrying in a commercial that also featured people doing various leisure-time activities such as hiking, chess, and yoga, as well as a heterosexual couple kissing.
The newest ad from TurboTax features Doug and André, a mixed-race couple who say they “navigated a turbulent housing market” by buying a houseboat, which they call a “boater home.”
André has his arm around Doug’s shoulder throughout the commercial, including a scene where the couple sits on a couch inside their houseboat. “We didn’t know the first thing about filing taxes as first-time homebuyers,” says André.
Monica, a tax expert, appears on the couple’s tablet screen and informs them of the benefits of TurboTax, adding that new homeowners can file taxes with complete accuracy “on land and sea.”
Merely showing Andre and Doug is an unforgivable offense to One Million Moms, which has chastised TurboTax for approving a commercial with a same-sex couple.
“TurboTax should be ashamed of attempting to normalize sin in their 2024 commercial ‘Boater Home,’ which features a gay couple buying a houseboat. It appears that TurboTax is promoting same-sex marriage to please a small portion of the population while pushing away the much larger percentage of potential conservative customers,” One Million Moms wrote as part of a petition demanding the ad be pulled from the airwaves.
“In an attempt to redefine ‘family,’ TurboTax is using public airwaves to subject families to the decay of morals and values while belittling the sanctity of marriage,” One Million Moms continues. “Even though homosexuality is unnatural, this advertisement is pushing the LGBTQ agenda. An even greater concern is that the controversial commercial is airing during prime time, when children are likely watching television.”
One Million Moms adds that even if it did not disagree morally with the ad’s message, the company’s decision to delve into contentious social issues rather than remain “neutral in the culture war” is bad business.
Citing the Bible, One Million Moms says, “One day we will answer for our actions — or lack of them. We must remain diligent and stand up for Biblical values and truth. Scripture says multiple times that homosexuality is wrong, and God will not tolerate it (Romans 1:26-27).”
The petition currently has accumulated 14,204 signatures. It asks people offended by the commercial to threaten TurboTax’s financial bottom line by refusing to take advantage of the company’s services.
“If TurboTax continues to air this inappropriate commercial, then I will avoid your services in the coming tax season,” reads the petition.
One Million Moms, an offshoot of the anti-LGBTQ American Family Association, frequently caterwauls against so-called “indecency,” often claiming that TV, music, movies, and other forms of entertainment media are saturated with depictions of “immorality, violence, vulgarity, and profanity.”
Some of the organization’s past petitions and campaigns have targeted various major corporations that don’t show “family-friendly” commercials. They slammed the dating site eHarmony for commercials depicting same-sex couples, called for a boycott of Oreo for selling rainbow-colored cookies during Pride season, condemned Whole Foods for sponsoring a Drag Queen Story Hour event, and demanded that the Hallmark Channel pull an ad depicting a lesbian wedding.
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