If DeGeneres' comments incited others to harm and harass the pet owners, could/should she be he

Ellen's comments on her show have caused the owners of the pet rescue center to receive threats on the phone and by email. Do you believe Ellen did an irresponsible thing by making this issue public?

If DeGeneres' comments incited others to harm and harass the pet owners, could/should she be held liable?

No, I don't think she should be held responsible for other people's actions. The reason the people at the pet rescue are receiving the threats they are is due to their own policies and behavior. Perhaps they should modify their stand regarding not allowing a family to adopt with children under the age of 14. Many children can be responsible at younger ages so perhaps they need to revisit this policy. Maybe make it a judgment call for each adoption, going to the family home for an evaluation with the puppy/dog and watch how the family interacts with the animal. Perhaps random checking would be another good idea. But, to simply take an animal away without investigating the actual possibility of a good, healthy home for one more animal, is not just unfair to the family, it's unfair to the animal as well.

If DeGeneres' comments incited others to harm and harass the pet owners, could/should she be held liable?

yes, she should not have made it a public issue....at least not yet, she should have tried to work with them a little bit more first. I don't think she can be held responsible for what other people say but then again with the kind of world were living in i wouldn't be surprised if she was...

If DeGeneres' comments incited others to harm and harass the pet owners, could/should she be held liable?

I know many people with small children who have cats and dogs that came into the home as kittens and puppies. Children, even small ones, can learn to handle them properly and give them the love they need. Ellen is entitled to her opinion and last I looked it was a free country. The idiots that are calling threats to the shelter don't have much to do with their spare time if that's all they can think of to do. What do they think that is going to solve. Who says that will make the shelter change their policies anyway. Actually it will probably have the opposite effect. This whole thing has just taken on a life of its own.