Miss California to appear in ad for conservative group

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Miss California Carrie Prejean, who declared her opposition to same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant, will star in a new $1.5 million ad campaign funded by the National Organization for Marriage.

The organization has scheduled a press conference with Prejean in Washington on Thursday to unveil the new ad, called “No Offense.”

Prejean was roasted by same-sex marriage advocates after she stood up for what she called “opposite marriage” (marriage between a man and a woman) when responding to a question from celebrity blogger and pageant judge Perez Hilton.

Prejean has also become a fresh-faced standard-bearer for the same-sex marriage opponents, who have rallied to her defense.

“She is attacked viciously for having the courage to speak up for her truth and her values,” the National Organization for Marriage said in a press release. “But Carrie’s courage inspired a whole nation and a whole generation of young people because she chose to risk the Miss USA crown rather than be silent about her deepest moral values.”

According to the group, the ad will call “gay marriage advocates to account for their unwillingness to debate the real issue: gay marriage has consequences.”

The Miss California TV ad is the group’s second. Their first, “A Gathering Storm,” ran in several states earlier and featured actors issuing ominous warnings about the threats posed by same-sex marriage.

Executive directors and producers of the Miss California USA pageant released a statement Wednesday lamenting that Prejean had taken on such a “polarizing” issue.

“We are deeply saddened Carrie Prejean has forgotten her platform of the Special Olympics, her commitment to all Californians, and solidified her legacy as one that goes beyond the rights to voice her beliefs and instead reveals her opportunistic agenda,” the group said.