Source article on Billboard.com
While still hugely popular (only the Olympics and 'Dancing with the Stars' have ever beaten it in the ratings since 2004) 'Idol's' ratings have been in a gradual decline since Season 5, so unless gayness is like tachyons and travels backward in time, I don't see how anyone can pin this on Ellen. Of course, rationality and reality have nothing to do with this group's announcement.
Honestly, I think Idol's ratings loss is probably more related to the crossover appeal of the frontrunners (whether it be country like Carrie Underwood or rock like Chris Daughtry), how compelling/talented the frontrunners are in general, the appeal of the judges (Paula's gone now and her craziness was fun, Randy just says the same damn thing every time, Kara is boring, and Simon's been more subdued this year and will be gone now), and just the typical audience burnout you normally get from a show that's been on for nine seasons.
The singers are still talented, but there hasn't really been anyone I've been that interested in since the Daughtry or Underwood seasons. Not that that is necessarily reflective of the entire audience of course, just my opinion.