The Hallmark Channel, commonly known for its romantic comedy and holiday movies, is facing some legal trouble. This week, Variety reports that the media company is the subject of a new age discrimination lawsuit.
The suit filed against the studio alleges that Hallmark Executive VP of Programming Lisa Hamilton Daly told staff that she did not want to cast “old people” because they did not fit her vision for the channel. Daly reportedly singled out stars like Holly Robinson Peete, 60, when giving examples of “old talent” that needed to be “replaced.”
“No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore,” the lawsuit quotes the Hallmark executive saying, per Variety.
Other stars, such as Lacey Chabert, 42, and casting director Penny Perry, were also mentioned in the lawsuit. Perry, who filed the lawsuit to the Los Angeles Superior Court on October 9, claims that she was abruptly terminated after nine years with the company. The casting director claims she was fired as part of Daly’s efforts to find “young talent.”
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“We need to bring in someone who knows more young talent,” the executive reportedly said, per the lawsuit. “Our leading ladies are aging out.”
In September 2021, Daly joined Hallmark as its executive VP of programming, having experience working at other large networks like Netflix and A+E Networks. Perry’s lawsuit claims that Daly deemed her to be “too old to work in her position and maneuvered to push her out of the company” by allegedly moving her office to a different floor, excluding her from meetings and more.
In response to the allegations, Hallmark denied the lawsuit’s claims in a statement to Variety and Deadline.
“Lacey and Holly have a home at Hallmark. We do not generally comment on pending litigation. And while we deny these outrageous allegations, we are not going to discuss an employment relationship in the media.”
