Listen, folks, here's a story that might make you scratch your head. The Hallmark Channel, known for its heartwarming holiday movies, is now at the center of a lawsuit. A former casting director named Penny Perry is accusing the network of age discrimination. She claims executives wanted to replace "old talent" with younger actors. And guess what? This drama broke just before Hallmark's most magical time of year—the Christmas season. It’s like a plot twist in one of their movies, but this one's real.
What Led to Hallmark Being Sued?
Let me break it down for you. Penny Perry, who worked as a casting director for Hallmark, is suing the channel and some high-ranking executives. She's pointing fingers at Hallmark's executive VP of programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly, Senior Vice President of Programming and Development Randy Pope, and Vice President of Human Resources Paul Hodgkinson. According to court documents obtained by People, Perry accuses them of wrongful termination, age and disability discrimination, defamation, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. That's quite the list, right?
Perry claims in the documents that Hamilton Daly thought she was "too old" for her job and plotted to push her out. But it doesn't stop there. Hamilton Daly allegedly said Hallmark needed "to bring in someone who knows more young talent" because the channel's "leading ladies are aging out." Now, that’s a bold statement, isn’t it?
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Even more surprising, Perry says Hamilton Daly specifically mentioned actresses Lacey Chabert, Holly Robinson Peete, and Terri Hatcher as examples of "old talent." Here's the kicker: At the time of the lawsuit, Chabert was 42, Robinson Peete was 60, and Hatcher was 59. Hamilton Daly reportedly said things like, "Lacey’s getting older, and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older." And about Robinson Peete, Perry claims Hamilton Daly said, "No one wants her. She’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore." Oof, that's harsh.
What's Hallmark's Take on This?
Now, here's where the story gets interesting. A Hallmark spokesperson released a statement on October 24, 2024, denying all of these claims. They said, “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.” It’s like they’re saying, "We stand by our team, but we're not spilling all the tea." Can you blame them?
What Else Did Penny Perry Say in the Lawsuit?
Perry didn’t stop there. She claimed she was a victim of ageism at Hallmark. She had been with the network since the '70s and always received glowing reviews, but according to her, everything changed abruptly in April 2024 when she was fired. Her replacement? A younger man. In the court documents, Perry stated that Hamilton Daly had told her she was "too long in the tooth" more than once. Ouch, right?
Perry also said her office was moved to a different floor, and she was excluded from important meetings. Even worse, her casting responsibilities were handed over to an outside source on at least one project. She described the treatment as "vile and ageist conduct," calling it "straight from Hallmark’s playbook when they sought to push out other employees in their 60s and 70s because of their age." That’s a pretty serious accusation, and it paints a picture of a workplace culture that might need some serious reflection.
