Every love story ever told by the Hallmark channel has many…for lack of a better word, hallmarks. Despite its recent efforts at diversifying its catalog (see: The Holiday Sitter, Hallmark’s 2022 attempt at queer storytelling), it remains overwhelmingly white and heteronormative. Its formula also continues to be laughably consistent: Of the romantic leads, there is always one skeptic, and their diametrical opposite, a small-town devotee. I know this because I’ve seen a lot of them, which is also how I know that none of these leads appears over the age of 40, maybe 45, at the most. I get it. A hallmark of showbiz is ageism—which is precisely what the network is being accused of in a new discrimination lawsuit.
This week, a filing from Penny Perry, a 79-year-old former casting director for the network, made headlines for its accusations involving two of its stars. In the suit, filed on October 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Perry claims she was abruptly fired in April after nearly a decade with the network. According to the filing, the executive Vice President of programming at Lisa Hamilton Daly told Perry that she was “too long in the tooth” on more than one occasion, and sought to have her removed as part of a goal of finding “new talent.”
“We need to bring in someone who knows more young talent,” the executive allegedly said, according to the suit. “Our leading ladies are aging out.”
Who are those ladies? None other than network darling, Lacey Chabert, and fellow mainstay, Holly Robinson Peete.
“Lacey’s getting older and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older,” Perry accused Hamilton Daly of saying. Chabert, I’ll note, is just 42 years old. Of Robinson Peete, Hamilton Daly allegedly said, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.” Too old? Too expensive? I’m sorry, isn’t Donna Kelce appearing in a film on the channel (no offense to that diva)? And, wait a minute, didn’t Mariah Carey (again, no offense to that diva) star in a 2015 film? Hell, even before Lori Laughlin’s college admissions scandal she was in at least a dozen Hallmark classics and she’s 60. It sounds to me that Hallmark doesn’t just have an ageism issue on its hands, but a tighter-budget-than-before issue. I see what they’re doing. Seeking to cast young, inexpensive actors for its starring roles only to underpay them during crucial years in their careers…who do they think they are? The media industry?
Hallmark, of course, has denied Perry’s claims, telling Variety: “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.”
If this is all true, Hallmark would do right not to usher its forty-something and above leads out its tinsel-trimmed door—especially when many have proven they can take on far more impressive roles (Alicia Witt in Longlegs, anyone?) And by the way, some of us wouldn’t mind watching geriatrics (by their alleged standards) fall in love.
GET JEZEBEL RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX
Still here. Still without airbrushing. Still with teeth.
