by Jeroslyn JoVonn
October 24, 2024
A lawsuit accuses Hallmark of allowing age discrimination against Holly Robinson Peete and others.
A new-age discrimination lawsuit against Hallmark accuses the studio of targeting “old people” like Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert.
The complaint names Lisa Hamilton Daly, Hallmark's executive vice president of programming, who allegedly told her employees she didn't want to cast “old people” because they allegedly didn't align with her vision for the network, Variety reports. Hamilton Daly allegedly singled out Robinson Peete, 60, and Chabert, 42 — network regulars who have starred in numerous holiday films and shows — as examples of “legacy talent” who needed to be “replaced,” the lawsuit says .
“Nobody wants her because she’s too expensive and she’s getting too old,” Hamilton Daly reportedly said of Robinson Peete. “She can no longer play leading roles.”
As for Chabert, Hamilton Daly is quoted as saying the Mean Girls star is “getting older, and we need to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.”
Hallmark has since responded to the lawsuit to express solidarity and support for Robinson Peete and Chabert.
“Lacey and Holly have a home on Hallmark. We generally do not comment on pending litigation,” the statement said. “And while we deny these outrageous allegations, we will not discuss an employment relationship in the media.”
The lawsuit was filed Oct. 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court by Penny Perry, a 79-year-old casting director who claims she was suddenly fired in April due to age discrimination by Hamilton Daly. According to the complaint, Hamilton Daly repeatedly told Perry, who has worked at Hallmark for nine years, that she was “too long in the tooth” and that she was trying to have her removed to find “new talent.”
“We need to hire someone who knows more young talent,” the managing director said, according to the lawsuit. “Our leading actresses are getting older.”
Perry's lawsuit cites her multiple sclerosis diagnosis and claims she is blind in one eye. Hallmark failed to make necessary accommodations for her disability. The veteran casting director, known for her work on “Cocoon,” “Young Guns” and “The NeverEnding Story,” claims she was fired despite consistently receiving good annual performance reviews, including one just two months ago their termination.
The lawsuit alleges that shortly after Hamilton Daly was hired as Hallmark's EVP of programming in September 2021, she wasted no time in deciding that Perry was “too old to work in her position and tried to force her out.” “to displace the company”. She claims she was treated differently, including having her office moved to a different floor, being excluded from meetings and having her casting responsibilities for a project assigned to an outside consultant. Perry claims the company replaced her with a younger man after she quit.
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