Right before their big Christmas rush, Hallmark has been slapped with an age-discrimination lawsuit. Penny Perry, a former Hallmark casting director, filed the suit October 9, alleging that she was fired due to her age. According to the complaint, obtained by Variety, Hallmark executive VP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly called Perry “too long in the toothâ€Â and sought to have her fired. “We need to bring in someone who knows more young talent,†Hamilton Daly allegedly said. “Our leading ladies are aging out.†The suit says Hamilton Daly cited Lacey Chabert and Holly Robinson Peete as too old to helm a Hallmark joint anymore.
According to the lawsuit, Hamilton Daly said of Chabert “Lacey’s getting older and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.†(She is 42, by the way.) The exec also said “no one wants†Robinson Peete (60) “because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.†To look across the gender divide, Liam Neeson said he’s planning on not leading action movies at the end of 2025 because he’ll be 73. Maybe. Maybe he’ll just keep doing them forever, whatever.
“Lacey and Holly have a home at Hallmark,†the network said in a statement. “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.â€