Hallmark Hit With Age Discrimination Lawsuit, Claims Studio Didn’t Want to Cast ‘Old People’

Hallmark Media, home to the feel-good Hallmark Channel, has been accused of age discrimination and fabricating “happy endings” that are “made for TV only,” while the “reality show is much more sinister.”

In a lawsuit filed on Oct. 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court, per Variety, Penny Perry, a 79-year-old casting director, accused the company of “ageist and ableist harassment” and a “callous termination which robbed her of her illustrious career, her pride, and her well-being.” Perry also claims that the alleged conduct was aimed towards other employees including staff and top talent such as stars Holly Robinson Peete, 60, and Lacey Chabert, 42.

Perry claims that Lisa Hamilton Daly, Hallmark’s Executive Vice President of Programming, said that, “Lacy’s getting older and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.” When referencing Peete, the suit alleges the executive said, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.”

After nine years with the company, Perry stated that she was fired in April after Hamilton Daily allegedly told her multiple times that she was “too long in the tooth” and that the company needed “to bring in someone (other than you) who knows more young talent.”

The filing also claims that Hamilton Daly told the veteran casting director not to cast “old people” in Hallmark roles.

In a statement Hallmark 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.”

Perry stated that she is coping with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and is legally blind in her left eye. In her complaint, she alleged Hallmark failed to accommodate her disabilities.

SVP Programming and Development Randy Pope was also accused of being “abusive” toward Perry and having “tormented her regularly.” The casting director, whose credits include Cocoon and The NeverEnding Story, claimed that during a virtual meeting on April 10, 2024, Hamilton Daly and Hallmark Human Resources exec Paul Hodgkinson “ambushed” her in what she “believed was a casting meeting,” but turned out to be a “termination meeting where Ms. Hamilton Daly, and Mr. Hodgkinson wrongfully terminated her employment.”