Just as Hallmark Channel was launching its 15th year of feel-good “Countdown to Christmas” programming, with dozens of new holiday movies airing between October and December 2024, it was hit with a bombshell lawsuit that claims “Hallmark’s happy endings are stories made for TV only.”
Filed by longtime casting executive Penny Perry and obtained by Heavy, the lawsuit alleges that 79-year-old Perry, who once sang Hallmark’s praises as a “great” place to work, was “harassed, discriminated against, and then fired by Hallmark” in May, accusing multiple Hallmark Media executives of ageism and ableism.
Perry also claims in the suit that many of Hallmark’s most popular stars are in jeopardy of being replaced, alleging that Programming EVP Lisa Hamilton Daly — whose leadership she described as a “reign of terror” — repeatedly urged her to find younger talent and to stop casting “old people.” Perry alleges she, too, was swiftly replaced by a younger, male casting executive after her firing.
On October 23, Hallmark vehemently denied Perry’s “outrageous allegations” in statements provided to multiple media outlets, including Variety and The Associated Press.
Hallmark Denies Allegations of Wanting to ‘Replace’ Stars Like Lacey Chabert & Holly Robinson Peete
GettyHallmark programming executive Lisa Hamilton Daly (center) with Hallmark stars Wes Brown and Melissa Peterman in July 2024
In Perry’s lawsuit, she claims that her superiors — Hamilton Daly, who left Netflix for Hallmark in 2021, and longtime programming exec Randy Pope — repeatedly urged her to find “fresh new faces” for the dozens of movies and series she was responsible for casting.
Many of Hallmark’s most popular actors are in their 40s and 50s. Perry’s lawsuit listed many of them — including Lacey Chabert, Alison Sweeney, Autumn Reeser, Nikki DeLoach, Rachel Boston, and Brennan Elliott — as being among the talent that Hallmark execs wanted to “find replacements for” because they were too old.
Claiming Hamilton Daly told her that Hallmark’s “leading ladies are aging out,” Perry said actress Hunter King was brought up one of the “young people” who’d make a good replacement. King, who turned 31 on October 19, is a rising star at Hallmark, appearing opposite Tyler Hynes, 38, in the highly-publicized “Holiday Romance: A Chiefs Love Story,” set to premiere on November 23.
In her lawsuit, Perry recalls being told that actress Holly Robinson Peete, who turned 60 in early October, was no longer a viable casting option because “no one wants her because she’s too
expensive and getting too old” and that she couldn’t “play leading roles anymore.” Robinson Peete last appeared on Hallmark in December 2022’s “Holiday Heritage.”
Chabert was also singled out in the lawsuit, with Perry claiming that Hamilton Daly once told her that “we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.” Nevertheless, Chabert remains one of Hallmark’s busiest actresses, having just starred in her 40th Hallmark movie — “His and Hers” with Elliott — and the company’s first unscripted series, “Celebrations With Lacey Chabert” on Hallmark+. She’ll also appear opposite Kristoffer Polaha in her 15th Hallmark Christmas movie, “A Christmas Quest,” premiering on December 1.
Robinson Peete and Chabert have not commented publicly on Perry’s lawsuit, but Hallmark Media has insisted it stands behind both actresses.
“Lacey and Holly have a home at Hallmark,” a rep told Variety in an emailed 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.”
The company also told the AP, “Hallmark continues to consistently cast and maintain positive, productive relationships with talented actors representing a broad spectrum of diversity, including actors who span many age groups and cross generations.”
In the spring of 2024, Hamilton Daly was candid about her vision for “expanding the talent pool” at Hallmark during an appearance on the Hallmark Mysteries & More podcast and in an interview with Variety.
“When I got here, we were sort of on a talent exclusivity spree, and I think we’ve backed away from that, partly because we like our talent to be a lot of other places too,” she told Variety of her goal to hire stars who also work on other movies and networks. “We like people to be able to find them in other places and be excited to come back and see them here. And we’re also constantly looking to expand our talent pool, so getting people for a one-off movie is really exciting for us.”
Fired Hallmark Exec Penny Perry Sang Company’s Praises in 2022
After decades of working as a Hollywood casting director, including for many feature films including “Cocoon” and “Ordinary People,” per Perry’s lawsuit, she joined Hallmark as a contractor in 2015 and, the following year, was hired as Vice President of Talent/Casting and promoted to Senior Vice President in 2019.
During a virtual SAG-AFTRA roundtable discussion with multiple Hallmark actresses in December 2022, as seen in the video above, Perry commented on the tight windows she had to cast each Hallmark movies, which are typically filmed in just three weeks, but spoke glowingly about working for the company.
“These lovely ladies make my job a lot easier because not only are they wonderful actors, they become your friends and we’re family here,” she said, gesturing to the actresses participating including DeLoach, Robinson Peete, Erin Cahill and Ashley Williams. “So it’s very, very different than before when I was doing (feature) movies and working for networks and stuff. It’s a lot nicer here. It’s really great.”
“The one thing I want to say about Hallmark as a woman — they’re very supportive to us as women,” Perry added. “It’s a wonderful place to be.”
But less than two years later, in her lawsuit, Perry slammed her working conditions, claiming she “suffered rampant harassment.” Perry included excerpts of glowing job reviews she received in recent years, but noted that she often felt unsupported as an employee with multiple medical challenges, including lingering issues caused by breast cancer treatment in 2007 and 2008, being legally blind in her left eye, and suffering from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), which she said can cause intermittent equilibrium and mobility issues.
The lawsuit claims that Perry’s “MS symptoms returned” when Hamilton Daly “unleashed her reign of terror against Ms. Perry” and required her to report to Pope, whom Perry had considered to be “her equal.” Despite his positive reviews of her work, Perry said Pope was “abusive and tormented her regularly,” including making fun of her when she slurred or forgot words.
On October 21, Perry’s lawyers and doctor requested that the court consider expediting her case, given her age and declining health, by scheduling a trial for January 2025. A decision had not been made about timing and next steps at the time of publication.
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