A former Hallmark casting director has filed a lawsuit alleging that a network executive once pushed for the replacement of “older talent,” specifically referencing 42-year-old Lacey Chabert and 60-year-old Holly Robinson-Peete.
According to court documents, 79-year-old Penny Perry has taken legal action against Hallmark executives, including Executive Vice President of Programming Lisa Hamilton Daly, Senior Vice President of Programming and Development Randy Pope, and Vice President of Human Resources Paul Hodgkinson.
Perry is seeking a jury trial and compensation, claiming she experienced and witnessed “ageist and ableist harassment” during her time at the company.
She further alleges that she was terminated after Hamilton Daly remarked that Perry was too “long in the tooth” to continue working there, in addition to mishandling her personal health conditions.
In her complaint, Perry claims that Hamilton Daly told her, “We need to bring in someone (other than you) who knows more young talent,” and suggested that “Our leading ladies are aging out. We need to find new talent to take their place.”
Perry also alleges that Hamilton Daly emphasized the network’s holiday movie stars were “getting older” and needed to be replaced, with Chabert and Robinson-Peete specifically singled out in the complaint.
Perry recalled hearing Hamilton Daly say, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore,” referring to Chabert.
Additionally, Perry claims Daly said they needed to “find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.”
When asked for comment, a Hallmark Media representative told, “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.”
Both Chabert and Robinson-Peete have worked on numerous projects for Hallmark. Chabert continues to collaborate with the network, not only starring in but also producing holiday content, including her reality series Celebrations With Lacey Chabert and the upcoming 2024 film The Christmas Quest.
Chabert is also working on a Netflix Christmas movie titled Hot Frosty and is currently in Canada filming another project for Hallmark.
