Hallmark Did Not Want to Cast ‘Old People’ Like Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert, Suit Claims

Hallmark executive VP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly told her staff she did not want to cast “old people,” saying they did not fit with her image for the channel, a new age discrimination lawsuit filed against the studio claims.

In the suit, Hamilton Daly is quoted as singling out Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert, who are 60 and 42 respectively, as examples of “old talent” that needed to be “replaced.” Both actors have starred in Christmas movies and shows on the Hallmark Channel.

“Lacey’s getting older and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older,” Hamilton Daly allegedly said.

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Of Robinson Peete, she said, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore,” the suit alleges.

Penny Perry, a 79-year-old casting director, filed the lawsuit on Oct. 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court. She alleges that she was unceremoniously fired in April after nine years with the company.

According to the complaint, Hamilton Daly repeatedly told Perry that she was “too long in the tooth,” and sought to have her removed as part of a goal of finding “new talent.”

“We need to bring in someone who knows more young talent,” the executive said, according to the suit. “Our leading ladies are aging out.”

Hallmark replied in a statement, “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 is an industry veteran whose casting credits include “Cocoon,” “Young Guns” and “The NeverEnding Story.” According to her complaint, she suffers from multiple sclerosis and is legally blind in one eye. She alleges that Hallmark failed to accommodate her disability.

Perry states that she received strong annual performance evaluations, including one just two months before she was fired.

Hamilton Daly was hired as Hallmark’s executive VP of programming in September 2021, having previously worked at Netflx and A+E Networks. The suit alleges that Hamilton Daly quickly decided that Perry was “too old to work in her position and maneuvered to push her out of the company.”

She alleges that her office was moved to a different floor, she was excluded from meetings, and on one project, her casting duties were assigned to an outside consultant. After she was fired, Perry alleges the company hired a younger man to do her job.

SAG-AFTRA has long fought against age discrimination in casting, going so far as to get California lawmakers to prohibit IMDb from publishing actors’ ages. That law was thrown out in court as unconstitutional, but the union later persuaded IMDb to allow actors to remove their ages from their profiles.