Lawsuit Claims Hallmark Sought to Dismiss “Old” Talent Such as Lacey Chabert
Hallmark Media is facing legal trouble.
A former casting director for the company filed a lawsuit against the organization and Executive VP of Programming Lisa Hamilton Daly Oct. 9, accusing them of age discrimination, wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other complaints, according to documents obtained by E! News.
Penny Perry, 79, who alleged she was abruptly terminated in April after nine years due to her age, accused Hamilton Daly of not wanting to cast actresses they considered “old people” in Hallmark roles, including the network alum Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert.
“Ms. Hamilton Daly constantly made reference to age and cited age as a negative attribute which did not fit with her image of Hallmark,” she said in the lawsuit. “Ms. Hamilton Daly also told Ms. Perry that they needed to ‘replace’ the ‘old talent.'”
Regarding Peete, 60, who has appeared in Hallmark films like Holiday Heritage and Our Christmas Journey, Perry said that Hamilton Daly told her, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.”