A new lawsuit is alleging the executives at Hallmark called some of their primary stars “old people” and participated in age discrimination of an employee behind the scenes.
The complaint, obtained by Fox News Digital, was filed by a former casting director with the company, Penny Perry, alleging that executive VP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly singled out several stars, including Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert, as “aging out” and the channel being in need of “new talent to take their place.”
Specific to Robinson Peete, who is 62, Hamilton Daly is alleged to have said, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.”
For Chabert, who is 42, the exec allegedly said, “Lacy’s getting older and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.”
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Perry’s complaint also claims she was told “not to cast ‘old people’ in Hallmark roles,” and named several other actors, including “Elizabeth Mitchell, Catherine Bell, Alison Sweeney, Autumn Reeser, Kelly Martin [sic], Nikki Deloach [sic], Rachel Boston, Brennan Elliott, Cameron Mathieson, Paul Greene and Eric Close (as to acting, not directing) and Terry Hatcher [sic].”
In a statement on behalf of Hallmark Media, a representative 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.”
Personal representatives for Peete and Chabert and the other stars listed did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“Penny Perry is courageous in seeking justice from her former employer. She is also grateful for the outpouring of support she has received. Unfortunately, Hallmark treated a venerable Hollywood veteran this way and we hope this action will lead to change in Hollywood and all work environments. Places of employment should be free of discrimination, fear, and harassment, providing and ensuring that all people are treated with dignity, respect, and fairness,” Perry’s attorneys, Lisa Sherman and Josh Schein, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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The suit primarily focuses on Perry’s claims that she faced age harassment and discrimination; disability harassment and discrimination; defamation; and wrongful termination, among other claims, and was forced out of her position by Hamilton Daly and other executives.
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Perry claims Hamilton Daly made “hostile” comments, including telling her, “We need to bring in someone (other than you) who knows more young talent” and “Our leading ladies are aging out. We need to find new talent to take their place.”
The veteran casting director, who first began working with Hallmark in 2015, later becoming SVP of Talent and Casting in 2019, alleges she was pushed out of the company after returning from heart surgery to have a pacemaker implanted, initially offered a pay cut and lower benefits and given 48 hours to decide. Perry also claims the defendants lied about the reasons for her leaving, claiming they told people she quit voluntarily and rejected another job offer within Hallmark.
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Perry, 79, states in her complaint that she also suffers from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and had previously been treated for breast cancer. The RRMS limits her daily activities, and she is legally blind in her left eye.
Perry alleges the accommodations for her conditions and disabilities were not being met by Hallmark and that Hamilton Daly, as well as Randy Pope, SVP of Programming and Development, were hostile and that Pope was “abusive and tormented her regularly.”
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Hamilton Daly joined Hallmark in 2021, and per the complaint, targeted Perry as “too old to work in her position and maneuvered to push her out of the company.”
Perry is seeking a trial by jury and “economic damages” including wages, loss of earning capacity and attorney fees, as well as general damages for “physical injuries, pain and suffering, mental and emotional trauma and anguish, and for the loss of enjoyment of the activities of life.”
