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Why Is Hallmark Being Sued? Former Employee Claims VP of Programming Wants ‘Old Talent’ Out


The Hallmark Channel has found itself at the center of a lawsuit from former casting director Penny Perry, who accused the company of age discrimination.

The Hallmark Channel has found itself at the center of a lawsuit after a former casting director for the network claimed that an executive at the company wanted the “old talent” replaced with younger actors. Penny Perry, a former casting director for the channel, accused “Hallmark executive VP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly, Senior Vice President of Programming and Development Randy Pope and Vice President of Human Resources Paul Hodgkinson of wrongful termination, age and disability discrimination, defamation, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress,” according to the court documents obtained by People. Hamilton Daly was also accused of telling Perry that Hallmark needed “to bring in someone who knows more young talent” and that the channel’s “leading ladies are aging out.” Perry claimed that Hamilton Daly then went on to specifically mention actresses Lacey Chabert, Holly Robinson Peete and Terri Hatcher as examples of “old talent,” according to the court filing.

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