A Hallmark casting director has sued the company in an age discrimination lawsuit for "vile and ageist conduct," claiming one of the company's executives said she didn't want to cast "old people" like the Hallmark Channel's leading ladies Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert.
In the lawsuit filed on Oct. 9, 79-year-old casting director Penny Perry alleged that Hallmark executive vice president of programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly, singled out Robinson Peete, 60, and Chabert, 42, some of the channel's most notable faces. Robinson Peete, Chabert and others like Teri Hatcher, who is 59, were used as examples of "old talent" that Hamilton Daly felt needed to be "replaced." The actors have all starred in numerous holiday movies and shows on the Hallmark Channel.
