Hallmark Media executive vice president of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly instructed a former employee not to cast “old people” for Hallmark roles, saying “our leading ladies are getting old,” according to a lawsuit filed against the network this month and obtained by The. Associated Press.

Penny Perry, a 79-year-old casting director who filed the lawsuit Oct. 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims she was wrongfully fired from the network known for its feel-good movies because of her age and despite excellent performance reviews. “Hallmark’s happy endings are made-for-TV stories,” the complaint says. “For Ms. Perry, there was no happy ending and no feel-good episode to end her Hallmark career. Instead, her final episode was marred by peer and enabler bullying and a callous termination that robbed her of her illustrious career, her pride and her well-being.”

In a statement, Hallmark denied the allegations, adding, “Hallmark continues to consistently create and maintain positive and productive relationships with talented actors who represent a broad spectrum of diversity, including actors spanning many age groups and across generations.” .

According to the lawsuit, Hamilton Daly told Perry he needed to “replace” the “old talent,” including 42-year-old actress Lacey Chabert, who has starred in dozens of Hallmark movies, many of them Christmas-themed, and played Gretchen. Wieners in Mean Girls (2004), saying that Chabert “is getting old, and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older.”

The lawsuit adds that Hamilton Daly said of 60-year-old actress and “Our Christmas Trip” star Holly Robinson Peete: “Nobody wants her because she’s too expensive and she’s getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.”

Hallmark countered, “Lacey and Holly have a house at Hallmark. We generally do not comment on pending litigation. And while we deny these outrageous allegations, we will not discuss an employment relationship in the media,” a company representative told the AP in an emailed statement.

Chabert stars in a new Hallmark movie, The Christmas Quest, set to be released Dec. 1, and hosts the reality series “Celebrations with Lacey Chabert,” according to Hallmark’s website. Representatives for Chabert and Robinson Peete did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Perry herself endured ageist and ableist harassment within the company, and Hamilton Daly — who apparently repeatedly referred to age as a negative attribute that didn’t fit the network’s image — “told Ms. Perry that she was too long in the tooth” to keep it. her job at Hallmark,” the suit says. It also alleges that senior vice president of programming and development Randy Pope ridiculed Perry for her relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, mocking her when she mispronounced words or names — a symptom of the condition.

“Unfortunately, Hallmark treated a venerable Hollywood veteran in this way, and we hope this action will lead to change in Hollywood and in all working environments,” said a statement from Perry’s attorneys, Lisa Sherman and Josh Schein.

The allegations come amid a period of turmoil for Hollywood, punctuated by historic labor strikesthe pandemic and the streaming revolution.

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