Hallmark exec sought to replace ‘old talent,’ lawsuit alleges, naming actors like Lacey Chabert

Associated Press

Hallmark Media executive vice president of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly instructed a former employee not to cast “old people” for Hallmark roles, saying that “our leading ladies are aging out,” 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, alleges that she was wrongfully fired from the network known its feel-good movies because of her age, and despite stellar performance reviews. According to the lawsuit, Hamilton Daly also told Perry that they needed to “replace” the “old talent” including 42-year-old actress Lacey Chabert, who has starred in dozens of Hallmark Christmas movies and portrayed Gretchen Wieners in “Mean Girls” (2004).