Yahoo Lifestyle Hallmark Programming Exec Lisa Hamilton Daly Out as Position Is Eliminated
Lisa Hamilton Daly, who joined Hallmark Media in 2021, is out. On Monday morning, the company announced that her position as EVP of programming had been eliminated.
“Hallmark is aligning its consumer-facing touchpoints, including content, under a single leader, chief brand officer Darren Abbott, with a focus and expertise in the expression of the Hallmark brand to consumers — from product to experiences and now content, across multiple platforms. Darren has an innate understanding of the Hallmark brand and paired with his leadership and vision, will ensure our content aligns to the promise of our legacy brand,” the company said in a statement on Monday. “In this move, the position of EVP, programming was eliminated and Lisa Hamilton Daly will depart the company. Lisa is an extremely talented creative leader and we are grateful for her many contributions to Hallmark Media including expanding our storytelling and characters in new ways.”
More from Variety
Jonathan Bennett Wants a 'Mean Girls' Christmas Film Reunion With Lindsay Lohan and Lacey Chabert
Hallmark Announces 2025 Christmas Cruise After Two Sold-Out Sails: Details
Hamilton Daly was hired in September 2021, with previous jobs at Netflix and A+E Networks.
The change comes three months after Daly and Hallmark were sued for age discrimination, defamation and wrongful termination by former casting agent Penny Perry. At the time, Perry claimed Hamilton Daly forced her out “due to her age.” SVP of programming and development Randy Pope and HR exec Paul Hodgkinson were listed as co-defendants.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 9, claimed that Hamilton Daly singled out Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert, who are 60 and 42 respectively, calling them “old talent” that needed to be “replaced.” The former Hallmark exec allegedly said, “Lacey’s getting older and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older,” then of Robinson Peete, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.”
The other actors named in the suit were Elizabeth Mitchell, Catherine Bell, Alison Sweeney, Autumn Reeser, Kelly Martin, Nikki Deloach, Rachel Boston, Brennan Elliott, Cameron Mathieson, Paul Greene, Eric Close [as to acting, not directing] and Terry Hatcher.
At the time, Hallmark replied in a statement, “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.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
