News
Call For Boycott and Pushback Continue For Hallmark Channel After Pulling Ad Of Lesbian Brides Kissing
We all know that many former soap stars are currently appearing, or have appeared in Hallmark Channel movies, and Christmastime is the cable outlets busiest season where they roll about several romance-themed offerings.
This weekend alone, DAYS alum, Jen Lilley (Ex-Theresa) and GH alum, Matt Cohen (Ex-Griffin) are in two of themĀ However, on Saturday the channel became under fire for removing an ad from Zola.com which featured two brides kissing in a same-sex wedding moment.
Zola.com is a wedding planning and registry company, and in this version of their ads, it showed two women exchanging wedding vows and then sharing a kiss celebrating their union.Ā The ad was one of six that had been running on the channel since December 2nd.
Enter conservative groupĀ One Million Moms. The group launched a petition to get the network to pull the commercial along with any other LGBTQ related-content.Ā According to the group, they had 27,000 people sign it.Ā Ā On their website, the ‘Moms” group posted: “Parents need to know they could now come face-to-face with the LGBT agenda when they sit down to watch the Hallmark Channel.ā
Next, Hallmark Channel cavedĀ to the conservative group and removed the ad saying it was in violation of their policy.Ā They added to The Hollywood Reporter: “The debate surrounding these commercials on all sides was distracting from the purpose of our network, which is to provide entertainment value.”Ā Zola countered with their own statement, pulling any and all advertising from the network: “All kisses, couples and marriages are equal celebrations of love and we will no longer be advertising on Hallmark.”
A Hallmark spokesperson added: āThe decision not to air overt public displays of affection in our sponsored advertisement, regardless of the participants, is in line with our current policy, which includes not featuring political advertisements, offensive language, R-rated movie content and many other categories.”
GLAAD fired back with a statement from CEO Sarah Kate Ellis:Ā āThe Hallmark Channelās decision to remove LGBTQ families in such a blatant way is discriminatory and especially hypocritical coming from a network that claims to present family programming and also recently stated they are āopenā to LGBTQ holiday movies. As so many other TV and cable networks showcase, LGBTQ families are part of family programming. Advertisers on The Hallmark Channel should see this news and question whether they want to be associated with a network that chooses to bow to fringe anti-LGBTQ activist groups, which solely exist to harm LGBTQ families.ā
In some additional tweets on social media which find many calling for a complete boycott of the channel, The Ellen DeGeneres Show account tweeted: Isnāt it almost 2020? @hallmarkchannel @billabbottHC … what are you thinking? Please explain. Weāre all ears.”
General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) tweeted: “Sweet Jesus!…who ironically I hear does not get the Hallmark Channel due to its content, but instead binge watches @BritishBakeOff due to the joyful inclusivity… and of course the cake.”
Saturday Night Live took aim at the cable network with guest co-host Scarlett Johansson with the game, A Winter Boyfriend for Holiday Christmas, a Hallmark dating show – said to be created by the algorithm that makes Hallmark holiday movies. In it, Johansson was the’ bachelorette’ having to choose between three eligible bachelors which took aim at all the lack of racial diversity in Hallmarkās Christmas movies, and more.
Now below, watch the ad that is the center of the controversy below, followed by the SNL spoof of the channel.
In the comment section, let us know what your thoughts are on the decision by Hallmark to pull the wedding planning ad, and what you think of the networks movie content formula which clearly lacks diversity and inclusion.
I agree with Halmark …. sorry itās my opinion .. I didnāt want to see that advertisement … it wasnāt appropriate in my opinion …
Lori you need to have several seats, you are a bigot.
Agreed. Nothing political here….its just not what Hallmark is about.
Well, I don’t want to see advertisements for big pharma poisons 666 times an hour either, but they’re on every channel. Probably during the daytime soaps more than any other programming actually (just by the fact that 25 minutes of every “hour” is commercials. and 3/4 of those are pharma ads. All of which are a HELL of a lot more offensive than two people kissing.)
I disagree. I see nothing wrong in showing two people who love other
I’m already boycotting them because their Xmas movies bore me to tears. They aren’t even worth airing in Hell as implements of torment.
Satan…what do you watch to feel good, or isnāt that allowed where you come from?
Have YOU seen those boring dull as dishwater Hallmark movies?
āYes,ā I have seen Hallmark movies! I guess itās all in the eye of the beholder, but I wouldnāt describe them as you have.
I get to watch the worst scum of humanity suffering in eternal torment. Beats the Hell (literally) out of reality TV and sappy movies anytime.
If you donāt watch this channel why do you care ?? Think of something else to do with your time the victim crap on both sides has gotten old !
Was announced tonight that Hallmark is reversing its decision.
Disappointing!! Kowtowing to a very small minority and slamming the people who actually watch that channel. When you lose the majority of your viewership and have to close the doors – Hallmark, no one to blame but your spineless “suits”!
Jean, the majority of the viewers aren’t going anywhere. You are very much in the minority. They’ll lose 1/2 a percentage point immediately and by spring it will be back to normal for them ratings wise. In case you didn’t know it, hate and exclusion are out and love and inclusion are in. Welcome to 2019!
Wrong
I’ll keep a copy of this page and in May, I’ll report back the ratings. š
Wrong
Well said, Jean.
Don’t like it, don’t watch it. As a gay person my sexuality is not threatened because Hallmark will not run gay based ads.
This is where we all blow it. We force impose our views on everyone.
Live and let live is not a one way street.
Thank you, Basil! I am anything but a prude as friends who know me can testify, but quite frankly, I don’t care to be close up in the face of heterosexuals kissing for that matter. We don’t do it in real life so why are we forced to watch two people kissing using a zoom lens? Good grief, get real Hallmark and Hollywood.
News
Susan Flannery and Ian Buchanan Visit the Set of ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’; Daytime Emmy Winners Reflect on Show Then and Now

The one and only Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie Forrester)Ā dropped in to see her former co-stars on The Bold and the Beautiful at their Sunset Las Palmas Studio in Hollywood, along with her good friend and another B&B co-star Ian Buchanan (ex-James Warwick)Ā on Tuesday October 20.
It was the first time in a very long time that The four-time Daytime Emmy winning actress was reunited with Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke), Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy), executive producer and head writer, Brad Bell, Jennifer Gareis and even her TV sister, Alley Mills (Pam, B&B now Heather, GH) showed up for the day too!
Flannery played the Forrester matriarch from 1987 until 2012. It was then that after playing the part of Stephanie for 25 years that Susan made the decision to retire from acting and in one of the most heartbreaking sendoffs, passes away from lung cancer in Brooke’s arms in November of 2012. During her B&B tenure, Flannery won 3 of her 4 Daytime Emmys, the other being for her first soap role as Laura Horton on Days of our Lives back in 1975.

Photo: Bell-Phillip TV
As for Ian Buchanan, he played Dr. Warwick, psychiatrist, from 1993 to 1999.Ā He returned for other runs in 2014 and 2017.Ā Buchanan took home his Daytime Emmy in 1997 for his work as James. Soap fans also remember, Ian as mobster Duke Lavery on General Hospital, and Dr. Greg Madden on All My Children,
Both Susan and Ian shared their thoughts on coming back to The Bold and the Beautiful, for Susan 14 years later since he exited and for Ian close to 9 years since his last appearance below.
Susan said, “Itās definitely like coming home in a way, even though itās not the same studio. Itās really lovely to see old faces and old faces with new faces. It takes you back mentally. You start remembering what it was like back then, even things like how much your feet would ache at the end of the day from wearing six-inch heels. It was just lovely to be back and see everybody.ā

Photo: Bell-Phillip TV
Ian expressed, āItās a mind trip, you know. When I was sitting looking at the big Forrester set, it was like stepping back in time, almost. It takes you back mentally, and you start remembering what it was like when you were here before.”
“Itās lovely to see all these people again, even if you donāt know everybody,” explained soap vet Buchanan. “Thereās something really special about coming back and seeing the show and the people who have been part of it for so long.”
So, happy to see Susan and Ian with some of their former castmates? Do you think Stephanie and Brooke is one of the greatest frenemy stories in daytime history? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Beyond the Gates
Tabitha Brown and Kandi Burruss Guest Star on ‘Beyond the Gates’ for Dani’s ‘Welcome to Your Life’ TV Special; What Could Go Wrong?

As previously announced, Beyond the Gates is bringing chef, author and actress Tabitha Brown and Grammy Award-winning songwriter, singer and actress Kandi Burruss to Fairmont Crest in a special episode of the CBS daytime drama airing Thursday, October 22.
In the episode, Daniās (Karla Mosley) best friend Pamela Curtis (Cady McClain), arranges a āWelcome to Your Lifeā television special for her. As it turns out, Brown will play the show’s host, Tia Allen, while Burruss takes on the role of Dani’s first modeling agent, Kalista Kilroy, who turns the celebration of her life into a bad trip down memory lane.
Dani’s parents Anita and Vernon (Tamara Tunie, Clifton Davis), sister Nicole (Daphnee Duplaix), and daughters Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla) and Naomi (Arielle Prepetit) all join the show to celebrate and support her but also witness how things so south. Also appearing in the episode are Molly Figueroa as Tatum Stewart and fan-favorite Anita Williams (Tunie) impersonator Jackie Tyree!

PhotoL JPI
THE 411 ON TIA AND KALISTA
Speaking with TV Insider, about their soapy experience in Fairmont Crest, Tabitha Brown previewed about her host with the most,Ā āTia is very professional, but sheās a girlās girl. She is a protector of women and wants to tell their stories in a beautiful way, but she also wants to make sure theyāre seen in a very good light.ā
However, Burruss previews that Kalista arrives with a score to settle. āSheās spicy,ā shared the recording artist. āI always love playing somebody that has come to start trouble. Itās always fun to play a villain of sorts, but Kalista feels like sheās been done wrong and sheās hurt by what she feels has been done to her. So Kalista is stirring up trouble, but she feels justified putting Dani on blast. Kalista is ready for some payback.ā
Beyond the Gates is produced by CBS Studios, as part of the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture, in partnership with P&G Studios, a division of Procter & Gamble. Created by head writer Michele Val Jean, executive producers include Val Jean, Sheila Ducksworth, Julie Carruthers, Tracey Thomson, Leon W. Russell, Derrick Johnson, Anna Saalfeld and Lela Coffey.
Beyond the Gates is broadcast weekdays on CBS (2:00-3:00 PM, ET/1:00-2:00 PM, PT) and is available to stream on Paramount+**.
So, looking forward to this special episode of Beyond the Gates when Dani is put on a blast during a blast from her past and Welcome to Your Life TV special? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of our Lives’ Reveals Kyle Pryor Cast as Dominic Marino

For months now, Days of our Lives has teased the character of Dominic Marino. In recent weeks, viewers learned that Marino is on the down low working with Sami Brady’s (Alison Sweeney) apparent fiancĆ© ‘Dante Vitali (Franco LoPresti), and that he is the never-before-heard-of child of Stefano DiMera (the late Joseph Mascolo) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall)!
Up until now, the Peacock streaming soap opera has never revealed his face, but that all seemed to change on the Tuesday, October 2o episode of DAYS. In story, Dante met Sami’s parents for the first time, Roman (Josh Taylor) and Marlena.
He shows them a photo of Dominic, which he happened to have on his own phone and even commented he kind of looked like he could be Marlena’s son. The photo, which has quickly made it around Soap Twitter/X, revealed that British-born actor Kyle Pryor is the man in the photo and eagle-eyed viewers actually located said photo on Pryor’s Instagram.

Photo: Peacock
Deadline revealed Pryor started taping atĀ the end of 2025 and will first be seen in the role, on air Monday, November 2.Ā In addition, Days will celebrate its 61st Anniversary with two special episodes featuring Dominicās arrival, as well the returns of Tony and Anna DiMera, played respectively by Thaao Penghlis and Leann Hunley, on Friday, November 6 and Monday, November 9.
Those in the know, are are that Pryor previously held series regular roles on Australia’s Home and Away, and the UK’s Hollyoaks and guest starred on Emmerdale. In an ironic twist, Pryor appeared in the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand which is the same action series his apparent TV brother, Dan Feuerriegel (EJ DiMera), once appeared in before coming to DAYS.
So excited to see Kyle Pryor take on the role of Dominic Marino as Days of our Lives sets its anniversary story to kick-off with is arrival in Salem? Share your thoughts in the comment section. And in case you missed our latest conversation with Conner Floyd (Chad DiMera) he weighs-in on how Dominic’s appearance will shake things up in Salem. You can check that out below.
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