News

Call For Boycott and Pushback Continue For Hallmark Channel After Pulling Ad Of Lesbian Brides Kissing

December 15, 2019

Courtesy/Zola.com

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 them 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. The ad was one of six that had been running on the channel since December 2nd.

Enter conservative group One Million Moms. The group launched a petition to get the network to pull the commercial along with any other LGBTQ related-content. According to the group, they had 27,000 people sign it. 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.”

Next, Hallmark Channel caved to the conservative group and removed the ad saying it was in violation of their policy. 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.” 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: “The 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: “The Hallmark Channel’s 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 ‘open’ 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.”

In some additional tweets on social media which find many calling for a complete boycott of the channel, The Ellen DeGeneres Show account tweeted: Isn’t it almost 2020? @hallmarkchannel @billabbottHC … what are you thinking? Please explain. We’re 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 Hallmark’s 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.

Up Next

Hallmark CEO Apologizes After Cable Network Pulled Zola’s Same-Sex Wedding Ad Sparking Controversy

Don't Miss

Greek Soap Star Andreas Georgiou To Appear On The Bold and the Beautiful

20

newest oldest

Guest

Lori

I agree with Halmark …. sorry it’s my opinion .. I didn’t want to see that advertisement … it wasn’t appropriate in my opinion …

Guest

Adam

Lori you need to have several seats, you are a bigot.

Guest

Colin

Agreed. Nothing political here….its just not what Hallmark is about.

Guest

Satan

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.)

Guest

Anne

I disagree. I see nothing wrong in showing two people who love other

Guest

Satan

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.

Guest

rose

Satan…what do you watch to feel good, or isn’t that allowed where you come from?

Guest

Anne

Have YOU seen those boring dull as dishwater Hallmark movies?

Guest

rose

“Yes,” I have seen Hallmark movies! I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder, but I wouldn’t describe them as you have.

Guest

Satan

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.

Guest

Kay

If you don’t 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 !

Guest

jason

Was announced tonight that Hallmark is reversing its decision.

Guest

Jean

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”!

Guest

DBH

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!

Guest

flowerfly

Wrong

Guest

DBH

I’ll keep a copy of this page and in May, I’ll report back the ratings. 🙂

Guest

Buggs

Wrong

Guest

Buggs

Well said, Jean.

Guest

Basil Pappakostis

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.

Guest

buggs

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

TODAY: B&B’s Kimberlin Brown and Sean Kanan Guest on ‘The Talk’

October 19, 2021

Sheryl Underwood should have some fun today on an all-new, October 19th episode of The Talk, when two of daytime’s baddest of the bad, visit the CBS afternoon series.

Look for The Bold and the Beautiful’s Kimberlin Brown (Sheila Carter) and Sean Kanan (Deacon Sharpe) to chat it up with Sheryl and the rest of The Talk hosts on returning to their signature soap roles.

As B&B fans know, Sheila and Deacon are now set to team up to bring down the Forresters and pave the way for them to be closer to their children. For Sheila, that’s having a relationship with her son, Finn (Tanner Novlan) and her grandson, Hayes. And for Deacon, that’s his daughter, Hope (Annika Noelle). What revenge plot will they conjure up to get what they want?

In its new season and configuration, The Talk, is hosted by Underwood, Amanda Kloots, Jerry O’Connell, Akbar Gbajabiamila and Natalie Morales.

Look for Kimberlin and Sean on The Talk today at 2 p.m, EST on CBS.

So, will you be checking out Kimberlin and Sean on today’s episode of The Talk? Are you enjoying their scenes together thus far on The Bold and the Beautiful? Let us know in the comment section below.

News

Corbin Bernsen to Reprise His Role of Arnie Becker in ‘LA Law’ Revival Pilot

October 18, 2021

Corbin Bernsen (Father Todd, The Young and the Restless) and the son of Y&R’s late great Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor) has signed on to reprise his signature primetime television role of womanizing lawyer Arnie Becker in the upcoming LA Law revival pilot.

This makes Corbin the co-lead of the series alongside Blair Underwood (Ex-OLTL) who previously signed on to the pilot to reprise his role of Jonathan Rollins. ABC has greenlit the pilot.

According to Deadline, it is believed that Bernsen and Underwood will be the only original members of the mid 80’s-90’s legal drama on NBC in the pilot, but more may guest-star if the show gets picked up for a full-season order.

In the premise of the reboot, the law firm of McKenzie Brackman, now named Becker Rollins, reinvents itself as a litigation firm specializing in only the most high profile, boundary pushing and incendiary cases. The show will feature familiar characters working alongside new ones on the most hot button issues of the day. As for Bernsen’s Becker, now in his 60’s, look for him to struggle with a rapidly shifting sexual and political landscape.

The original LA Law ran for eight seasons from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994 on NBC.

So, what do you think of Corbin taking on the role of Arnie Becket in a revival of LA Law? Would you be intrigued to check out the show if it makes it to series? Comment below.

News

Justin Hartley Voices ‘Superman’ In New Animated Feature ‘Injustice’

October 18, 2021

Here’s yet another role that Justin Hartley was born to play, but this time he’s doing it with a twist! Hartley is playing the man of steel, Superman, in the new animated feature from DC Comic and Warner Brothers titled Injustice.

However, being that it’s animated, fans can hear Justin’s voice as Superman. This is the third superhero role in Hartley’s career having played Green Arrow on Smallville and then Aquaman for a proposed series from the same team. Of course, soap fans love him for his roles on Passions (Fox Crane) and The Young and the Restless (Adam Newman), while primetime audiences continue to love his portrayal of Kevin Pearson on This Is Us.

Courtesy/WarnerBros

In this new animated featured inspired by the popular video game, things go very wrong for Superman, when The Joker tricks him into murdering Lois Lane!

Justin spoke to TV Insider about taking on the legendary super hero via voice-over and shared what was the appeal for him to do. Hartley expressed: “I loved the arc of the character. I love the way it started and how you get behind him. You go, ‘This is very cool to see him at home and nesting and having a good time.’ And then all hell breaks out and I loved the idea that they wrote this guy flawed and this idea of Superman not having all of the answers… and sometimes, the answers that he has are outrageous. That’s a fun character to play.”

Injustice is out tomorrow on October 19th on 4K, Ultra-HD Blu-ray Combo Pack,Blu-ray, and Digital. Check out a trailer for it below.

So what do you think of Justin as Superman? Comment below.