Hallmark Channel Reverses Decision to Pull Commercial Featuring Same-Sex Couple
Hallmark Channel has reversed its decision to remove an ad that featured a same-sex couple, according to TVLine.
The ads featured a lesbian couple kissing during a same-sex wedding, and were pulled after a protest from conservative groups including One Million Moms and Lifesite. The groups created an online petition which garnered over 44,000 signatures. Hallmark continued to air ads from Zola that featured heterosexual couples, but Zola later pulled all of its ads from the network because of this decision.
The channel received backlash for its initial decision to pull the commercial, and now Mike Perry, CEO of Hallmark Channel's parent company, Hallmark Cards, has issued an apology in a statement.
"We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused," Perry said. He goes on to say that Hallmark "is, and always has been, committed to diversity and inclusion."
"Hallmark will be working with GLAAD to better represent the LGTBQ population across our portfolio of brands," he said. He also said that Hallmark CHANNEL intends to reach out to wedding-planning website Zola, whose ads were pulled, "to reestablish our partnership and reinstate the commercials."
Read more on TV Line.
