Actresses Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert were named in a lawsuit filed against Hallmark Studio by a casting director who said the network discriminated against her and them because of their age.
The Oct. 9 legal complaint from casting director Penny Perry, 79, was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and named Lisa Hamilton Daly, who works as the network’s executive VP of programming, in documents reviewed by Variety Wednesday.
Attorneys for Perry said Hamilton called Daly Robinson Peete, 60, and Chabert, 42, “old talent” producers who should find replacements for future projects as both have appeared in holiday-themed movies and shows on the Hallmark Channel.
Lawyers for the casting director said Hamilton Daly told subordinates she was opposed to putting “old people” in roles.
Court documents quoted Hamilton Daly as saying about Robinson Peete: “Nobody wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can no longer play leading roles.’
Actresses Holly Robinson Peete, 60, and Lacey Chabert, 42, were named in a lawsuit filed against Hallmark Media by a casting director who said the network discriminated against her because of her age
Of Chabert, Hamilton Daly said, “Lacey is getting older and we need to find someone like her to replace her as she ages,” the lawsuit said.
Hallmark released a statement to Variety in response to the lawsuit, saying, “We generally do not comment on pending litigation. And while we deny these outrageous allegations, we will not discuss an employment relationship in the media.”
Perry filed the lawsuit after she said her nine-year stint at the network ended “unceremoniously” last April when Hamilton Daly told her she was “too long in the tooth” as the company was looking for “new talent” .
Perry’s legal team claims Hamilton Daly told the casting director that the network needed to “bring in someone who knows more young talent” and that their “leading ladies are getting older.”
Casting director Penny Perry’s Oct. 9 legal complaint was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and named Lisa Hamilton Daly (pictured last week in Tarrytown, New York), who works as the network’s executive vice president of programming.
Lawyers for the casting director said Hamilton Daly told subordinates she was against putting ‘old people’ in roles
Perry said in her lawsuit that Hallmark has made no effort to accommodate the disabilities she has, including multiple sclerosis and partial blindness, the outlet reported.
Perry said in legal documents that company officials gave her high marks on performance evaluations every year, the most recent of which came in the two months before she was fired.
Born in Los Angeles, Perry has worked on a number of notable projects, with credits on films such as 1979’s The Jerk, 1984’s The NeverEnding Story, 1985’s Cocoon, 1987’s Summer School, 1987’s *1987 batteries not included, 1987’s Young Guns 1988 and 1997’s Young Guns. Double team, according to iMDb.
