Hallmark VP allegedly tried to oust "old talent" Holly Robinson Peete and Lacey Chabert

Maybe The Substance should forgo the comedy/drama debate at the Golden Globes and just enter as a documentary. According to a new age discrimination lawsuit, Hallmark’s VP of programming, Linda Hamilton Daly, acted a lot like Dennis Quaid’s character in the film and created two perfect candidates for the substance in Lacey Chabert and Holly Robinson Peete. According to Variety, the suit claims that Hamilton Daly singled out the two Hallmark veterans as “old talent,” saying that “old people” didn’t fit within her image of the brand and both needed to be “replaced”—by a chemically-created, younger version of themselves perhaps?

“Lacey’s getting older and we have to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older,” Hamilton Daly allegedly said of Chabert, so… yes. That’s exactly what it sounds like they’re looking for. The suit also alleges that Hamilton Daly said of Robinson Peete, “No one wants her because she’s too expensive and getting too old. She can’t play leading roles anymore.” Chabert is currently 42, while Robinson Peete is 60.

The suit was filed by Penny Perry, a 79-year-old casting director who was fired in April after nine years with the company. According to the filing, Hamilton Daly allegedly told Perry that she was “too long in the tooth” and that the network needed to “bring in someone who knows more young talent.” When Hamilton Daly was brought on in 2021, she allegedly decided that Perry was “too old to work in her position and maneuvered to push her out of the company,” the suit continues. The casting director claims that her tasks were outsourced to outside consultants, and a younger man was hired to take over her job after she was fired. 

Of course, Hallmark denied all of these allegations in a statement to Variety. “Lacey and Holly have a home at Hallmark,” the network said. “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.” At least they took one lesson from The Substance: Con. Trol. Your. Self.