Christmas is a time for spreading love and cheer, but recently, all we ever seem to be hearing about is controversy and hate.
Two weeks ago, Peloton came under fire for it’s new Christmas commercial, as people deemed it sexist and unnecessary. A young, slim mom working out and vlogging it for her husband to watch? Big yikes. But just when you thought nothing could ever top that mess, Hallmark swept in to steal the crown. The channel has recently been in the midst of some drama with the activist group, One Million Moms, and it seems as if the network has backed down first. But there’s a shocking twist to this tale that includes big-name celebrities such as Ellen Degeneres.
Keep scrolling to find out all the details including a look at the video that caused all the chaos…
And not for the right reasons. The network is being criticized for its decision-making skills after they decided to pull the plug on their latest advertisements.
Their controversial decision comes after the activist group, One Million Moms, targetted pressure towards the company. They started urging Hallmark not to release these videos as their group, along with Lifesite, strongly oppose same-sex marriage.
In the end, the network pulled the plug on the commercials for Zola and released a statement in which they clarified their reasons for doing so.
“Crown Media Family Networks made the decision to pull the commercials. The debate surrounding these commercials on all sides was distracting from the purpose of our network, which is to provide entertainment value.”
Sounds like they’re using CMFN as a scapegoat because of the social pressure…
“All kisses, couples and marriages are equal celebrations of love and we will no longer be advertising on Hallmark.”
Zola’s chief marketing officer Mike Chi elaborated: “The only difference between the commercials that were flagged and the ones that were approved was that the commercials that did not meet Hallmark’s standards included a lesbian couple kissing.”
After the news reached social media, which was pretty quickly, people called out the network for their decision. The hashtag “#BoycottHallmarkChannel” immediately started trending.
“Please reconsider airing commercials with same-sex couples, and please do not add LGBT movies to the Hallmark Channel. Such content goes against Christian and conservative values that are important to your primary audience. You will lose viewers if you cave to the LBGT agenda.”
Just know we’re not out here to be rude or judgemental to any group in our society. We are one.
Users took to social media to express their opinion and there were ultimately a few clashes between them.
They said they were completely “open” to the idea of having same-sex couples in their films even though they’ve not had any yet… Slightly fishy, but as long as they don’t stand against the community, we can accept it.
“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.”
In a sudden twist to the tale, the company has reversed its decision, apologizing for its decision to scrap the same-sex couple ad. However, it may be too late for apologies now. You’ve offended too many people.
If you want to read more about how the world is trying to be more inclusive then keep scrolling… This news may or may not involve the Gossip Girl reboot.