The Hallmark Channel has reversed its decision to stop airing four commercials featuring same-sex “weddings” and will now allow the controversial adverts to be aired.
Hallmark initially decided to stop airing four commercials for the wedding planning website Zola.com after a backlash from viewers. The ad that sparked the backlash ended with two women, one in a white suit and the other in a white dress, kissing. The other ads that were pulled also featured same-sex kisses.
But on Sunday, Hallmark announced that pulling the ads was the “wrong decision” after the channel came in for criticism from several celebrities.
Celebrities William Shatner and Ellen DeGeneres took to Twitter in order to criticize the “family friendly” channel.
Shatner initially wrote, “Shame on @hallmarkchannel! Put the commercials back! @1milmoms has 4K followers. I have 2.5 million and my friends have more. Who are you going to listen to? They are NOT a majority here. Both me and my followers watch your shows, do they? #loveislove Do the right thing.”
Ellen DeGeneres, who has almost 80 million followers on Twitter, wrote, “Isn’t it almost 2020? @hallmarkchannel, @billabbottHC… what are you thinking? Please explain. We’re all ears.”
According to a report at ABC News, the decision was also mocked on Saturday Night Live, and the Netflix U.S. Twitter account posted an image of two lesbian couples along with the caption “Titles Featuring Lesbians Joyfully Existing And Also It’s Christmas Can We Just Let People Love Who [sic] They Love.”
On Sunday evening, Hallmark Cards president and CEO Mike Perry announced that the commercials would be allowed to air once more. “The Crown Media team has been agonizing over this decision as we’ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused,” he said. “Said simply, they believe this was the wrong decision[.] … We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused.” …
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