Zola/YouTubeOutraged social media users are boycotting the Hallmark Channel because it stopped airing an advert showing a gay wedding.
The channel tends to be a popular one in the festive season due to its huge slate of Christmas programming but the Zola.com advert has caused it to become surrounded in controversy.
The ad was one of six new commercials for the wedding planning and registry company, and showed two women exchanging vows and later kissing to celebrate their nuptials.
Take a look at the advert here:
It started airing on December 2 but soon received backlash from conservative group One Million Moms, which claimed the ad was not ‘family-friendly’.
In a statement on the site, the group wrote:
Recently, One Million Moms received concerns about Hallmark airing a commercial from Zola.com in which two lesbians are shown kissing at the end of their wedding ceremony.
Parents need to know they could now come face-to-face with the LGBT agenda when they sit down to watch the Hallmark Channel.
One Million Moms launched a petition to have the advert removed and Hallmark gave in, saying the scene violated the cable network’s policies.
Zola/YouTubeIn a statement issued to the New York Times, a spokesperson for Hallmark claimed the company’s policy was ‘not to air overt public displays of affection’, though another Zola advertisement featuring a heterosexual couple showing affection was not rejected.
After the advert was pulled from the channel, a post on One Million Moms said the group had received confirmation the Hallmark Channel would ‘continue to be a safe and family friendly network’.
It read:
1MM has personally spoken with Crown Media Family Networks CEO Bill Abbott who confirmed Hallmark Channel has pulled the Zola.com commercial, featuring a same-sex couple, from their network. He reported the advertisement aired in error, but he was informed about it after hearing from concerned 1MM supporters. Way to go!
The call to our office gave us the opportunity to also confirm the Hallmark Channel will continue to be a safe and family friendly network. Praise the Lord!
Zola/YouTubeWhile the decision to remove the ad satisfied the conservative group, it did not go down well with others.
Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of non-governmental media monitoring organisation GLAAD, which was founded by LGBT people in the media, slammed the move as ‘discriminatory’ and ‘hypocritical’.
In a statement, she said:
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.
As so many other TV and cable networks showcase, LGBTQ families are part of family programming. Advertisers on The Hallmark Channel should see this news and question whether they want to be associated with a network that chooses to bow to fringe anti-LGBTQ activist groups, which solely exist to harm LGBTQ families.
Zola/YouTubeThe Hallmark Channel has been widely criticised on social media since it pulled the ad, with many frustrated social media users using the hashtag ‘boycott Hallmark’ to express their disapproval.
If you’re in the US, please consider watching all your Christmas movies someplace else. Get your cards from small artists on Etsy or charity stores. Send one of them to hallmark telling them that they made a garbage decision. #boycotthallmark https://t.co/0ZS2a01Ae8
— ✨🌙 Getti 🌙✨I love you (@Assagetti) December 15, 2019
How can love between two consenting adults piss so many people off? Are they that bitter? Do they really believe love is bad on religious grounds? It's natural. It's beautiful. Love is love is love, and I will #BoycottHallmark https://t.co/bnu17WUazV
— Killer Soundy #RDC6 #GoodOmensTrash (@killrcompassion) December 15, 2019
Gosh darn @hallmarkchannel, why’d you have to go ahead and ruin Christmas! It’s not Christmas without your ridiculously corney films and now I’m going to have to go and #BoycottHallmark because apparently you don’t understand what “family-friendly” means! #allformsoffamily
— Katie Brown (@CommunityKeb) December 15, 2019
Chat show host Ellen DeGeneres was among those condemning the decision, as she tweeted:
Isn’t it almost 2020? @hallmarkchannel, @billabbottHC … what are you thinking? Please explain. We’re all ears.
Isn’t it almost 2020? @hallmarkchannel, @billabbottHC… what are you thinking? Please explain. We’re all ears.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) December 15, 2019
Zola has stood by its ad and said it was intended to be inclusive.
In a statement, the company said:
We stand behind this commercial 150%. We want all couples to feel welcomed and celebrated and we will always feature all kinds of love in our marketing.
The advert is still available to watch online and many people have been sharing it to ensure it doesn’t go unnoticed.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.