Hallmark makes apology cards, right?
Well, they really need to send them out in masses to the LGBTQ community after The Hallmark Channel pulled commercials from popular wedding site Zola.com on Saturday. Several conservative groups filed online petitions for the removal of the ads that depicted same-sex couples. Furthermore, family advocacy group One Million Moms claimed Hallmark “caved to the LGBT agenda.”
I mean, after all, we are only weeks away from 2020. Gay marriage is now legal in every American state, more than half a million married same-sex couples happily live their lives out in the open today.
So why can’t Hallmark get with the program?
Thankfully we saw a shimmer of hope on Twitter when two notable celebrities raised their concerns:
Even Netflix seemed to call for an end to the situation with this clapback:
As Ellen requested, Hallmark eventually explained their stance through the Associated Press. The company shared that they removed the commercial due to the controversy. Apparently this controversy distracts from the channel’s goal to “to provide entertainment value.”
Well, let me tell you, Hallmark: Very few things entertain me in the same way that watching media conglomerates actively discriminate against my LGBTQ+ family does.
After public outcry, Hallmark quickly reversed course and pledged to reinstate the ads. The president of Hallmark Cards provided a statement instead of a card on Sunday. In that statement, he stated that Crown Media Family Networks agonized over their decision to remove the ad and the “hurt it unintentionally caused.”
Hallmark then made the decision to work with GLAAD to “better represent ‘the community.’” The president of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, said the company’s decision offered up an important message and implicated a “major loss” for “fringe organizations” that aim to “hurt families like mine.”
The thing is, other than my preternatural obsession with glitter, as a lesbian, I don’t have an agenda. These events upset me. I’m a mother. I want to marry my girlfriend one day and blend our families. Hallmark Channel is a family channel and that should include all families.
The ad has currently racked up over half a million views on YouTube, which is far more than the less than 100,000 likes for One Million Moms on Facebook. I guess when it comes down to the numbers, love wins.
