#BoycottHallmark Trends on Twitter After Hallmark Channel Caves To Pressure and Removes Ad Featuring Two Women Kissing

ByJennifer Havener
Hallmark Channel Screenshot YouTube

It’s that time of year when Hallmark Channel’s lineup is full of cheesy Christmas movies that people love to watch curled up with a cup of hot cocoa.

Earlier this week, the conservative group One Million Moms petitioned the network to stop airing a Zola ad that featured a lesbian couple’s wedding. Zola is a wedding planning site.

Hallmark Removes Zola Ads that Feature LGBQT Couples

Caving in to pressure from One Million Moms, Hallmark Channel chose to remove the Zola ad featuring the lesbian couple. However, Zola’s campaign originally featured four ads, some of which included heterosexual couples. Hallmark Channel continued to air those ads.

As a result of the censorship, Zola pulled all four of their ads from the Hallmark Channel rotation. They issued a statement calling out Hallmark’s double-standard for airing heterosexual couples kissing but not lesbian couples.

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. Hallmark approved a commercial where a heterosexual couple kissed. All kisses, couples and marriages are equal celebrations of love, and we will no longer be advertising on Hallmark.”

Hallmark Channel Defends Removing the “Controversial” Ads

TVLine reports that the parent company of Hallmark, Crown Media Family Networks, were the ones who chose to remove the ads. Citing their practice of not airing “controversial” ads, the company stood by their decision.

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.”

Twitter Erupts With Ire, Calls for Boycott with Hashtag

Twitter users were not having it Hallmark’s response. Many people retweeted the original ad in a show of support and to rile up the conservative mom group who found the ad offensive.

Other people outraged at the censorship asked if it was 2019 or the 1950s. Ellen Degeneres was one of the many celebrities expressing their displeasure at Hallmark Channel’s decision to remove the ads.

Netflix Trolls Hallmark Channel with Epic Tweet

Netflix has been on point with their social media presence as of late. Last week they found themselves trending after asking followers to tweet “what’s something you can say during [intimate relations]  but also when you manage a brand twitter account?” The responses were hilariously NSFW and worth a read.

Now the streaming giant has quietly waded into the #BoycottHallmark debate. Netflix shared the titles and promotional images from two of their Christmas movies that feature lesbian couples.

Titles Featuring Lesbians Joyfully Existing And Also It’s Christmas Can We Just Let People Love Who They Love”

It’s interesting to note that the online petition by the conservative group only had 44,000 signatures before Hallmark Channel gave in. By contrast, a petition to remove Michael Vick as Pro Bowl captain has more than 500,000 signatures and Disney (which owns ESPN) refuses to budge. Two women in love kissing is more offensive to some than someone torturing and killing dogs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pVnnGK6BP4

Jennifer Havener
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