Hilarie Burton.Photo: LISA O’CONNOR/AFP/Getty
Hilarie Burtonis standing up for equality.
“Just going through some old emails from a#Hallmarkjob I was ‘let go’ from back in January,” recalled Burton, 37, on Sunday. “I had insisted on a LGBTQ character, an interracial couple and diverse casting. I was polite, direct and professional. But after the execs gave their notes on the script and NONE of my requests were honored, I was told ‘take it or leave it.’ ”
“I left it. And the paycheck,” she said. “S—y being penalized for standing up for inclusivity. I really wanted that job. It was close to my house. It paid really well. It was about the military, which you all know I hold dear. But? Idwalk away again in a heartbeat.”
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Hilarie Burton’s tweets.Hilarie Burton/Twitter
Burton has starred in multiple holidays films for Hallmark Channel and Lifetime. She said that at Hallmark, “The bigotry comes from the top and permeates the whole deal over there.”
“I’ve been loudly cheering for@lifetimetvall year because theyheard my concerns + RALLIED! You want inclusive Christmas magic?! We got it. Love is love?️??? #receipts,” continued Burton, who stars in the networks’s filmA Christmas Wish.
The actress noted that a “key point” in her argument is that she has the “luxury to choose morals over paying bills” and credited her husband,Walking DeadactorJeffrey Dean Morgan,for “work(ing) his ass off.”
“Not everyone has that! Nor should we be forced to be dependent,” Burton wrote. “If Ihad to cover our mortgageand was told ‘take it or leave it,’ I’d be f—d.”
A rep for Hallmark did not return PEOPLE’s request for comment on Burton’s allegations.
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Ads for the wedding planning website Zola first appeared on the Hallmark Channel on Dec. 2,according toThe New York Times.The commercials showed same-sex female couples standing at the altar and wondering if their guests would have arrived on time and bought them better gifts had they used Zola.
One Million Moms, a division of the conservative American Family Association,published a petitionurging Hallmark to no longer air the ads. In a statement to theTimeson Friday, Crown Media Family Networks confirmed the decision to pull the ads, stating, “The debate surrounding these commercials on all sides was distracting from the purpose of our network, which is to provide entertainment value.”
By Sunday evening, the companyapologized for pulling the commercials, announcing that Hallmark will be working with GLAAD to “better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands.”
Also, the company clarified, “Hallmark will be reaching out to Zola to reestablish our partnership and reinstate the commercials.”
source: people.com
