Hallmark reverses decision to pull commercial featuring same-sex couple

Two women walk down the aisle in a Zola commercial.

(Image credit: Zola via AP)

published 16 December 2019

The Hallmark Channel announced Sunday it will reinstate same-sex marriage commercials that were pulled following outrage from a conservative group.

The One Million Moms organization complained to the CEO of Hallmark's parent company, Crown Media Family Networks, about a commercial for Zola, a wedding planning site, that featured two brides kissing at the altar. Hallmark agreed to stop airing the ads, and there was swift backlash on social media, with calls to boycott the company.

On Sunday, Hallmark Cards CEO Mike Perry released a statement saying the "Crown Media team has been agonizing over this decision as we've seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused. Said simply, they believe this was the wrong decision. We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused." He added that "across our brand, we will continue to look for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate our differences."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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