One Million Moms took a stand against Hallmark Channel in 2019 over its Christmas movie broadcasts that included a commercial featuring a same-sex kiss between two women, and now the organization is going after the network yet again. Following Hallmark's announcement that it plans to incorporate LGBTQ programming in its Christmas movie lineup, One Million Moms started a petition asking the network not to follow through.
News broke that Hallmark intends to include LGBTQ programming days after the initial list of upcoming Christmas movies was announced, which included a slate of familiar faces returning to deliver holiday cheer. The result was online criticism for Hallmark's lineup leaving out LGBTQ storylines, prompting vice president of network publicity for Crown Media Family (Hallmark's parent company) George Zaralidis to release this statement (via IndieWire):
Diversity and inclusion is a top priority for us and we look forward to making some exciting programming announcements in the coming months, including announcements about projects featuring LGBTQ storylines, characters, and actors. We are committed to creating a Hallmark experience where everyone feels welcome.
Subsequently, One Million Moms posted the petition stating that "so many people feel betrayed by Hallmark over these past seven months," claiming that families can't watch "without being bombarded by politically correct commercials and the LGBTQ agenda." The post goes to cite a verse from the Bible and list what One Million Moms will be boycotting in reaction to Hallmark exploring LGBTQ storylines, characters, and actors: Hallmark Channel, Hallmark wrapping paper, greeting cards, and Christmas ornaments.
At the time of writing, the petition asking Hallmark not to "add LGBTQ movies to the Hallmark Channel lineup" has more than 32,500 signatures. According to the One Million Moms website, the organization began to "give moms an impact with the decision-makers and let them know we are upset with the messages they are sending our children and the values (or lack of them) they are pushing," and claims the cancellation of Lucifer as one of its "successes." The site does not mention Lucifer's renewal at Netflix or Fox CEO's explanation for the initial cancellation. Lucifer was recently renewed for a surprise sixth season.
One Million Moms was protesting Lucifer from the outset, to the point that they were boycotting Olive Garden. The organization targeted plenty of other shows even beyond Hallmark's commercial featuring the lesbian kiss and all things Lucifer. Earlier in 2020, One Million Moms slammed Disney's The Owl House as "evil content." More recent campaigns include a petition for Disney+ to to remove all three of the F-bombs dropped in the Hamilton taping and against Fox's Labor of Love reality show (which is not yet officially renewed or cancelled).
At the time of writing, Hallmark has not addressed the One Million Moms petition. The network did temporarily pull the same sex kiss commercial from broadcasts in 2019, but the commercial ultimately returned, and Hallmark's CEO apologized for "the hurt and disappointment" the original decision to pull the commercial caused. All signs point toward significantly more LGBTQ Christmas content coming to Hallmark in 2020.
In case you're already in the mood for some classic Hallmark Christmas cheer while we wait for word of how Hallmark intends to embrace LGBTQ content, you can find Christmas movies on Hallmark already! For some additional viewing options now and in the coming weeks, check out our 2020 summer TV premiere schedule.
