When asked about featuring LGBTQ+ content, Hallmark Channel CEO Bill Abbott said, “We’re open to really any type of movie of any type of relationship in any space.  We are always encouraging people to bring us stories across the board.  It’s certainly something that we do discuss consistently with our team and with our talent and with the agencies.”  Of course, this makes sense for a network that continuously runs episodes of The Golden Girls.  However, the statement outraged conservative fans of programs starring the pious Candace Cameron Bure and the soon-to-be incarcerated Lori Loughlin.  Then came a proposed boycott from One Million Moms, a grassroots organization that presumably has one million-plus moms (I don’t have my abacus handy, but if they say 1 in 10 people are gay, then there’s a pretty good chance I slept with a baker’s dozen of those one million moms’ sons).  The moms were vehemently opposed to commercials with lesbian couples promoting Zola, a wedding planning website.  The network killed the commercials, saying they don’t accept ads that “are deemed controversial”.  A spokesperson went so far as to say that two brides kissing violated the channel’s policy against “public displays of affection” – ironic coming from a network where virtually every movie is about a girl sleeping with both her capitalistic big-city boyfriend and her hometown childhood sweetheart who is trying to save a Christmas tree farm. 

BREAKING NEWS – just before we published this column, the network’s parent company, Hallmark Cards, reversed the decision to pull the commercials in question.  “We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused,” said president and CEO Mike Perry.  “Across our brand, we will continue to look for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate our differences.”  It’s a Christmas miracle!