One Million Moms group calls for boycott on Hallmark Channel over commercial showing lesbian couple kissing
Christian-right group One Million Moms has called for the boycott on the Hallmark Channel after it aired an ad with a lesbian couple kissing.
The boycott was announced on Monday when the group was made aware that the network had aired a commercial from Zola that featured two women getting married. In the commercial, the brides are seen sharing a kiss after they get married in front of their family and friends. However, One Million Moms claims that the commercial isn't 'family-friendly' for viewers.
The group slammed the channel for featuring the 'sinful lifestyle' in its advertising by choosing to air the Zola campaign. They issued a statement that read, "The Hallmark Channel has always been known for its family-friendly movies. Even its commercials are usually safe for family viewing. But unfortunately, that is not the case anymore."
The statement also revealed that a network should not be "politically correct by forcing tolerance and acceptance of homosexuality." They added that many conservative viewers had a similar reaction while seeing the ad on the channel. "We are fed up with having the gay agenda crammed down our throats. Please remove this and any other gay, lesbian, bisexual, or anything else it is called from your channels."
As reported by The Daily Mail, the chief marketing officer for Zola, Mike Chi, shared that the company had created the ad in order to "accurately portray the couples we help." Chi also shared that it is not Zola's first time featuring same-sex couples in the ads. Chi said, "We've always focused on portraying a diverse set of couples in our advertisements. We are a place that celebrates the way that all couples are choosing to get married."
Hallmark Channel CEO Bill Abbott shared that the channel was 'open' to feature same-sex couples in the holiday movie selections. 'We're open to really any type of movie of any type of relationship in any space," he shared with Daniel Fienberg on The Hollywood Reporter's TV's Top 5 podcast.