Life moves pretty fast, especially on the internet. Case in point: This weekend the Hallmark Channel came under fire for pulling a commercial that featured a same-sex couple after the ad drew the ire of the conservative activist group One Million Moms. Now, as per Entertainment Weekly, the company’s CEO Mike Perry has formally apologized for the move, claiming he’s working on getting it back on air.
“We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused,” Perry said in a statement. “Across our brand, we will continue to look for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate our differences.” Furthermore, he stated that, going forward, he’d be working to have more LGBTQ+-inclusion in their advertisements.
The ad in question was for the wedding planning site Zola, and it featured two women kissing at the altar. Hallmark began running the commercial on December 2, but only ten days later they removed the ad from circulation after a petition from One Million Moms, whose Twitter account has, as of this writing, 4,171 followers — a bit shy of its purported member size.
Originally Hallmark defended their removal of the ad, saying they found it “controversial” and were against ads that featured “public displays of affection.” Some pointed out that the channel did not remove other Zola ads that featured heterosexual couples.
Zola’s Chief Marketing Officer Mike Chi responded to Hallmark’s latest move. “We were deeply troubled when Hallmark rejected our commercials for featuring a lesbian couple celebrating their marriage, and are relieved to see that decision was reversed,” Chi said. “We are humbled by everyone who showed support not only for Zola, but for all the LGBTQ couples and families who express their love on their wedding day, and every day.”
(Via EW)
