The Hallmark Channel certainly wasn’t expecting to find itself at the center of a viral culture war controversy this weekend. But in 2019, corporations never know which move might grab the internet’s attention.
The controversy started when Hallmark decided to cancel an advertisement they had accepted from the wedding planning service Zola. The ad depicted, in a humorous fashion, a lesbian wedding, and at one point, the couple kisses. The conservative group One Million Moms complained to Hallmark and launched a petition, angered that an advertisement on the family-friendly network showed a type of family arrangement not in accordance with their personal religious beliefs.
In a pathetic display, Hallmark caved and pulled that particular ad, although they were happy to run Zola’s other ads that — virtually identical but depicting a heterosexual marriage.
Cue the backlash from the Twitterati. Liberal celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres condemned Hallmark’s cowardice, and their decision earned backlash from major gay and transgender advocacy groups such as the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD. Democratic presidential contenders got in on the action, too, with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg hopping in the fray. I myself put out a tweet in anger at the company’s decision. Even Netflix threw shade at Hallmark.
Isn’t it almost 2020? @hallmarkchannel, @billabbottHC… what are you thinking? Please explain. We’re all ears.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) December 15, 2019
Titles Featuring Lesbians Joyfully Existing And Also It’s Christmas Can We Just Let People Love Who They Love
? Let It Snow
? Merry Happy Whatever pic.twitter.com/LTwnHogkoJ— Netflix US (@netflix) December 15, 2019
Families are built on love—no matter what they look like.
Being “family friendly” means honoring love, not censoring difference. This truth will be more important than ever as we rebuild our nation into a place defined by belonging, not by exclusion. https://t.co/pl5B1BtIdf
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) December 15, 2019
In a surprising twist, Hallmark walked back its decision. They will now air the advertisement, apologizing and saying, “We are an inclusive company.”
This is where things get complicated.
To be clear, Hallmark was wrong to cancel the advertisement in the first place. It genuinely angered me. The commercial merely depicted a reality, as gay marriage has been legal since 2015. It was in no way sexually explicit, merely depicting a light peck as part of a wedding ceremony. Of course, some viewers might object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds, and that is their right. But they are no more justified in melting down over a commercial featuring a common wedding type they don’t personally agree with than a Muslim group would be in demanding a Christian wedding not be shown on-air.
And if Hallmark themselves were fine with the advertisement all along, as they claim, they never should have bowed to an outrage mob, especially one that all things considered, was pretty small. Despite what their name would suggest, the One Million Moms group actually only had about 30,000 petitioners.
At the same time, the idea that left-wing Twitter bullied Hallmark into walking back their decision is also disturbing. Thousands of people tweeted #BoycottHallmark, and liberal celebrities with a combined following of millions were encouraging their fans to boycott the network.
To some extent, my own immediate reaction included, this is snowflakery. It’s just a commercial, not the end of the world.
Boycotting a company is an extreme act, one that should require more than a single act of bad judgment in commercial selection in justification. Of course, Hallmark put itself in this no-win culture war disaster with its own bad initial judgment. Still, maybe the real lesson here is that we should all calm down, and judge the network on its selection of holiday movies — not how well random commercials echo our personal politics.
