The chief executive of Crown Media Family Networks who previously oversaw the Hallmark Channel is resigning without an explanation, but we can kind of guess what’s going on.
Bill Abbott was at the center of the backlash after the channel quickly pulled a series of ads from wedding planning company Zola upon complaints from conservatives that they didn't want to see a same-sex couple getting married. The outcry over this bigoted and outdated move drowned out the noise from people who are still trying to keep gays off of television, and Hallmark sheepishly reinstated the commercials after only a short time.
One Million Moms, the tiresome group behind the original protests, reported that Abbott himself had told them airing the ads in the first place had been an “accident.”
When Hallmark issued a statement admitting that pulling the family-friendly same-sex ads had been the wrong decision was a mistake and that they were “sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused,” it came from the CEO of Hallmark Cards, Mike Perry, not Abbott.
Perry was also the one to comment on Abbott’s “mysterious” departure, noting that it’s “more important than ever that we find relevant new ways to grow our business.”
Abbott had just previously made headlines after claiming that Hallmark would be open to including same-sex couples in their Christmas movies, something no queer person actually believed. The likelihood that he was just trying to save face when being put on the spot amplified after the Zola incident.
But maybe, just maybe, JUST MAYBE, the recent press proving people are clamoring for queer Christmas movies and won’t stand for Hallmark purposely ostracizing the LGBTQ community means that the Hallmark Channel is finally figuring out its time to start being more inclusive. And maybe a change in leadership will see that happen.
