The Hallmark lawsuit alleges that the executive wanted to replace “legacy talent” like Lacey Chabert

A former Hallmark casting director has alleged in a new lawsuit that a network executive once advocated for the replacement of “old talent” like 42-year-old Lacey Chabert and 60-year-old Holly Robinson-Peete.

According to court documents originally obtained by PEOPLE, 79-year-old Penny Perry filed suit against Executive Vice President of Programming Lisa Hamilton Daly, Senior Vice President of Programming and Development Randy Pope and Vice President of Human Resources Paul Hodgkinson and sought a jury trial and compensation after claiming that she suffered and witnessed “age and disability harassment” during her time at the company. She also claimed that she was fired after Hamilton Daly told her she was too “long in the tooth” to continue working at the company.

Perry alleged in the complaint that Hamilton Daly told her, “We need to hire someone (other than you) who knows more young talent,” while also telling her, “Our leading ladies are aging.” We need to find new talent to take their place Perry added that Hamilton Daly further stated that the network's roster of Christmas movie talent was “getting older and we need to find replacements for them” – highlighting an alleged directive later in the complaint to replace the “old talent.” like “replacing” Chabert and Robinson-Peete.

“Nobody wants it because it’s too expensive and it’s getting too old. “She can't play lead roles anymore,” Perry recalled hearing Hamilton Daly's statement, adding that Chabert “is getting older and we need to find someone like her to replace her as she gets older,” it said the document.

When reached for comment, a representative from Hallmark Media said Weekly entertainment: “Lacey and Holly have a home on Hallmark. We generally do not comment on pending litigation. And while we deny these outrageous allegations, we will not discuss an employment relationship in the media.”

EW has reached out to representatives for Chabert and Peete for a response.

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Both Chabert and Robinson-Peete have completed multiple projects at Hallmark, with Chabert regularly working with the network as a producer and star of holiday programs, including her new reality series Celebrate with Lacey Chabert and the film 2024 The Christmas Quest.

In addition to preparing for her upcoming Netflix Christmas movie Hot frosty, The Mean Girls Alum is also currently in production on another film for the network in Canada.