Bill Abbott leaves Crown Media Family Networks after Zola ad fiasco

Adweek reports that Hallmark Cards Inc. CEO Mike Perry has announced that Crown Media Family Networks president and CEO Bill Abbott has stepped down from his post.

It's been speculated that Abbott's resignation is related to Hallmark Channel's decision to pull several ads by wedding planning brand Zola featuring a same-sex couple kissing in response to pressure from conservative group One Million Moms.

Zola responded by saying it would no longer advertise on the network for the foreseeable future. The hashtag #BoycottHallmark trended on Twitter, and American non-governmental media monitoring organisation Glaad called the network's action "discriminatory," urging other advertisers to reconsider their own involvement with the company.

Advertisers on @hallmarkchannel should see this news and question whether they want to be associated with a network that chooses to bow to fringe anti-LGBTQ activist groups, which solely exist to harm LGBTQ families.#BoycottHallmarkChannelhttps://t.co/QTNBbtZ8Q2

— GLAAD (@glaad) December 15, 2019

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