Buttigieg warns against ‘censoring difference’ after Hallmark Channel pulls ads with lesbian couple

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic presidential candidate, criticized the Hallmark Channel’s decision to pull four TV ads featuring a lesbian couple after a petition by a conservative group. 

“Families are built on love—no matter what they look like,” Buttigieg, the first openly gay Democratic presidential candidate, tweeted Sunday. 

The channel pulled four ads for wedding planning website Zola featuring brides getting married and kissing after conservative group One Million Moms, a branch of the American Family Association, posted a petition claiming the commercial was not “family friendly.”

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

“Being ‘family friendly’ means honoring love, not censoring difference,” Buttigieg said. 

“This truth will be more important than ever as we rebuild our nation into a place defined by belonging, not by exclusion,” he added.

The New York Times reported the news of the ads being pulled Friday. 

A spokesperson for the channel told the Times the “decision not to air overt public displays of affection in our sponsored advertisement, regardless of the participants, is in line with our current policy, which includes not featuring political advertisements, offensive language, R-rated movie content and many other categories.”

Zola’s chief marketing officer, Mike Chi, said a commercial featuring a heterosexual couple kissing was approved by the channel. 

“The only difference between the commercials that were flagged and the ones that were approved was that the commercials that did not meet Hallmark’s standards included a lesbian couple kissing,” Chi said, adding that the company will no longer be advertising on Hallmark.