LaFlamme worked at Bell Media as a reporter and news anchor for CTV National News for more than 30 years, the last 11 as its anchor. This month, she revealed that she was told on June 29 that her contract was up, bringing her career with the network to an abrupt end. In an Aug. 15 video posted to Twitter, LaFlamme said she was “blindsided” by the decision to leave earlier and that “it’s overwhelming to be leaving CTV in a way that is not my choice.” The news that her contract was not renewed has been dealt a major blow in Canada, with claims that her decision to stop dyeing her hair blonde during the pandemic was a major factor in the company’s decision. “At 58, I still thought I would have a lot more time to tell more of the stories that affect our daily lives,” LaFlamme said in the video. In a statement, Bell Media President and CEO Mirko Bibic said LaFlamme’s hair color had nothing to do with the company’s decision to let her go. “That’s not the case,” he said, adding that the company is implementing an independent review. CNN has reached out to Bell Media for comment. A Bell Media executive, Michael Melling, is on leave from the company after The Globe and Mail reported that he asked who approved the decision to “gray Lisa’s hair.” Melling, a vice president at Bell Media, CTV’s parent company, began running the news division in January. He was the one who informed LaFlamme that she would no longer be keeping her role on the newscast. Wendy’s isn’t the only brand in Canada showing its support for LaFlamme. Although the former news anchor didn’t specifically mention it, Dove Canada launched a campaign last week asking its followers to convert their profile pictures to grayscale and donated $100,000 to an organization that supports inclusive workplaces for the women. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Twitter account retweeted its cover for this year’s swimsuit issue featuring Maye Musk, Elon Musk’s mother who also has gray hair, with the comment that “We’re going gray with @Dove to support women who they age confidently on their own terms. .” The Dove Canada Twitter account responded to Wendy’s tweet with one of its own: “Looks Beautiful, Wendy!” it says, with the hashtag #KeepTheGrey. It had almost 6,000 likes on Saturday.
