In a statement to BI, Hallmark said "Holiday Road" was "inspired by multiple news stories of strangers banding together" over the years.
picture alliance
Last December, the TikToker Alanah Story made national news after she got stuck at the airport due to a canceled Frontier flight. She decided to band together with a group of strangers to rent a passenger van and drive ten hours from Orlando to Knoxville.
Story documented the entire saga on TikTok last year, introducing the cast of 12 other characters. Among them were a student who worried she might miss her final exams, a mom who said she was in town for her son's custody battle, and a family with an appointment to visit the University of Tennessee. After a long drive through the night, they arrived the next morning in time for their various obligations — complete with some new friends and a healthy helping of viral fame in tow.
Story's original TikTok has 4.3 million views and was covered widely on the news, from CNN to the "Today" show — to, of course, Business Insider.
@alanahstory21 I cant make this up. Road trip! ???? @The Farm Babe @StarrPuck @doerksen92 @Renee @robinwharton976 @CozumelAutentico
♬ original sound - Alanah
But almost exactly a year later, she returned to TikTok with a disappointed update. Story claimed Hallmark's new holiday film, "Holiday Road" lifted her real-life story without her consent.
"My life was quite literally made into a movie," she said, splicing in portions of the trailer for the Hallmark film, which outlines a similar premise — including a vlogger protagonist. Story said she didn't know about the movie until the trailer dropped, and that Hallmark hadn't consulted or compensated her or any of the original van passengers for the project.
"At first, we were really mad," Story said, calling Hallmark "sheisty." But at the end of the day, she reiterated her gratitude for having had the serendipitous experience to begin with. "Who gets to say that their life was turned into a movie?"
While Story spoke to Business Insider's Charisa Cheong last year about the initial debacle, she did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this update.
In a statement responding to Story's accusations, Hallmark Media told Business Insider it was "very proud" of "Holiday Road." The company denied it stole the premise from her viral incident.
"While inspired by multiple news stories of strangers banding together across the country over the years, 'Holiday Road' is not based on any one story and all characters are wholly original," a company spokesperson told BI.
Hallmark's business model often involves pulling plots from news headlines, as other TikTokers have certainly documented similar journeys last holiday season in the wake of their own canceled flights. However, Story noted that those travelers may have replicated her journey after her TikToks blew up.
And she wasn't the only van passenger to share her dismay. A TikToker who goes by The Farm Babe — a passenger who notably quipped "I just like snacks" during a rest stop — also spoke out against the film.
In a video she posted on Tuesday, she concurred that the storylines of some of the characters in "Holiday Road" — and even exact lines of dialogue — were identical to real people and events. Other characters were newly invented. The Farm Babe conceded that the film was "good," but said she felt "violated."
And commenters of both TikTokers had their backs.
"This is a black mirror episode!!!!!" one wrote under Story's latest update. "Nahh Hallmark needs to run yall a check!" another added. "That's the first new Christmas story line they've had in 30 years!"
