Speaking her truth. Candace Cameron Bure opened up about the challenges of “cancel culture” after sharing her controversial reasoning behind leaving Hallmark Channel for Great American Media.
“Cancel culture is real, and it’s difficult, and it’s hard,” Cameron Bure, 46, said during the Wednesday, February 8, episode of the “Unapologetic With Julia Jeffress Sadler” podcast. “It’s hard, no matter what. Especially when you are a compassionate person and you have a heart for people. … It’s important that we don’t back down.”
While Cameron Bure admitted that there are “places in the world where people get severely persecuted for their faith,” she still doesn’t always feel like she can “speak her truth” openly.
“There are some days where I want to move to Texas,” the Full House alum, who is a California resident, quipped to host Julia Jeffress Sadler.
The Christmas Town actress made headlines in November 2022 when she revealed her motive for exiting Hallmark.“My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them,” she told The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ. Magazine at the time. “I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment.”
When asked if GAC had plans to include LGBTQIA+ movies in their programming, Cameron Bure replied, “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”
CEO Bill Abbott, meanwhile, told the outlet that the network is “aware of the trends” in 2022 but there’s “no whiteboard that says, ‘Yes, this’ or ‘No, we’ll never go here.’”
After receiving backlash for the controversial remarks, the former View cohost defended herself in a statement later that month, claiming that she has “great love and affection for all people.”
“It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone,” she shared. “It saddens me that the media is often seeking to divide us, even around a subject as comforting and merry as Christmas movies. But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised. We need Christmas more than ever.”
Despite her efforts, Cameron Bure’s controversy continued to make headlines when Neal Bledsoe announced he was stepping away from GAC in support of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I cannot continue with business as usual. I cannot take comfort from, nor will I give refuge to, those who excuse exclusion and promote division in any way, shape, or form. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and these are mine: the recent comments made by leadership at Great American Family are hurtful, wrong, and reflect an ideology that prioritizes judgment over love,” the actor, 41, told Variety in a November 2022 statement. “I was raised as a Christian, and believe in the essential message of love and forgiveness. That said, I could never forgive myself for continuing my relationship with a network that actively chooses to exclude the LGBTQIA+ community.”
