Candace Cameron Bure on cancel culture’s response to her beliefs on traditional marriage

Candace Cameron Bure spoke out on the pressures of cancel culture after making a career transition away from longtime employer, Hallmark.

In an interview posted on Feb. 8 with the podcast, “Unapologetic with Julia Jeffress Sadler,” Bure said that “cancel culture is real, and it’s difficult, and it’s hard.” When asked what she thought Christians should stop apologizing for, Bure replied, “Sometimes I wish Christians would stop apologizing for being Christian.”

Bure said she was “canceled” for her comments on traditional marriage.

Last April, Bure took fans by surprise when she announced she was leaving The Hallmark Channel and moving to the Great American Family network.

Bill Abbott, now chief executive of Great American Media, said the formula for the family network can be described as “soft faith.” Abbott, the former chief executive of Hallmark Channel’s parent company Crown Media Family Networks, told The Wall Street Journal that the network is there for viewers searching for Christian content, but the network’s goal is not to proselytize.

“My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them,” Bure told WSJ Magazine. “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 why she was leaving Hallmark, Bure’s only remark was, “it basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership.”

When WSJ asked if plots would feature same-sex couples in leading roles in her new channel, she said no. “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” she said.

After the interview, Bure received an outpouring of negative feedback from the public, including celebrities such as JoJo Siwa and Hilarie Burton. Siwa posted to her instagram: “Honestly, I can’t believe after everything that went down just a few months ago, that she would not only create a movie with intention of excluding LGBTQIA+, but then also talk about it in the press. This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people.”

Burton tweeted, calling Bure a “bigot.”

“Bigot. I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy. But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank,” she tweeted.

When pressed on the subject of same-sex relationships in Great American Family’s future, Abbott replied, “It’s certainly the year 2022, so we’re aware of the trends,” he said. “There’s no whiteboard that says, ‘Yes, this’ or ‘No, we’ll never go here.’” 

Bure said she hopes that the channel is able to attract a wide range of viewers. She told WSJ that she wants her message to be about slowing down and remembering to savor moments with loved ones. “I want to be able to tell that story in a beautiful way,” she said, “but also that is not off-putting to the unbeliever or someone who shares a different faith.”