Candace Cameron Bure Responds to Backlash Over Her ‘Traditional Marriage’ Comment

Candace Cameron Bure has heard the backlash over her comments about “traditional marriage” and her reason for choosing to leave Hallmark for the Great American Family network. After Bure told The Wall Street Journal that her new network GAF will “keep traditional marriage at the core” of its upcoming projects rather than featuring same-sex couples on screen, she is now responding to the stir her comments made. On Wednesday evening, Bure issued a statement published by The Hollywood Reporter saying that was not her intent.

Bure’s extended statement said that she has “great love and affection for all people,” and that she did not intend to “offend or hurt anyone” with her interview to WSJ. She wrote about the divisive nature of entertainment news media and her religious views as a Christian, explaining that she is excited for the Great American Family network to release “more faith-based programming.” Bure suggested that this does not exclude the LGBTQ+ community or anyone else behind the camera, which justifies their exclusion on-screen as far as she is concerned.

“I had also expressed in my interview, which was not included, that people of all ethnicities and identities have and will continue to contribute to the network in great ways both in front of and behind the camera, which I encourage and fully support,” she wrote. “I’ve never been interested in proselytizing through my storytelling, but in celebrating God’s greatness in our lives through the stories I tell.”

Bure called out reporters in her post as well as other public figures like JoJo Siwa and Hilarie Burton Morgan. Bure wrote: “To the members of the media responsible for using this opportunity to fan flames of conflict and hate, I have a simple message: I love you anyway. To those who hate what I value and who are attacking me online: I love you. To those who have tried to assassinate my character: I love you. To everyone reading this, of any race, creed, sexuality, or political party, including those who have tried to bully me with name-calling, I love you.”

Bure’s new statement did not contradict her earlier comments to WSJ. When the outlet asked Bure if same-sex couples would be represented on screen on GAF, Bure said that the network would focus on “traditional marriage” instead. Many of her critics – notably Siwa – found this phrasing to be hurtful. Considering the relationship between some sects of Christianity in the U.S. and the LGBTQ+ community, Bure’s follow-up statement is sure to ruffle some more feathers.