Why Candace Cameron Bure Left Hallmark Channel

Candace Cameron Bure was slammed as a "bigot" this week for comments she made explaining her decision to join the conservative Great American Family network.

The Wall Street Journal published an article on Monday about the Fuller House actress, who has embraced her new role as the network's chief creative officer. She had stuck with Hallmark Channel for more than a decade but left this past spring.

The controversy surrounding Bure has left some to wonder what led her to her Hallmark departure in the first place. It seems that her decision was at least in part faith-based.

"I knew the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment," Bure told the Journal.

The actress went on to say that she doesn't expect her new network to include same-sex relationships in its holiday flicks.

"I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core," she said.

The TV star previously told Variety that she hoped to make movies with the Great American Family that are "family-friendly" and "wholesome." She also said the network will emphasize "patriotic" content.

Bure has faced considerable blowback following her most recent remarks.

"Bigot. I don't remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy," One Tree Hill actress Hilarie Burton Morgan tweeted on Monday. "But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank."

Entertainer JoJo Siwa, herself a member of the LGBTQ+ community, slammed Bure's comments in a post on 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," Siwa said in a Tuesday post. "This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people."

In a Tuesday tweet, novelist and playwright Paul Rudnick had this to say of the news: "Candace Cameron Bure has left the Hallmark Channel because it depicts LGBTQ romances which Candace says aren't 'Christian.' Her next movies, on an evangelical channel, will include Eva&Adolf - Christmas In Berlin, A Caucasians-Only Klan Christmas, and A Militia Called Love."

Bure wrote to Newsweek that she has "long wanted to find a home for more faith-based programming" and that she's "grateful to be an integral part of a young and growing network."

She added: "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. I've never been interested in proselytizing through my storytelling, but in celebrating God's greatness in our lives through the stories I tell."

Hallmark previously inspired outrage after it dropped Zola ads in 2019 that featured a lesbian couple kissing. The network claimed at the time that it didn't want to spark controversy before eventually bringing the commercials back, according to Deadline.

Update 11/16/22, 6:48 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Candace Cameron Bure.

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