Candace Cameron Bure’s comments about not featuring same-sex couples in her films have met criticism.
Bure, who is now working as Great American Family’s chief creative officer, recently spoke about wanting to put religion back into Christmas movies. The actress’ departure from Hallmark comes as the network attempts to add more diversity to its lineup.
“The Holiday Sitter,” Hallmark’s first original film to focus on a same-sex couple, is set to be released next month.
When asked by the Wall Street Journal if her new channel will feature any LGBTQ storylines, Bure said no.
“I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” she said.
CANDACE CAMERON BURE FOCUSING ON FAITH-BASED CHRISTMAS MOVIES WITH ‘PURPOSE’
However, the chief executive of Great American Media and orginal creator of the Hallmark Channel noted that there isn’t a set plan.
“It’s certainly the year 2022, so we’re aware of the trends,” Bill Abbott told the outlet. “There’s no whiteboard that says, ‘Yes, this’ or ‘No, we’ll never go here.'”
Bure’s statement was called out by Hilarie Burton and Jojo Siwa.
Burton reacted to the comments on Twitter, slamming Bure as “disgusting.”
“Now they’re just openly admitting their bigotry. I called this s— out years ago when Abbott was at Hallmark,” she wrote. “Glad they dumped him. Being LGBTQ isn’t a ‘trend.’ That guy and his network are disgusting. You too Candy. There is nothing untraditional about same-sex couples.”
“Bigot,” Burton added. “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.”
Siwa shared her thoughts 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,” she wrote.
“This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people.”
This isn’t the first time Siwa has had issues with Bure. The former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant chose Bure as the “rudest” celebrity she had ever met while participating in a TikTok trend.
The two spoke about it and seemingly put the past behind them.
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Bure departed the Hallmark Channel in April. She had worked with the popular network for over a decade, previously starring in 10 holiday movies and 30 films overall for Hallmark’s Crown Media.
“My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them,” she told the WSJ. “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.”
In a previous statement, Bure shared how her personal beliefs align with Great American Family.
“I’m very excited to develop heartwarming family and faith-filled programming and make the kind of stories my family and I love to watch,” she stated.
While Bure did not touch on her departure from the Hallmark Channel, she did say, “It basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership.”
Fox News Digital’s William Mendelson contributed to this report.
