Candace Cameron Bure is facing backlash over her comments about Great American Family’s decision to focus on “traditional marriage,” rather than include LGBTQ+ stories in its holiday content. She said in a recent interview that apparently factored into her decision to leave Hallmark to join GAF as its chief creative officer. A number of celebrities have responded to her views, and now Holly Robinson Peete and Jonathan Bennett — two actors who stayed with Hallmark after a number of exits — have also shared their thoughts.
Holly Robinson Peete, who has appeared in multiple Hallmark movies over the years, including the Christmas in Everdeen series, didn’t hold back when expressing her opinion on Instagram Stories, saying she “can’t stand” when people get so stressed out about who people love. Though she didn’t call Candace Cameron Bure out by name, there’s a clear implication who she’s telling to “Mind ya business!”:
Holly Robinson Peete was also among multiple celebrities who agreed with JoJo Siwa’s post calling out Candace Cameron Bure. Months after saying the Full House alum was the “rudest celebrity” she’d ever met, Siwa called her recent comments “rude and hurtful to a whole community,” which Peete apparently agreed with, commenting:
This is disappointing but not surprising . Go make the content that you want to make but why insist on castigating others? It’s the judgment for me… as a proud mom of an lgbtqia person The traditional marriage quote stung. Proud to be on Hallmark channel which understands the importance of diversity and inclusion of EVERYONE 🌈🌈🌈
Jonathan Bennett, who’s set to star in The Holiday Sitter, the first Hallmark Christmas Movie to feature a leading gay couple, expressed his pride in being part of a network that makes movies for everyone. He told E! News:
I'm just proud to be part of Hallmark channel that is doing so much inclusive programming like The Holiday Sitter, which is an LGBTQ+ led Christmas movie. I'm just so proud to be on Hallmark channel that's making these movies for everyone, because Christmas is for everyone and Hallmark channels are for everyone.
Candace Cameron Bure explained her controversial GAF comments in a lengthy statement to Instagram, saying she didn’t intend to hurt or offend anyone. She expressed her love for people of every “race, creed, sexuality, or political party,” and said her move from Hallmark to the other network was due to her wanting to join a network with more faith-based programming.
Hallmark has produced more inclusive content in recent years, like 2020’s Wedding Every Weekend, which featured its first LGBTQ+ couple. The Holiday Sitter will premiere on the network at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, December 11. See a full list of 2022 Christmas movies, including Candace Cameron Bure’s first post-Hallmark Christmas movie, A Christmas…Present, which premieres at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, November 27, on GAF.
