Is Candace Cameron Bure Now Queen Of Anti-Gay Marriage?
When Candace Cameron Bure defected from Hallmark to sign on with Great American Family, did she give up her Queen of Christmas moniker for a less inclusive, anti-gay marriage pulpit?
In a recent controversial interview, the Hallmark alum explained why she departed from the network where she had made nearly thirty movies, to an upstart network called Great American Family.
What did CCB have to say?
The irony is that CCB does work for a division of Hallmark.
Why Did Candace Cameron Bure Leave Hallmark?
On Monday, Deadline reported on an interview that Candace Cameron Bure gave the Wall Street Journal. It was regarding her departure from Hallmark to Great American Family.
First, she explained why she left the feel-good network. “My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them.”
Next, she described her decision to leave because she believed that Great American Family was “Christian.”
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.
Finally, she got to the core reason for her departure. She is against gay marriage and believes this move to Great American Family will ensure she won’t be in a movie with a married gay couple.
I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.
In addition, she shared that she wanted to make movies that are not “off-putting to the unbeliever or someone who shares a different faith.”
Could Great American Family Create Stories With Gay Marriage?
To directly contradict Candace Cameron Bure, Bill Abbott, the former Hallmark CEO, and now Great American Media’s CEO, hinted that including a married gay couple in a future movie is not impossible.
It’s certainly the year 2022, so we’re aware of the trends. There’s no whiteboard that says, ‘Yes, this’ or ‘No, we’ll never go here.’
Ironically, Bill Abbott has dealt with this sort of controversy before. Abbott left Hallmark in early 2020 after a PR disaster like no other.
In December 2019, during Hallmark’s busy holiday season, they aired a Zola ad that featured a same-sex marriage.
There were some complaints from One Million Moms. Therefore, they took it down. This created a universal outcry to #BoycottHallmark chaos.
Internally, this was upsetting. There are cast and crew in the Hallmark family who were deeply offended. In a matter of hours, they realized their mistake, and Hallmark changed their stance.
By mid-January, Abbott was out at Hallmark. It took months before they found his replacement, Wonya Lucas who has promised inclusivity.
Candace Cameron Bure shared her thoughts about the regime change in this same interview.
It basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership.
Candace Cameron Bure says GAC won't feature same-sex couples at the forefront: "I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core."
Bill Abbott adds, "It’s certainly the year 2022, so we’re aware of the trends." https://t.co/xMhhNIrkHs
— Emily Longeretta (@emilylongeretta) November 14, 2022
What Does Hallmark Say About Candace Cameron Bure’s Departure?
In response, Hallmark defended their inclusive stories with the statement, “We want all viewers to see themselves in our programming and everyone is welcome.”
As for commenting on Candace Cameron Bure, they have declined to say anything specific about her departure.
However, a cornucopia of podcasters commented on some of the recent holiday movie plot points that hint at some personal digs at CCB. Could this be Hallmark’s subtle response?
For example, CCB’s Fuller House co-star John Brotherton plays “The King of Christmas” in the new Hallmark movie, Lights, Camera, Christmas!. For years, Candace Cameron Bure was “The Queen Of Christmas.” Many considered this a subtle dig.
Moreover, her television sister, Jodie Sweetin stars in the Christmas Under Wraps sequel that everyone was waiting for. This is the number one watched Christmas movie in Hallmark history. Why wasn’t CCB in it?
Firstly, this sequel was filmed five months before Candace Cameron Bure announced that she was leaving Hallmark for Great American Family. There is no doubt that CCB refused the role then, but took until the first week of April to announce her shocking departure.
Secondly, in the sequel, entitled A Cozy Christmas Inn, there are references to her character Lauren going to San Francisco for a fellowship, taking a bigger offer, and not staying in the small town of Garland, Alaska.
Moreover, in the movie, the town of Garland is not the same place it once was. It is now changing to meet the demands of a modern world, not unlike the Hallmark Channel. Many viewers saw this as a metaphor for Hallmark’s ability to change with the times.
CCB Still Works For Division Of Hallmark
There is some hypocrisy in all of this. Candace Cameron Bure still pedals Dayspring. Coincidentally, the Hallmark parent company has owned Dayspring since 1999.
Dayspring even offers a Candace Cameron Bure Collection. They include day planners and even t-shirts with feel-good phrases like “Love All,” “Be Compassionate,” and “Joy, Love, Peace, Sugar Cookies.”
Therefore, CCB in a sense still works for Hallmark. The same parent company that signed her checks for such movies as If I Only Had Christmas or her long-running Aurora Teagarden Mystery series is signing her Dayspring checks. That seems to contradict her reason for leaving Hallmark in the first place, as this is the same company.
Candace Cameron Bure’s first GAF movie is A Christmas…Present. This premieres on Sunday, November 27, at 8 p.m., Eastern, on Great American Family.
What do you think about Candace Cameron Bure’s reason for leaving Hallmark?
