Candace Cameron Bure Blames the “Media” for Homophobic Controversy Following Her “Traditional Family” Comments About GAC

By Raven Brunner @raventbrunner
Published Nov. 16, 2022, 5:07 p.m. ET

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Candace Cameron Bure

Candace Cameron Bure released a lengthy statement about the controversy sparked by her comments to The Wall Street Journal about “keeping traditional families at the core” in Great American Family’s programming, ahead of the release of her new Christmas movie, A Christmas… Present.

While her statement is nearly 500 words, she doesn’t debunk the homophobia insinuated by her comments. Instead, she places all the blame on the big, mean media.

“All of you who know me, know beyond question that I have great love and affection for all people. It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone,” wrote the Full House alum.

She added, “It saddens me that the media is often seeking to divide us, even around a subject as comforting and merry as Christmas movies. But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised. We need Christmas more than ever.”

Her statement spun into a testament of her Christian faith and her drive to be “a reflection of God’s huge love” as she continued to express her “love” for the “the media responsible for using this opportunity to fan flames of conflict and hate”, haters of her faith, values, and character, and “everybody reading this”. (The last bit is the only portion of her statement that addresses the elephant in the room, as she specifies that she’s referring to those “of any race, creed, sexuality, or political party”.)

The actor concluded her message by redirecting the focus towards her interest in creating “faith-based programming” and “celebrating God’s greatness”.

Following the controversy, which has spurred responses from One Tree Hill’s Hilarie Burton Morgan and JoJo Siwa, Bure’s daughter, Natasha Bure, defended her mother from the criticism, releasing a statement eerily similar to the one above.

Calling out the media, she addressed her mother with, “The media is an absolutely VILE space for negativity and I applaud you every time for how you handle yourself with the utmost grace.”

She continued, “No matter how out of context or warped the words may get, the enemy will not prevail. Society has gotten completely out of hand with believing every strategically worded headline broadcasted by the media…followed by cancel culture which is nothing but ugly.”

Read Candace Cameron Bure’s full statement below:

“I would like to address my comments on Great American Family’s programming as reported in The Wall Street Journal. All of you who know me, know beyond question that I have great love and affection for all people. It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone. It saddens me that the media is often seeking to divide us, even around a subject as comforting and merry as Christmas movies. But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised. We need Christmas more than ever.

I am a devoted Christian. Which means that I believe that every human being bears the image of God. Because of that, I am called to love all people, and I do. If you know me, you know that I am a person who loves fiercely and indiscriminately. My heart yearns to build bridges and bring people one step closer to God, to love others well, and to simply be a reflection of God’s huge love for all of us.

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.

I have long wanted to find a home for more faith-based programming. I am grateful to be an integral part of a young and growing network. 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.

The God we serve is a wildly creative and loving God. He didn’t just capture a small part of my heart, He has captured all of my heart. He will be reflected in everything I do and say; in my family, my work and my interactions with people from all walks of life, God’s love and God’s compassion is front and center. All of that comes from the LOVE that God himself showered upon humanity when he gave the gift of joy and forgiveness on the first Christmas morning 2000 years ago. It is why I love Christmas stories and sharing true joy and true peace with millions of people around the world. And in the sole motivation of pure love, I hope you’ll join me in sharing God’s hope for all the world this Christmas season. Call that my Christmas wish.”