by Actress turned TV executive Candace Cameron Bure says cancel culture is real.
“And I know there are all places in the world, all different countries, where people are being severely persecuted for their faith. I feel like we have this cushion here in North America, where, you know, somebody yells at us or somebody he says a mean and negative thing and our feelings are so hurt, and this is nowhere near the persecution many other people go through for being Christians in other countries,” Bure said on Wednesday’s episode of Unrepentant with Julia Jeffress Sadler podcasts. “However, cancel culture is real, and it’s hard, and it’s hard, but listen, I just want to encourage you that you’re not the only one and that there are many of us.”
Bure came under fire in November for her comments in an interview with the Wall Street Journal about why he was leaving Hallmark, the network where he had starred in holiday movies for years, for a new rival, Great American Family, led by Bill Abbott, a former head of Hallmark’s parent company, who left that company after refusing to air a commercial featuring a same-sex couple. Bure’s departure came just as Hallmark had scheduled the debut of its first original Christmas movie featuring an LGBTQ romance, The Christmas babysitterhero Bad Girls actor Jonathan Bennett.
“I think Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at its core,” Bure told the paper.
In a single backlash, actress Hilarie Burton called Bure a “bigot.”
“I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy,” Burton wrote on social media. “Of course. Make money, honey. Ride the wave of prejudice to the bank.”
Jodie Sweetin, who had been close to Bure over the years after playing his little sister in both Sold out and its revival series, Fuller houseshe even supported a social media post JoJo Siwa made calling out Bure, who promptly unfollowed her longtime on-screen little sister on social media.
Bure, who kept his job, finally responded to the backlash:
“You all know me, you know beyond a doubt that I have great love and affection for all people,” she wrote, in part. “It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think that I intentionally meant to offend and hurt anyone. It saddens me that the media often tries to divide us, even on a topic as comforting and cheerful as Christmas movies. our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised. We need Christmas more than ever.”
He sent love to those who “hate what I value and are attacking me online” and had “tried to assassinate my character.”
On the podcast, when the host asked Bure for his advice for people coming to Hollywood, he was thrilled at the prospect.
“Well, first of all, if you care about the arts or entertainment, yay!” Bure said. “We need you, we need you. Come, come, come.”
Bure said there are many Christians who work in entertainment, but some are less vocal.
She has been asked to counsel others who are seeking to “share their truth.”
“It’s hard no matter what. Especially when you’re a compassionate person and you have a heart for people,” Bure said. “But it’s important that we tell the truth in love, because, listen, no one is going to change, no one is going to listen to you even when he comes out angry, when he comes out hard, but it’s important that we don’t go back down.”
The former DJ Tanner said she’s encouraged by what she sees in her three grown children, who she shares with husband Valeri Bure.
“I’m so proud of them because they really stick to the truth and know the gospel and are willing to share it,” she said, “because I know it takes courage, especially in the times we live in today.”
