Full House actress Candace Cameron Bure is leaving the Hallmark Channel as she works to bring “Christianity” back to Christmas movies.
Bure has starred in secular Christmas rom-coms for years. In an interview published this week, she told the Wall Street Journal she was moving on to something new: Christmas movies for Christians.
“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.”
The actress is now the chief creative officer at Great American Family, a cable channel that creates “faith-based content.” She’s also working on screen, most recently in A Christmas…Present, which has strong Christian themes, emphasizing the importance of faith through grief.
Bure said Hallmark was “a completely different network than when she started,” and she was ready for a change. The Great American Family network’s chief executive, Bill Abbott, was formerly the CEO of Hallmark’s parent channel. Prior to leaving Hallmark, Abbott stirred up some controversy after pulling an ad that featured a same-sex couple.
In recent years, Bure has leaned into culturally conservative views. She faced backlash as a host of The View when she defended anti-LGBT business practices. The former child star said her work on Great American Family would not feature same-sex couples.
“I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” she said in the interview.
The response to the interview has not been positive. Dance Moms star JoJo Siwa, who identifies as queer, called Bure’s comment about traditional marriage “rude and hurtful to a whole community of people.”
Actress Hilarie Burton called Abbott and Bure “disgusting,” accusing them of “bigotry.”
