Candace Cameron Bure was worlds apart from the Hallmark Channel she left. She seems to attribute it to the exit of Bill Abbott, the former president and CEO of Crown Media, Hallmark’s parent company. Abbott left the company in 2020 after Hallmark yanked an ad featuring a same-sex couple, sparking quite the controversy. “It basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership,” Bure told The Wall Street Journal.
Abbott went on to create and helm GAC, while Hallmark began embracing more diverse content, including LGBTQ+ relationships. Meanwhile, GAC leaned heavily into traditional values, which was right up Bure’s alley. “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,” she added. When asked if GAC would feature LGBTQ+ content in the future, she replied, “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”
These comments drew backlash, with Hilarie Burton unable to hold back her feelings, calling Bure a bigot. But the actor defended herself, insisting she never meant to alienate people. “It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone,” she said in a lengthy statement, adding that her move was because GAC was the network she always dreamed of being a part of. “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.”
