As Candace Cameron Bure geared up to promote her tenure as the new star and chief creative officer of the newly formed Great American Family network, she sparked a wave of controversy by confirming that the channel would only feature “traditional marriage.” (Read: No gay couples.) It was a jarring but not entirely surprising stance from Bure who, like her brother Kirk Cameron, has well-known evangelical beliefs. Even her longtime Full House co-star, Jodie Sweetin, threw shade at Bure despite the two recently working together on the Netflix revival series Fuller House.
However, just as the controversy seemed to die down, actor Neal Bledsoe has announced his resignation from Great American Family. Like Bure, Bledsoe has been a fixture in Hallmark holiday movies and was wooed over to Great American Family where he’s now starred in two films. In a lengthy statement to Variety, Bledsoe made it very clear that he cannot continue to work with a company that actively discriminates against the LGBTQIA+ community:
As someone who struggled as a young man with our society’s extremely narrow definition of masculinity, it was their community that provided me with refuge and a guiding light when my life felt lost. And now, if I cannot stand up for that community in their time of need, my debt to them means nothing. So, I want to be very clear: my support for the LGBTQIA+ community is unconditional – nothing is worth my silence or their ability to live and love freely in a world that we are lucky enough to share with them.
“I hope GAF will change, but until everyone can be represented in their films with pride, my choice is clear,” Bledsoe wrote in the closing paragraph. “I look forward to working with creators who put no limits on the stories we tell and follow through on their message of values with open arms.”
You can read the full statement here.
(Via Variety)