The same forces that led to Hallmark’s new woke direction and the subsequent creation of the Great American Family network are now targeting the fledgling entertainment venture for refusing to make the same mistake its predecessor did.
A mainstay at Hallmark for years before joining a number of her fellow network stars in jumping ship to Great American Family, Bure drew progressive ire after telling The Wall Street Journal that the new entertainment outlet was unlikely to air any programming featuring same-sex couples.
“I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” said the actress.
In a separate interview with Variety, Bure further explained “I think we know the core audience and what they love is exactly how Bill originally built the Hallmark Channel.”
“That was Christmas and those traditional holidays, so that’s what the focus is going to be,” she asserted. “You’ve got to start somewhere. You can’t do everything at once.”
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Unsurprisingly, Bure’s comments are already sparking outrage from progressives within the entertainment industry, chief among them former fellow Hallmark star Hilarie Burton Morgan.
Taking to Twitter following the publication of Burton’s interviews, Morgan lashed out, “Now they’re just openly admitting their bigotry.”
“I called this s–t out years ago when Abbott was at Hallmark,” wrote the One Tree Hill star, who has been an advocate for more diverse onscreen representation ever since her days at Hallmark. “Glad they dumped him.”
“Being LGBTQ isn’t a ‘trend’,” she added. “That guy and his network are disgusting. You too Candy. There is nothing untraditional about same-sex couples.”
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In a follow-up tweet, Morgan continued, “Bigot. I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy.”
“But sure,” she concluded. “Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank.”
Back in 2020, The Hallmark Channel went through a major overhaul after facing a wave of outrage over an LGBTQ-themed ad that was airing on their channel.
The ad, as produced by online-wedding firm Zola, showed two women getting married and pondering how their ceremony might have been improved through the use of the company’s services.
After airing the ad, the channel was hit with multiple petitions from conservative audiences demanding the channel pull the ad in service of keeping Hallmark “family friendly”. Eventually, the company acquiesced.
Unsurprisingly, this decision subsequently drew ire from progressive groups, who responded by putting pressure on the company to draw a line in the sand against their own core audience.
The situation ultimately ended with George Zaralidis, the VP of Communications for Hallmark’s parent company, Crown Media Family, affirming to NBC, “Diversity and inclusion is a top priority for us and we look forward to making some exciting programming announcements in the coming months, including announcements about projects featuring LGBTQ storylines, characters, and actors.”
Shortly after this statement, then-Crown Media Family Networks CEO Bill Abbott stepped down from his role at the network and joined fledgling competitor GAC Media – operating name Great American Media – in order to push back against his former company’s new direction.
