Neal Bledsoe Exits GAF Network Following Candace Cameron Bure’s Homophobic …
Some people just have a natural ability to bring everyone together with their words and ideas.
Candace Cameron Bure is like that. In that she says horrible things, and everyone unites to call her out on it.
She recently Candace Cameron Burned some bridges with Hallmark, disparaging the LGBTQ+ community while partnering with a new, even more conservative network.
One of that network’s actors is leaving. He’ll do cheesy Christmas movies until the cows come home, but he draws the line at outright bigotry.
For most people, the Hallmark Channel and its movies are cheesy things to watch ironically. Or to watch if one of your favorite actors is in it.
The channel has a reputation for showcasing white, straight, Christian conservative families. That also describes their target audience.
Hallmark didn’t even show a same-sex kiss until 2020. Apparently, that was still too much, too soon for Candace Cameron Bure.
Recently, Bure announced that she was parting ways with Hallmark and partnering with Great American Family. She cited wanting programming with “traditional family,” a dogwhistle for
Great American Family seems to be something of a halfway house for those who think that Hallmark’s bland Christmas programming is too radical and secular.
Bill Abbott, who is the chief executive at GAF and previously headed Hallmark, referred to the LGBTQ+ community as a “trend.” So she’s clearly not alone.
Actor Neal Bledsoe was working on Great American Family. Was, past tense. He has announced that he is walking away in the wake of Bure’s comments.
He already starred in two GAF films this year: The Winter Palace and Christmas at the Drive-In. Those will be the last.
This week, Bledsoe told Variety that “the thought that my work could be used to deliberately discriminate against anyone horrifies and infuriates me.”
“I hope GAF will change,” Bledsoe expressed.
“But until everyone can be represented in their films with pride,” he noted, “my choice is clear.”
Bledsoe continued: “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.”
“As someone who struggled as a young man with our society’s extremely narrow definition of masculinity,” Bledsoe continued.
He noted that “it was [the LGBTQIA+] community that provided me with refuge and a guiding light when my life felt lost.”
Bledsoe affirmed: “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,” Bledsoe emphasized.
He added that “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.”
Notably, he did not single out Candace Cameron Bure in those quotes. In fact, he may have been responding more to Bill Abbott’s “trends” comment than to anything else. No matter what, good for Neal Bledsoe. Being a decent person isn’t always easy.
