JoJo Siwa has no problem calling out bigotry — no matter who’s at the center of the conversation. The So You Think You Can Dance judge, who identifies as pansexual, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a screenshot of an aggregated news headline that reads, “Candace Cameron Bure’s Plans for New Cable Channel: No Gays,” with her own accompanying caption. “Honestly, I can’t believe after everything that went down just a few months ago, that she would not only create a movie with intention of excluding LGBTQIA+, but then also talk about it in the press,” she wrote, citing the stars’ mini feud over Siwa’s claim in a TikTok video that Cameron Bure was “the rudest celebrity” she ever met. “This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people,” Siwa added.
Siwa’s post is in reference to an interview with the famously conservative Christian actress, published in The Wall Street Journal earlier this week. In it, the Fuller House alum talks about her newest gig as Chief Creative Officer at the Great American Family (GAF) network, which she joined following a decade-long tenure at the Hallmark Channel — the same channel that is slated to premiere an upcoming holiday movie with an LGBTQ+ love story as its main plot line, per People.
"I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core," Cameron Bure told WSJ, adding, "My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them. 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.”
This view of upholding “traditional” anything is antiquated. Not only does it go against basic human rights and perpetuate damaging rhetoric, but from a media perspective, leaning toward so-called traditionality also ignores reality. After all, more young people identify as LGBTQ+ than ever before. Earlier this year, LGBTQ+ media advocacy group GLAAD released a study that found LGBTQ+ representation on U.S. TV is only increasing. The “Where We Are on TV” findings showed that 12% of main TV characters are part of the LGBTQIA community. Shows like the critically acclaimed Euphoria, Sex Education, and Killing Eve were mentioned as standouts in the study.
It’s been 48 hours since Cameron Bure’s WSJ interview was published, but her comments have already garnered criticism from fellow actors. “There is nothing untraditional about same-sex couples,” One Tree Hill star Hilarie Burton Morgan tweeted, also referring to GAF head Bill Abbott as “disgusting.” Even Cameron Bure’s Full House and Fuller House co-star Jodie Sweetin weighed in, commenting on Siwa’s initial Instagram post with the caption, “You know I love you” with two heart emojis.
