Candace Cameron Bure’s Anti-LGBTQ “Personal Views” Are “Not Speaking On Behalf Of Great American Media,” Says Network CEO Bill Abbott

Great American Family CEO Bill Abbott is setting the record straight about chief content officer (CCO) Candace Cameron Bure and her influence on his company.

The Full House star, who traded Hallmark in for Great American Family last April, was put under fire following a Wall Street Journal interview last November in which she said the network will “keep traditional marriage at the core” of its programming and avoid featuring same-sex couples in upcoming projects.

Her controversial comments have since sparked plenty of backlash, including from other celebrities like Jojo Siwa, Hilarie Burton Morgan, and former great American Family actor Neal Bledsoe, who left the network out of his “unconditional” support for the LGBTQIA+ community.

In an interview with Variety, Abbott addressed said backlash, likening Bure’s “personal views” to “the disclaimer you see at the end of a movie or a series that says, ‘The views reflected here are not necessarily those of the company.'”

“Candace has such a high profile that when she speaks, she’ll speak on a lot of topics, and she has a wonderful podcast that is fantastic,” he continued. “But when she speaks on that, she’s not speaking on behalf of Great American Media.”

He noted that Bure “speaks for her own brand when she is talking to the world at large.”

“For me, all I do — all I live, breathe and sleep — is Great American Media,” he added. “So when I talk about something, it’s very different, because I’m representing the company and only the company. When Candace talks about something, obviously she has a lot of other audiences and platforms.”

Nonetheless, when asked if showcasing same-sex couple in the network’s upcoming films is something they “want to do or plan to do,” Abbott said that “the first thing [they] think about is a great storyline or great characters or an emotional journey,” as opposed to casting the film first.

“We don’t have an agenda either way,” he claimed. “It’s not in the faith-and-family playbook to have agendas that are either pro or anti. We want to entertain and inspire and be uplifting and consistently provide an experience that is high quality — that is our most important objective.”

When further pressed by the outlet, he claimed that “it will be something to think about,” but that they’re currently “just so focused on profitability, being successful, [and] doing the right thing for [their] shareholders.”

“We have so many things on our agenda that we need to stay focused on the core part of the business right now and then down the road, as our world grows and changes and becomes different, then we’ll see,” he said.

Despite being questioned about the controversy, Abbott raved about Bure, noting that they’re “absolutely blown away by [her] taste, judgment and ability.”

“She’s really special, and not many people can be in front of the screen and function in that role and do it in a very honest, genuine way that is really just well-intentioned and for the team,” he said.