Great American Family actor Neal Bledsoe is leaving the network after Candace Cameron Bure’s controversial comments about only showing “traditional marriages” between straight couples in Christmas films.
In a statement to diversityHe said, “My life would not be where it is today without the love, support and guidance of the LGBTQIA+ community.”
“As someone who, as a young man, struggled with the extremely narrow definition of masculinity in our society, it was their community that offered me sanctuary and guidance when my life felt lost,” he said, adding, “And now when I can’t intercede for this community in times of need, my debt to them means nothing.”
Bledsoe called his support for the community “unconditional,” sharing, “Nothing is worth my silence or their ability to live and love freely in a world that we are blissfully able to share with them.”
The actor’s departure from the Great American Family — formerly known as Great American Country (GAC) — comes after starring in several titles for the network, including The Winter Palace and Christmas in the Drive Through. He has also collaborated with Hallmark and performed in 2017 Coming home for Christmas and 2020s The Christmas carousel.
His testimony is in response to Bure’s comments to the The Wall Street Journal in which she said her upcoming projects with GAC will differ from her past Christmas work at Hallmark by “bringing” and “keeping Christianity back into Christmas films.”[ing] traditional marriage at its core,” suggesting that gay couples will not be included.
Bledsoe alluded to the controversy and agreed in his statement diversity“Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and these are mine: The recent comments from the leadership of Great American Family are hurtful, wrong, and reflect an ideology that prioritizes judgment over love.”
He continued, “I could never forgive myself for continuing my relationship with a network that actively chooses to exclude the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Bure’s comments were previously denounced by A hill of trees Alum Hilarie Burton Morgan and singer JoJo Siwa.
That Full house The actress later apologized for her words, saying: “Everyone who knows me knows without a doubt that I have great love and affection for all people. It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I was intentionally trying to offend and hurt someone.” She went on to blame the media for “trying to divide us” over the Christmas holidays.
Read Neal Bledsoe’s full statement below, per diversity:
My life would not be where it is today without the love, support and guidance of the LGBTQIA+ community. From my mentors in college to the countless agents and managers, writers and directors, teachers and colleagues, and of course my dear friends and family who have all touched my life, I owe them a lot. As someone who, as a young man, struggled with the extremely narrow definition of masculinity in our society, it was their community that offered me sanctuary and guidance when my life felt lost. And if I can’t intercede now for this community in its need, my debt to them means nothing. So I want to be absolutely clear: my support for the LGBTQIA+ community is unconditional – nothing is worth my silence or their ability to live freely and love in a world that we are fortunate to share with them.
You may have noticed that I was unusually quiet at a time when I should have been promoting a holiday film, a film with the express aim of bringing comfort to all at a time of great turmoil and change, but I cannot carry on as usual. I cannot comfort or offer sanctuary to those who condone exclusion and promote division in any way, shape or form. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and these are mine: Recent comments from Great American Family leadership are hurtful, wrong, and reflect an ideology that prioritizes judgment over love. I grew up a Christian and I believe in the essential message of love and forgiveness. However, I could never forgive myself for continuing my relationship with a network that actively chooses to exclude the LGBTQIA+ community.
Freedom of speech or religion, or even freedom to express beliefs that I may vehemently disagree with, are not the issue here. Here someone in a leading position speaks on behalf of an entire network about conscious exclusion. For this reason, the term “traditional marriage” is as abhorrent as it is confusing. Not only morally wrong, it’s also a moot point considering most romantic movies don’t feature married couples or even weddings at all, just people meeting and falling in love. Describing this love and the full human representation of the LGBTQIA+ community as a “trend” is also both disturbing and confusing. When institutions like the Mormon Church support marriage equality and join the great majority of Americans who already believe in the fundamental right to love whom and how we please — and when that right is about to be enshrined into the law of the land to be included – one need not ask what the trends are but would an organization opposing such love tend towards the dustbin of history?
As I pondered that statement, I turned to a dear friend of mine for advice, a man who was growing up in the South and tanning when it was more dangerous to do so then than it is now. He reminded me of the courage of Elizabeth Taylor, who in Reagan’s America visited the lonely pariahs dying of AIDS when our society wanted nothing to do with them. Neither cool, nor awake, nor a signal of virtue, her compassion was spot on, especially when much of our culture chose cruelty. Decades later, it galls me to think that some of us still find ways to justify a crueler world under the guise of belief, tradition, or, worse, audience share.
As we were discussing this, my friend wrote me the following, which I am sharing here with his permission, as his words are more personal, eloquent, and truthful than anything I could say:
“The unchanging gift of these Christmas stories is the belief in a happy ending. The most devastating mendacity – the one that snuffs out the light within us – is the belief that happiness is impossible when we are in the picture. Worse yet, that we don’t deserve happiness just because we are. The animus is not simply hating sin; it’s about getting the sinners to hate themselves so much that they capitulate to this corrosive narrative. The irony that a network with the word “family” in its name seeks to punish the very people who understand the meaning of the word most deeply hasn’t escaped me. The overwhelming data at the intersection of homelessness and the LGBTQIA+ community reflects the failure of American families in their most basic role: parents and caregivers have chosen a cruel narrative of lives worthy of the love and support they are responsible for. And the only way we will survive this abandonment of duty is to start our own families and our own version of what unconditional love looks like.”
As an artist, I long to be proud of the work I create. But the thought that my work could be used to intentionally discriminate against someone horrifies and angers me. I hope GAF will change, but until everyone can be proud to be in their films, my choice is clear. I look forward to collaborating with creators who don’t put limits on the stories we tell and embrace their values message with open arms. With that in mind, I will be making a donation to True Colors United, and if these words resonate with you, I hope you will join me.