Jonathan Bennett has praised Hallmark for their recent LGBTQ+ inclusion following the recent Candace Cameron Bure controversy.
On 14 November, the Wall Street Journal released an interview with Bure in which she opened up about joining the Great American Family Channel – a conservative cable network.
Before joining the channel, the Full House alum was known for her various holiday films on Hallmark.
However due to Hallmark’s “change of leadership,” the Fuller House star decided to leave and move to Great Family Network due to their values aligning with her conservative viewpoints.
“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,” she told the publication.
In addition to her declaration, Bure also shot down any ideas of LGBTQ+ inclusion within the channel’s Christmas films.
“I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” she added.
Shortly after the interview was released, Bure faced backlash from an array of her industry peers, including Jojo Siwa, One Tree Hill’s Hilarie Burton and Full House star Jodie Sweetin.
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In a recent interview with E! News, Bennett acknowledged the controversy by praising Hallmark for making inclusive films, like his upcoming project, The Holiday Sitter.
“I’m just proud to be part of Hallmark channel that is doing so much inclusive programming like the Holiday Sitter, which is an LGBTQ+ led Christmas movie,” he said.
“I’m just so proud to be on Hallmark Channel that’s making these movies for everyone because Christmas is for everyone, and Hallmark channels are for everyone.
Back in 2020, Hallmark’s parent company Crown Media announced that the channel would be taking steps to release more LGBTQ+ inclusive films.
In a statement to NBC News, George Zaralidis – Crown Media’s Vice President of network programming publicity –wrote: “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.”
Following Zaralidis’ statement, the channel slowly introduced more LGBTQ+ characters in its films like The Christmas House. At the time of its release, it became the first Hallmark project to feature a gay couple.
Fortunately for LGBTQ+ viewers, more inclusive projects are on the way.
This holiday season, the channel is set to release a sequel to The Christmas House and The Holiday Sitter, which will be Hallmark’s first queer-led movie.
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