Candace Cameron Bure is speaking out after Miss Benny insinuated the Christian actress wanted her queer character removed from Fuller House. In a statement, Bure denied she had anything to do with the 24-year-old’s arc on the show.
“I never asked Miss Benny’s character to be removed from Fuller House and did not ask the writers, producers or studio executives to not have queer characters on the show. Fuller House has always welcomed a wide range of characters,” Bure tells Yahoo Entertainment on Friday. “I thought Miss Benny did a great job as ‘Casey’ on the show. We didn’t share any scenes together, so we didn’t get a chance to talk much while filming on set. I wish Miss Benny only the best.”
The 47-year-old’s response came after Miss Benny’s TikTok about her experience on Fuller House went viral — here’s a rundown of what’s going on.
Miss Benny claimed ‘one of the Tanner sisters’ was unwelcoming on set
The popular social media star played Casey, the first openly gay character in the Full House world, on the Netflix revival. Miss Benny, who came out as transgender last month, responded to a fan asking if Bure “was homophobic.”
“One of the Tanner sisters is like very publicly, uh, not for the girls, if that makes sense. I remember I got sat down by the writers and the studio to basically warn me how this person allegedly was trying to get the character removed and not have a queer character on the show,” Miss Benny shared.
“I was also sort of warned and prepared that this person’s fanbase might be encouraged to target me, specifically,” she continued. “The fact that this teenage actor who’s coming in to make jokes about wearing, like, a scarf is suddenly a target from an adult is crazy to me. So, to this day, despite working on the show every day for two weeks straight, I have only had a conversation with one of the Tanner sisters. Positive is that I had a really fun time actually shooting the show with all of the other actors who were willing to talk to me.”
Although Miss Benny, who now stars on Netflix’s Glamorous, didn’t name Bure, she included the hashtag #CandaceBure.
Bure and actress Jodie Sweetin played sisters D.J. and Stephanie Tanner. Yahoo reached out to a rep for Sweetin, but did not immediately receive a response.
Bure has come under fire before for anti-LGBTQIA+ comments
Last year, the former Hallmark Channel darling faced backlash for saying her new faith-based network, Great American Family, will produce content that features “traditional marriage” rather than gay and queer love stories.
“My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them,” Bure told the Wall Street Journal. “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.”
Hallmark, under new leadership, had been featuring more progressive storylines as the network released its first original holiday film featuring an LGBTQ love story. Bure declined to specifically address why she left Hallmark, but shared: “It basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership.”
Bure said same-sex couples will not be highlighted at GAF, adding, “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”
The comments made headlines with actress Hilarie Burton calling Bure a “bigot.” It also reignited her feud with queer star JoJo Siwa — who previously indicated that Bure was the rudest celebrity she’d ever met.
Bure responded to the uproar in a statement
The actress, never one to shy away from her faith, said she has great “affection for all people” but didn’t necessarily walk back her comments.
“All of you who know me, know beyond question that I have great love and affection for all people. It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone. It saddens me that the media is often seeking to divide us, even around a subject as comforting and merry as Christmas movies. But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised. We need Christmas more than ever,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I am a devoted Christian. Which means that I believe that every human being bears the image of God. Because of that, I am called to love all people, and I do. If you know me, you know that I am a person who loves fiercely and indiscriminately. My heart yearns to build bridges and bring people one step closer to God, to love others well, and to simply be a reflection of God’s huge love for all of us.”
She added, “To those who hate what I value and who are attacking me online: I love you. To those who have tried to assassinate my character: I love you. To everyone reading this, of any race, creed, sexuality, or political party, including those who have tried to bully me with name-calling, I love you.”
