Candace Cameron Bure says God’s Word sustained her through cancel culture backlash 

Actress and filmmaker Candace Cameron Bure says she leaned on God’s promises in Scripture when cancel culture once targeted her, costing her friendships and partnerships. 

Bure shared the story on Tuesday’s edition of The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast, telling author Ruth Chou Simons that the well-known verse in James 1 about facing trials brought her peace. 

Bure’s challenging season unfolded in 2022 and 2023 and, although she didn’t offer specifics, it coincided with her move from Hallmark to Great American Family. In November 2022, she sparked pushback in some circles by saying that Great American Family will “keep traditional marriage at the core” and not air movies with same-sex couples. 

“It was a really hard year for me, because of some things with work and moving networks and a lot of things – bad things were said about me that just weren’t true, and headlines that were made up,” she said. “And I felt like my character was just thrown in the gutter. And I had felt like ‘I’ve lived such a life of integrity and honesty,’ and so it really hurt.”  

The controversy, she said, had real-life consequences. 

“It resulted in contract losses and partnerships that dissolved and went away, and friendships that just disappeared,” she said. “And it just felt like it was never ending – or it wasn’t going to end. I felt like I was on a witness stand for a year, and it felt awful.” 

But God’s Word, she said, brought comfort.  

“James 1 comes to mind, and it’s ‘brothers and sisters, consider it great joy when you face trials of various kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance – or perseverance – and let that perseverance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.’ 

“And so even since then, for the last probably two-and-a-half years, I have read that verse, I have chewed on that verse. I have clung to that verse over and over. It’s kind of been my anthem or my flagpole to just plant my feet on ‘consider it great joy when you face trials, because it produces endurance’ – also those trials produce the endurance of my character.” 

The support of her husband and close team, she said, helped lift her when she felt she was in the pit. 

Prayer, too, was key. 

“I’m going to pick myself up, and I’m going to trust You, Lord, that You’ve got my back, and I’m going to take one step at a time and have one conversation at a time, and I’m slowly going to go back into this,” she said, summarizing her conversations with God. “And however it looks, you know, and however long it takes – but I’m going to keep walking with You, hand in hand, God.” 

Bure is chief creative officer at Great American Family and also runs her own film company, Candy Rock Entertainment. In November, she co-starred in the Christmas movie Timeless Tidings of Joy on Great American Family.