Neal Bledsoe, actor, standing up for his beliefs and
ending his affiliation with anti-same-sex marriage Great American Media and
Kirk Cameron’s little bigoted sister, Candace Cameron Bure:
“My life wouldn’t be where it is today without the love,
support, and guidance of the LGBTQIA+ community. From my mentors in college, to
the myriad of 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 great debt. As someone who struggled as a young man with our
society’s extremely narrow definition of masculinity, it was their community
that provided me with refuge and a guiding light when my life felt lost. And
now, if I cannot stand up for that community in their time of need, my debt to
them means nothing. So, I want to be very clear: my support for the LGBTQIA+
community is unconditional—nothing is worth my silence or their ability to live
and love freely in a world that we are lucky enough to share with them. I
cannot continue with business as usual. I cannot take comfort from, nor will I
give refuge to, those who excuse exclusion and promote division in any way,
shape, or form. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and these are
mine: the recent comments made by leadership at Great American
Family are hurtful, wrong, and reflect an ideology that prioritizes
judgment over love. I was raised as a Christian and believe in the essential
message of love and forgiveness. That said, I could never forgive myself for
continuing my relationship with a network that actively chooses to exclude the
LGBTQIA+ community. It galls me to think that some among us are still finding
ways to justify a crueler world under the cloak of faith, tradition, or, even
worse, audience share.”
Bledsoe is one of many actors who seemingly left the Hallmark
Channel for Great American Family. He made just two films for the network in
2022 before Candace Cameron Bure took over as creative director and said there
would be no same-sex marriages, or relationships on the network, just ‘traditional’
ones.
Good on Bledsoe for standing up against hate masked as
religious belief.
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