Maren Morris Responds to Candace Cameron Bure’s Marriage Remark – PEOPLE

Maren Morris is taking a stand after Candace Cameron Bure made controversial comments about whose stories she wants to tell on screen.

A day after The Wall Street Journal published an interview in which Bure, 46, said she intends to “keep traditional marriage at the core” of her partnership with the Great American Family network, Morris, 32, reacted with an Instagram comment left under a post shared by social media personality Matt Bernstein.

“Make DJ [Tanner] gay again,” Morris wrote Tuesday, referring to Bure’s character from Full House and its sequel series, Fuller House.

In Bernstein’s post, he slammed Bure and her comments, which many deemed as being against the LGBTQ community.

“You went decades without ever having to see an LGBTQ character on screen. Now, we’re in 1 out of 5 movies,” the first slide of his post read. “Sorry if this disturbs you. Sending thoughts and prayers.”

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Bure said that her projects with the Christian faith-based Great American Family network (GAF) — where she is a chief creative officer — will differ from the increasingly inclusive content seen on her former network, the Hallmark Channel, in her WSJ interview on Monday.

The conservative actress later responded to the criticism she was met with in a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday.

“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,” she began.

The mother of three explained, “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. … 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.”

Bure said she also expressed in the WSJ interview that “people of all ethnicities and identities have and will continue to contribute to the network in great ways both in front of and behind the camera,” which she added is something she will “encourage and fully support.” But Bure said this part was “not included” in the final story.

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Following the initial WSJ interview’s publication, disapproval of the sentiment quickly bubbled up online, with members of and allies to Hollywood’s LGBTQ community speaking out, including JoJo Siwa — who had a high-profile back-and-forth with Bure over the summer.

“Honestly, I can’t believe after everything that went down just a few months ago, that she would not only create a movie with intention of excluding LGBTQIA+, but then also talk about it in the press,” wrote Siwa, 19, who has identified as queer since January 2021. “This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people.”

Siwa’s comment was applauded by fellow Dance Moms alum Maddie Ziegler, who commented, “go off jojo!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️,” as well as by Bure’s former Full House costar, Jodie Sweetin, who wrote, “You know I love you” with a red heart emoji.

RELATED VIDEO: Candace Cameron Bure Says Backlash at ‘Traditional Marriage’ Comment ‘Absolutely Breaks My Heart’

Other stars have since spoken out, including Holly Robinson Peete, who has also starred in several Hallmark films. She noted that Bure’s comments are “disappointing but not surprising.”

“Go make the content that you want to make but why insist on castigating others? It’s the judgment for me,” wrote Pete, 58. “As a proud mom of an lgbtqia person, the traditional marriage quote stung. Proud to be on Hallmark channel which understands the importance of diversity and inclusion of EVERYONE 🌈🌈🌈.”

Hallmark star Jonathan Bennett also spoke with PEOPLE about his network’s move toward more inclusive storytelling during an appearance on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast this week. “What I love so much about Hallmark Channel is the care they take in the quality of telling the story, especially when it involves LGBTQ+ people, it’s handled with so much respect,” the Mean Girls actor, 41, said.

Emphasizing Hallmark’s commitment to elevating all voices both on camera and behind the scenes, Bennett added, “It’s just been an unwavering amount of support from the network on telling the story and wanting to tell it and letting us do it how we want.”

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