JoJo Siwa is ready to move on from the conversation regarding Candace Cameron Bure’s less-than-inclusive approach to holiday filmmaking.
The actor, singer and YouTube superstar told People on Monday that she has no plans to reconnect with Bure after she called the “Fuller House” star out for excluding LGBTQ stories from programs on the Great American Family network.
“We have not [talked], and I don’t think we ever will again,” Siwa told the magazine. “You not liking gay marriage, do your thing girl. You being religious, do your thing girl. Of course, I would want everybody to do what they want to do. But to purposely exclude someone because of who they love, that’s shitty.”
Bure ignited a media firestorm last week after an interview with The Wall Street Journal in which she explained her recent move from the Hallmark Channel ― where she has more than two dozen movies to her credit ― to Great American Family, a more conservative network.
When asked if viewers can expect the network’s holiday programming to include stories about LGBTQ people, she replied: “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”
Bure’s remark drew ire from a number of fellow actors as well as LGBTQ advocacy groups, including GLAAD. As for Siwa, she expressed her disapproval on Instagram, writing: “This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people.”
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Bure responded to the controversy by blaming the media for “using this opportunity to fan flames of conflict and hate.”
“It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone,” she wrote on Instagram. “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.”
Until last week, it appeared as though Bure and Siwa had mended fences after a highly publicized dustup on social media. In July, Siwa described Bure as the “rudest celebrity” she’s ever met in a since-deleted TikTok video. Days later, Bure responded on Instagram with a video in which she claimed to have been “shocked” by Siwa’s assessment, but apologized for her perceived behavior nonetheless.
While Siwa has no interest in engaging with Bure directly, she suggested the actor would be best served by taking the offer of GLAAD’s president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, to have a conversation regarding LGBTQ inclusion.
“Sarah is a genius when it comes to the gay community,” Siwa told People. “And I think that Candace having a conversation with her would be not only eye-opening to Candace but eye-opening to a whole world of people who might have those same beliefs.”
