Candace Cameron Bure Denies Calling For Removal of Openly Queer ‘Fuller House’ Character

Candace Cameron Bure has an iffy track record when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. In the past, she’s been extensively criticized and accused by her peers of excluding queer people, while some have even gone so far as to publicly call her a “bigot.” Given all that, many assumed Bure was the person in question when actress and Fuller House guest star Miss Benny said on TikTok that “one of the Tanner sisters” advocated for the removal of the show’s first openly queer character (played by Miss Benny). But Bure has denied the allegations.

“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,” Bure said in a statement to People. “Fuller House has always welcomed a wide range of characters. 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.”

Miss Benny did not name Bure in her video, but the hint she provided about one of the Tanner sisters being “very publicly not for the girls” narrowed the possibilities. There was Jodie Sweetin, who played Stephanie Tanner, and has publicly referred to herself as an “outspoken ally for LGBTQ communities [and] for Black Lives Matter.”

And there was Bure, who played D.J. Tanner-Fuller and exited Hallmark after over a decade to join Great American Family — a television network she said would “keep traditional marriage at the core network” when asked if any of its holiday movies would feature same-sex couples. (After receiving criticism, Bure issued the statement, “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.”)

As for Miss Benny, her TikTok was created in response to a comment that read: “Fuller House? Who was homophobic was it Candace.” Miss Benny, in response, said, “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.”

She added: “I was also sort of warned and prepared that this person’s fan base might be encouraged to target me, specifically. The fact that this teenage actor who’s coming in to make jokes about wearing a scarf is suddenly a target from an adult is crazy to me. 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. The positive is that I had a really fun time actually shooting the show with all the other actors who were willing to talk to me.”