JoJo Siwa is unapologetic for her remarks in which she referred to Candace Cameron Bure as the most impolite celebrity she’s ever met. The conflict between the 20-year-old dancer and the former Full House cast member was discussed in depth on the most recent edition of the Viall Files podcast.
The controversy began in July 2022, when, as part of a challenge on TikTok, Siwa claimed that Bure was the “rudest celebrity” she had ever met. Siwa subsequently disclosed the experience that lead her to give Bure the title. She approached Bure for a picture, but the actress declined, stating that it “wasn’t a good time for her.” Siwa later explained why she gave Bure that moniker.
Siwa elaborated on the anecdote on the podcast, stating that, when she moved away from the actress, she peeked back and noticed that Bure “was taking pictures with other kids,” something that “stuck” with her despite the fact that she was only 11 years old at the time. Siwa said that the memory has “stayed” with her ever since.
“After that, people started running with it, and everyone in the homosexual community and everybody in the LGBTQ world was like, ‘Yeah, get her!’… Her listeners tend to identify as Christians. “I think a lot of the time too LGBTQ people [and] Christian people, some of them are great with each other, and other times it’s like, ‘Let’s go to war,'” Siwa recounted when asked about the effect of her “rude” statement on the community at large. Everyone began going for her all at once. Everyone began making their way toward me. We were both taking hits at the same time.
In light of this, Bure phoned Siwa and then wrote about their conversation on Instagram, stating that there was “no drama” between the two of them at this point. Siwa is an alumna of the Dance Moms reality show.
“She dialed my number. It seemed as if she were asking, “Can we make peace out of this?” What exactly happened? She expressed her regret, and my response was, “Honestly, I am grateful that you called.” If you publish anything, I will react to it,'” It was Siwa who said. “I responded to it, whatever, fine, and then after that [the dust] settled,” the speaker said.
After the phone conversation, Siwa said that she “shouldn’t have posted that” on her social media account. As she recalled the incident, TikTok thought to herself, “She didn’t need that.” That was not anything I need. Let’s use this opportunity to improve for the future.”
Four months later, Bure found herself mired in turmoil once again when she said she was quitting Hallmark Channel for the Christian conservative network Great American Family in an attempt to “promote faith programming and good family entertainment” while preserving “traditional marriage at the core.” This announcement caused a firestorm of controversy that lasted for many days.
At the time, Siwa characterized Bure’s comment as one that was “rude and hurtful to a whole community of people.” This is something that Siwa continues to believe, and she clarified on the show that while if she thinks Bure “should do a movie with traditional marriage,” it is not what the criticism was directed against.
“It wasn’t that she wants to do a movie about that, it was that she wants to do a movie about that to put down the LGBTQIA community, and that she was going to specifically make movies that had no representation of LGBTQIA,” Siwa said. “This is fine, but it’s fine if you are doing it because it’s just your movie’s storyline and it’s just it is what it is, like… not everything needs to be gay, essentially.” “But when you’re doing it out of spite to say that, ‘Too much is about LGBTQ, you guys suck, and I want to make a movie about traditional marriage and you’re not traditional,’ that got to me a little bit,” she said, “that got to me a little bit.”
eventually, Bure addressed the situation, stating that she has “great love and affection for all people” and pointing out “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” in the films that she produces for GAC. Bure’s comments were eventually made public.
Despite this, Siwa felt that Bure’s words about “traditional marriage” gave her “a little sense of, like, ‘OK, you and her are never going to agree.'” It is not going to work out between the two of you as friends. It’s just not going to work out between the two of you.'”
It’s not going to be possible for me to alter her behavior. It is not going to be possible for her to alter me in any way. We can both simply go about living our lives. “All I ask is that you have fun with me,” Siwa remarked. “However, I do wish that she possessed the capability of being a little bit more open, a little bit more accepting.”
Following the remarks made by Bure, Siwa has come to the conclusion that she is “OK with calling her out in the way that I did.”
“For a while I regretted it, but after I found out that article about her not wanting anything to do with LGBTQIA, that’s my people,” she added. “For a while I regretted it.” “I have a responsibility to speak out for my people. That is just unacceptable.