Welp, it looks like Twitter is circling the drain, and most tech engineers are now saying that Twitter won’t exist in any functional form by the end of next week. It might become completely dysfunctional by the end of the weekend by the way things are going right now. So how did we get here? Three weeks of Space Karen’s leadership, basically. On Tuesday, Elon Musk sent an office-wide memo telling all remaining Twitter employees that they would need to sign a loyalty oath – promising to work 16-hour days and be “hardcore” – or else they would be let go and would receive three months’ compensation. As you can imagine, many employees refused to sign the oath of Space Karen. It was so bad that by the end of business Thursday, there was a mass exodus and Musk maybe locked himself out of the building too?

Hundreds of Twitter’s remaining employees have resigned ahead of Elon Musk’s “extremely hardcore” cultural reset of the company, according to internal Slack messages seen by The Verge and employee tweets.

The fresh purge of Twitter’s ranks comes after Musk recently fired dozens of employees who criticized or mocked him in tweets and internal messages. Musk then set a deadline of 5PM ET on Thursday for all employees to respond “yes” on a Google form if they want to stay for what he is calling “Twitter 2.0;” otherwise, today would be their final day of work and they would receive a severance package. After the deadline hit, hundreds of employees quickly started posting farewell messages and salute emojis in Twitter’s Slack, announcing that they had said no to Musk’s ultimatum.

Twitter had roughly 2,900 remaining employees before the deadline Thursday, thanks to Musk unceremoniously laying off about half of the 7,500-person workforce when he took over and the resignations that followed. Remaining and departing Twitter employees told The Verge that, given the scale of the resignations this week, they expect the platform to start breaking soon. One said that they’ve watched “legendary engineers” and others they look up to leave one by one.

“It feels like all the people who made this place incredible are leaving,” the Twitter staffer said. “It will be extremely hard for Twitter to recover from here, no matter how hardcore the people who remain try to be.”

Multiple “critical” teams inside Twitter have now either completely or near-completely resigned, said other employees who requested anonymity to speak without Musk’s permission. That includes Twitter’s traffic and front end teams that route engineering requests to the correct backend services. The team that maintains Twitter’s core system libraries that every engineer at the company uses is also gone. “You cannot run Twitter without this team,” a departing employee said.

Several members of Twitter’s “Command Center” team, a group of engineers that is on call 24/7 and acts as the clearing house for problems internally, also tweeted about their departures. “If they go down, there is no one to call when shit breaks,” said a person familiar with how the team operates. The team that manages Twitter API for developers has also been severely gutted.

[From The Verge]

Musk was seemingly surprised by just how many people resigned, and it’s rumored that he was trying to persuade many to stay on. He also suddenly softened on work-from-home options too, but then Musk ordered the Twitter HQ closed and disabled employees’ badges. There are rumors that Musk was/is worried about employee “sabotage,” which is pretty funny considering what he’s f–king done in the past three weeks.

Anyway, I haven’t figured out where I’m going next, social media-wise. I have an Insta but I never post anything there. I’ll still be on Twitter until the literal wheels come off and the platform becomes utterly unusable. After that, IDK! You can always find me here though.

A scrolling message outside Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters has called @elonmusk a “lawless oligarch, space Karen, mediocre manchild, worthless billionaire” and more @6NewsAU pic.twitter.com/PyXz0YaZmF

— Leonardo Puglisi (@Leo_Puglisi6) November 18, 2022

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

This is a real end of an era for the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelosi will not seek a leadership position within the House for the next session of Congress. The Republicans took back the House by a very slim margin in the midterms, so Pelosi will no longer be Speaker of the House anyway. But even when Democrats were in the House minority in the past twenty years, Pelosi was one of the most respected and efficient Democratic leaders. She was always able to keep the Democratic caucus in line, she stood up to Republican presidents, she shaped Democratic politics and policies for several generations and she – alongside Joe Biden, arguably – had the most institutional memory of how Washington works.

Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House, who helped shape many of the most consequential laws of the early 21st century, said Thursday that she will step down after two decades as the Democratic Party’s leader in the chamber.

“With great confidence in our caucus I will not seek re-election to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” Pelosi said in a speech on the House floor.

Pelosi was speaker from 2007 to 2011 and returned to the top job in 2019. She announced her decision just a day after NBC News and other news outlets projected that Republicans had flipped control of the House in last week’s midterm election, sending Pelosi and the Democrats back to the minority.

More personally, just weeks ago, her husband of nearly 60 years, Paul Pelosi, survived an assault by a hammer-wielding intruder at the family’s home in San Francisco.

Pelosi won’t be leaving Congress after she won her 19th term last week. She is expected to remain, at least temporarily, given the GOP’s razor-thin majority.

As Pelosi took the mic, the chamber was packed with Democratic lawmakers, while the Republican side of the aisle was largely empty — a symbol of how politics have changed over Pelosi’s 3½ decades in the House. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., did not attend or watch the speech, citing “meetings,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was present. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., crossed the Capitol to watch Pelosi speak, while the front row on the Democratic side of the chamber was filled with fellow female lawmakers from California.

[From NBC News]

It’s likely that Hakeem Jeffries will take Pelosi’s place as House Minority Leader, and with Pelosi staying in the House, she will likely use this time to mentor Jeffries and other House Democrats. While some of the Democratic caucus grumbled about Pelosi, her age or her methods, no one can deny that she was deeply respected and she held the caucus together for decades, through thick and thin. One of her most awe-inspiring moments was on January 6th, 2021, when she rode out the insurrection and used her cell phone to keep the government together, to call in the calvary by contacting governors, by speaking to the SecDef and the Joint Chiefs and telling VP Pence not to let anyone know his location.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Cover Images.

I haven’t tried to get concert tickets for a super popular artist in years, but Taylor Swift fans have had a terrible time of it this week. Next year, she’s touring for the first time since 2018 and it’s been nearly impossible for fans to get tickets due to issues with Ticketmaster. The pre-sale, with Ticketmaster’s “Verified Fans” category and various other entry points, was a such a fustercluck that last night Ticketmaster canceled today’s public sale, saying there weren’t enough tickets left. Poor Swifty fans. Just before the public sale was canceled, Senator Amy Klobuchar wrote a letter to Ticketmaster stating her concern about the lack of competition in the ticket sales industry and the negative impact that has on customers.

In the wake of widespread problems around Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen tour on-sales, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, has written a letter to Ticketmaster raising concern about the lack of competition in the ticketing industry and the service it provides to consumers.

Widespread complaints about astronomical prices, long wait times and crashing computer servers plagued the first day of ticket sales for Swift’s 2023 tour on Tuesday, further rocking an industry that has been saddled with accusations of problematic business practices for many years. Ticketmaster, which is by far the dominant ticketing business in the country, has been particularly criticized.

“I write to express serious concerns about the state of competition in the ticketing industry and its harmful impact on consumers. Reports about system failures, increasing fees, and complaints of conduct that violate the consent decree Ticketmaster is under suggest that Ticketmaster continues to abuse its market positions,” Klobuchar (D-Mn.) wrote to Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation.

“Ticketmaster’s power in the primary ticket market insulates it from the competitive pressures that typically push companies to innovate and improve their services. That can result in the types of dramatic service failures we saw this week, where consumers are the ones that pay the price,” Klobuchar’s letter continued.

But Klobuchar’s chair position and history with the live entertainment industry bring a new element to the situation. She was a key leader in the “Save Our Stages” campaign that brought $16 billion in federal pandemic relief to independent music venues and theaters, and in April 2020, she and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) urged the Department of Justice Antitrust Division to take action to ensure small and independent venues can compete on a level playing field in the live entertainment marketplace.

[From Variety]

Senator Klobuchar’s letter was published in its entirety in the Variety article. And there are no lies detected there. Ticketmaster has been a total racket for years, probably since it merged with Live Nation back in 2010. The fees are insane, tickets are bought up and resold for even higher prices so fast, it’s basically a huge problem. And even as just an occasional concertgoer, I’ve received over the years random credits and discounts due to class action suits that others have pursued. Like, why has there ever been a “processing fee” and “service charge” and they’re higher than ever even though everything is online and paper tickets have been phased out? To fleece the customers, that’s why. The lack of competition has just allowed Ticketmaster to get bigger and more expensive without making any improvements because they’re the only option. The article also notes that a couple of years ago Senators Klobuchar and Blumenthal “called on the DOJ Antitrust Division to investigate the state of competition in the ticketing marketplace, given news reports that Ticketmaster-Live Nation was not adhering to the conditions of the antitrust consent decree governing its merger.” Sounds like continuing or another investigation is in order.

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Here are more photos from the Princess of Wales’s trip to a Ukrainian Community Center in Reading on Thursday. This is the second time in a month she’s worn that £460 Max&Co coat, which is strikingly similar to a famous camel coat worn by the Duchess of Sussex. Kate’s polka-dotted, high-collar dress is from LK Bennett and it retails for £279. She also wore her favorite Annoushka Pearl Drop earrings. She brought a photographer with her and then the photos were distributed to media outlets after some Photoshop elves worked on them.

This was the second time Kate has visited a Ukrainian center. The first time, she went to a Ukrainian center with William, and he made a complete ass out of himself. He apparently expressed shock that people were seeing war on European soil and that British people “were more used to seeing conflict in Africa and Asia.” He also said: “It’s very alien to see this in Europe. We are all behind you. We feel so useless.” When one volunteer thanked William for coming, he said: “I’m sorry we can only come and give words…we can give you the odd smile here and there…” Keep in mind, on that visit, Kate actually did bring granola bars and brownies for the volunteers. On Thursday, she showed up empty-handed, even though the director of the center literally greeted her with bread and salt. THEY were giving HER something. From the Times:

The Princess of Wales comforted a Ukrainian mother who wept as she described how she fled the horrors of the war with Russia.

“I wish we could do more” said the princess during a meeting with families at the Reading Ukrainian Community Centre. Praising their bravery, she said: “You’re showing a resilience, I’m overwhelmed by how strong you all are.”

Galina Bolebrukh, 39, who arrived in the UK with her mother Iryne and three-year-old son Renat, wiped away a tear as she told the princess how she fled Ukraine with her family and a few clothes. Kate placed her hand on her own heart and said: “I wish we could do more.” Later she told the mother, whose husband remained in Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion: “Everything you’ve experienced is so understandable.”

The centre has been the hub of the Ukrainian community in Berkshire for years but has now focused much of its efforts in supporting Ukrainians arriving in the UK, and delivering medical equipment and humanitarian aid to those on the front line. The princess posed for a picture with Bolebrukh’s son on her lap and did the same with another little girl.

When Kate arrived she was greeted by a group of officials led by the centre’s chairman Antonio Gresko, and after receiving the traditional Ukrainian welcome gifts of bread and salt, she told the group “having a charity centre like this is a lifeline”.

She chatted to groups of Ukrainian families sitting at tables in the centre, home to the Berkshire branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, the country’s largest representative body for Ukrainians and people of Ukrainian descent. She sympathised with a group of women, telling them: “It’s still all going on and you have loved ones and family in Ukraine, they still see the horrors of war every day.”

The Royal Foundation had a virtual meeting with Zelenska’s team last week to discuss working together on a mental health strategy to address the impact the conflict is having upon the mental wellbeing of Ukrainians.

[From The Times]

One, that must have been the “phone call” on the Court Circular last week – a call between “the Royal Foundation” and Olena Zelenska’s office. Two, she’s telling refugees “I wish we could do more” after showing up empty-handed at their community center? She literally has a royal foundation at her disposal! She wishes she could do more? Bitch, DO MORE. Rent a U-haul and fill it with nonperishable food, paper towels, soap, adult clothes, kids’ clothes, shoes, socks, gift cards to local shops and disposable cell phones. Literally send out a press release telling people how to donate to Ukrainian charities!! For f-cks sake, Kate. Stop looting the dead queen’s jewelry and actually DO something.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.

This is a terrible story. The only good part about it is that no one was physically hurt. Denise Richards and her husband, Aaron Phypers, were driving to a studio for Denise to film something last Monday when they noticed a van aggressively tailgating them. When the driver pulled alongside their truck, Aaron rolled the window down to see what the driver’s deal was. The other guy claimed Aaron cut him off. Aaron apologized but the guy wouldn’t back down. So Aaron drove off. But when Denise and Aaron arrived at the studio, they saw the guy had actually shot their truck.

Denise Richards is “very shaken up” after her vehicle was shot at during a road rage incident in Los Angeles, PEOPLE confirms.

The 51-year-old actress and her husband Aaron Phypers were driving to Popsicle Studio in Los Angeles, where Richards was filming for an upcoming project, when the scary shooting incident happened on Monday.

According to the source, Richards was riding in the passenger seat of their Ford F-150 Shelby pick-up truck while Phypers, 50, was behind the wheel.

As the couple headed to the one-day movie shoot in South Los Angeles, Phypers noticed that a gold and maroon van was following them. “[Aaron] could tell — he kept making rights because they were clearly being followed,” the source says. “The guy was obviously pissed behind him.”

“The van was on his tail, pushing him almost… they couldn’t figure it out,” the source continues, noting that Richards and Phypers were both “frantic” over the situation.

Eventually, the van pulled up to their left and Phypers rolled down his window to confront the driver. During their exchange, the source says the man “went off of them” and claimed Phypers cut him off.

Though Phypers apologized, the man continued to yell at them so Phypers drove off, according to the source. It wasn’t until the couple got to set that they realized the man had shot the back of their truck. Thankfully, nobody was injured in the incident.

“The guy had taken off by then, but when they realized the car was shot, they were really freaked out, and the production secured the scene,” the source says. “Even though they were upset, [Richards] decided to stay and film. Her role was just a one-day deal.”

“The production company made her feel safe but they didn’t file a police report,” the source adds. “They think now that people were after the car itself because it’s worth a lot of money.”

[From People]

I don’t think the van driver was after their truck. This type of thing happens all the time in LA. People get irrationally angry on the roads and absolutely have to make the person they’re mad at ‘pay’. Half the time you didn’t know you did something wrong or didn’t mean to. Two drivers will endanger an entire freeway of drivers just to get back at each other. We call it Gotcha Last and alert whoever’s driving if we see it going on because that’s how you end up in a ditch as an innocent bystander. Aaron was right to drive off, nothing was going to calm that guy down and obviously meant to use the gun he had on him – thank gawd it was only the truck that got harmed.

And while almost anyone who lives in LA has had a similar experience, minus the bullet hole – OMG!, we don’t have to deal with the second half of this story. So word got out about the incident. And people have opinions about Denise. Those things should not be mutually exclusive, but social media brings out the worst. Some troll tweeted, as in publicly put it out there, that they wished the bullet had grazed Denise’s neck instead.

In a since-deleted tweet from Tuesday, November 15, the commentator replied to news that Richards and husband Aaron Phypers‘ car was shot at, writing, “Don’t care kinda hope she would have taken a grazing shot to the neck honestly.”

Richards, 51, for her part, addressed the public hate, tweeting, “Thank you. I would never wish any harm on anyone. What I experienced yesterday with my husband, not that you care. Was the most terrifying situation I have ever been in. I’m sorry a shot didn’t graze my neck … a—hole.”

[From Us]

Again, I have no doubt that Denise and Aaron were definitely “shaken up” and calling the incident “terrifying” is not an exaggeration. Who reads a story about people being terrorized like this and posts they wish the two had been tortured more? Denise and Aaron were driving a truck, that’s it. At worst, they cut someone off and it sounds unintentionally. I’m glad they are both safe. If neither the van driver or the tweeter are brought to justice, I hope they sit on chairs with wet seat cushions while a bird poops on their heads. Shame on them.

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Nicholas Hoult ended up being one of the best-looking and most talented actors of his generation, right? What’s crazy is that he also seems like a genuinely nice and low-key guy. He’s been with Bryana Holly for years and they have a four-year-old son together. We rarely see or hear anything about Hoult and his life, and he really doesn’t do much press for his projects either. Well, Hoult is currently promoting The Menu, where he plays a very rich foodie, the kind of guy who goes to crazy-expensive restaurants and takes photos of his food. Talking about food is apparently the gateway to getting Hoult to talk about his personal life. Some highlights from People:

He’s not a foodie: “I’m a trash can, I eat anything and everything. (I’m) not picky at all. Although I think within the last 12 hours, I have become obsessed with baking.” Hoult, who splits his time between London (where he’s finishing up filming season 3 of Hulu’s The Great) and Los Angeles, has found comfort in the kitchen, even whipping up “a Japanese sweet bread and a cinnamon crunch loaf” in the same day.

He does love to cook: “I do quite enjoy cooking when I’m not working. When I’m working, I just don’t cook at all basically, and then when I get time off I like to putter around in the kitchen. I’m not very good, but I like to do it.”

He cooks for his 4-year-old son with model Bryana Holly. “You know what? You get honest, instant feedback from a 4-year-old. He will turn straight around, and he’s like, ‘This isn’t very good, Dad.’ But then when you do get it right and you cook something great, you get a big thumbs-up. It’s a great age.”

He doesn’t photograph his food: “Do you ever really look back at those (food) photos? It’s like when people spend like 10 minutes recording at a concert, and you’re like, ‘Really? You’re actually going to watch that whole thing back with the terrible sound on of your phone?’ Probably not, right?”

[From People]

I like him so much more now that I know he cooks and bakes. I think bakers are exceptional people – it takes patience, a scientific mind and kindness to be a good baker. I bet he’s a good partner and a great father. Let me have this!!

Anya Taylor-Joy has also been talking about food and cooking during promotion – she told Page Six that she can barely boil water and cooking “doesn’t really interest me…I’m not going to lie to you. I feel like we have delivery, we have takeout.” I can cook, but I do get a lot of takeout as well, so I feel her on that.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Robin Platzer/Twin Images/Avalon and Cat Morley/Avalon.

The Emancipation trailer is very heavy. Will Smith & Antoine Fuqua did all of that and the Academy will ignore them too. [Pajiba]
OMG, I love Jodie Turner Smith’s cow coat. [GFY]
Jay Pharaoh confirms, second hand, that Pete Davidson is well-endowed. [OMG Blog]
Kevin Spacey has been hit with seven more charges of sexual assault. [Dlisted]
Michael B. Jordan shows up for Jonathan Majors. [LaineyGossip]
Lizzy Caplan’s clown collar is a choice. [Tom & Lorenzo]
Martha Stewart’s pumpkin swirl cheesecake recipe. [JustJared]
Culture differences people experience only in America? [Buzzfeed]
Someone paid over $200K for Steve Jobs’ used Birkenstocks. [Towleroad]
Where are MTV’s ‘Rich Girls’ now? [Starcasm]
Record snowstorm disrupts the Bills game? [Egotastic]
The mascots for the 2024 Paris Olympics are… phryges. Hats? [Gawker]

A few days ago, the Telegraph published a very off piece of royal analysis – by someone named Simon Heffer – about what King Charles can and should do in the next year. There’s some stuff about how Charles needs to be careful to keep his nose out of politics and stay silent about the environment and the cost of living crisis in particular. Then the analysis takes a very weird turn when Heffer assesses what will happen in January 2023, namely the publication of Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare. Read this curious passage:

The great private concern is the Duke and Duchess of Sussex: not just the prospect of Prince Harry’s memoir, due out 10 January and currently of an uncertain degree of toxicity, but also the effect it is already having on the upper echelons of the Royal family. The Prince of Wales is reported to be appalled at his brother’s general behaviour, and that the book is going to appear at all. Although someone who knows Prince William says he can be “a self-righteous and spoilt little —–”, there is no doubt he has the best interests of The Firm at heart in deploring the Duke’s conduct.

Former friends of the Duke struggle to believe he will enjoy living in exile in America for very much longer, or that he foresaw any of the growing consequences of his exile.

From afar, the King must manage his younger son. Courtiers feel he would welcome him, and the Duchess, back to these shores to live permanently – unless the book is indeed deeply damaging, in which case bridges may finally have been burnt. They are less convinced that the Prince of Wales would accept a reconciliation and this could pose another problem for the King. The moment when he comes at last to read his younger son’s book is likely to be by far the most challenging of the year ahead. His response to it will demonstrate not just how good a father, but how good a King, our new monarch is.

[From The Telegraph]

While this is not the first time we’ve heard something similar – oddly enough, Katie Nicholl said a version of this in her most recent book – it’s f–king notable that Heffer is really saying it pretty plainly. William is a self-righteous brat but right now, he’s being backed by the establishment because no one knows how bad Harry’s book is going to be. King Charles’s dream is to somehow convince Harry and Meghan to come back, but then spoilt pr-ck William will throw a tantrum if it happens. Note to all: it won’t happen. The gossip around Spare will probably be the last gasp of the “will the Sussexes ever return” conversation. Harry and Meghan live in a huge mansion right by the ocean, they’re making millions of dollars a year and they don’t have to deal with the bitter prigs of the British establishment on a daily basis. They are living their dream.

“Former friends of the Duke struggle to believe he will enjoy living in exile in America for very much longer, or that he foresaw any of the growing consequences of his exile.” I wonder if those are the same friends who said a bunch of racist sh-t about Harry’s wife?

At some point, these people have to start asking themselves why is it that King Charles is so eager for his “prodigal son” to return, and why is William still in such a f–king snit about it?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

The Princess of Wales did a surprise event today in Reading. She went to the Ukrainian Community Centre, a place where medical and humanitarian aid is coordinated to Ukraine in their war with Russia. Kate and William visited a different Ukrainian community center months ago, and Kate made a big deal of bringing brownies to the volunteers. Today, she was empty handed. But don’t worry, she was keen! Apparently, one of her new issues is “talking about Ukrainian mental health.” While I would never underestimate the trauma and mental health crisis faced by Ukrainians at this time, I don’t think they need Kate turning up in her Meghan cosplay and gurning furiously for a photo-op. Kate’s coat is Max & Co, which retails for £460. Looks a lot like the coat Meghan wore to Canada House in January 2020. Maybe Kate wanted the comparison because she’s plotting her own Kexit.

The Princess of Wales is meeting Ukrainian families who have fled to the UK since the Russian invasion. During her visit to the Ukrainian Community Centre in Reading, the princess is hearing from volunteers helping refugees to settle in Berkshire Their work includes educational classes for children as well as providing support with employment and housing.

The centre has also been involved in delivering medical and humanitarian aid to the frontline in Ukraine. The centre, which is part of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB), has been helping Ukrainians arriving in the UK since the start of the invasion.

The princess heard how volunteers run weekly coffee mornings to maintain a sense of community among the families. She was told about the practical advice and support around topics such as employment and housing, as the displaced families settle into life in the UK. The princess is also joining children taking part in an art session.

The centre’s art workshops help provide a way for the children to have fun, build friendships and express their emotions and experiences.

[From BBC]

Remember when Prince William was taking credit for inventing “Impact Days” in which he and Kate would visit a charity and organize a donation to the charity to coincide with their visit? Whatever happened to that? Because this community center is doing great work and it would have been amazing for Kate’s visit to be packaged with a donation from the Royal Foundation, plus Kensington Palace releasing information on other people can donate time, money and resources. Kate should have come to the center with bags full of clothes and food. Oh well.

As I always say, she loves polka dots because they’re “fabric buttons.”

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As we’ve been discussing all week, Candace Cameron Bure gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal about her position as chief creative officer of the Great American Family network, a channel which was created because Candace and her fundamentalist Christian allies thought that the Hallmark Channel had turned into a den of homosexual depravity. For most people, the Hallmark Channel is still producing some of the sappiest, most wholesome content out there, but Hallmark acknowledges that LGBTQ folks exist. This upsets Candace, and she said so explicitly, that GAF’s focus is on “traditional marriage,” meaning… no representations of LGBTQ people or their love stories. Hilarie Burton, JoJo Siwa and others have called out Candace over her bigotry and homophobia, which means it’s time for Candace to assume a posture of martyrdom and cry about how Jesus would be on her side.

Candace Cameron Bure claims people are trying to “assassinate her character” and is blaming the media for using her controversial marriage comments to “fan flames of conflict and hate.”

“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 tells Page Six in a lengthy statement via her rep on Wednesday.

“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.”

The “Full House” alum went on to address the media, as well as “those who hate what I value and who are attacking me online” and people trying to “assassinate my character.”

“I have a simple message: I love you anyway,” she says, adding “To everyone reading this, of any race, creed, sexuality, or political party, including those who have tried to bully me with name-calling, I love you.”

In her statement on Wednesday, she also says she’s “grateful” to be part of the Great American Family network and clarified comments she claims were omitted from the Wall Street Journal article.

“I had also expressed in my interview, which was not included, 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 I encourage and fully support,” she says in her statement. “I’ve never been interested in proselytizing through my storytelling, but in celebrating God’s greatness in our lives through the stories I tell.”

She ended her statement by praising God and saying that “He will be reflected in everything I do and say. In the sole motivation of pure love, I hope you’ll join me in sharing God’s hope for all the world this Christmas season. Call that my Christmas wish.”

[From Page Six]

She literally spoke about leaving Hallmark to work for GAF explicitly because GAF will focus on telling Christian stories and stories about “traditional marriage.” We didn’t pull that out of thin air and it wasn’t a dog whistle, she really said: no gay marriage on GAF, with the explicit subtext of “lgbtq folks aren’t part of MY Christian network!” My guess is that advertisers probably had a lot to say about GAF’s chief creative officer in recent days, huh? That’s sort of how it started at Hallmark too, first Hallmark let in some advertising which included representations of LGBTQ life, then they stuck by those commercials despite protests, then they began to phase in LGBTQ-diverse storylines, and here we are. I wonder if advertisers will pull their ad buys from GAF now. Something to keep your eye on.

My favorite part of Candace’s statement is this, which you know she said with a straight f–king face: “But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised…” Babe, YOU are the toxic climate. LGBTQ people exist, they are citizens, they are consumers and they are a potential audience for your dumb churchy network and you are too toxic to accept them or include them.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.