The Today Show type TV Show

Kirk Cameron wants us to all to know that he loves “all people” and hates “no one.” In fact, he’s not guilty of hate speech at all, the Growing Pains star said in an appearance on the Today show this morning. The devout Christian and father of six stopped by to talk about his new movie Monumental and try to put out the fire started by his recent controversial comments about homosexuality.

“When you take a subject and reduce it to a four-second sound bite and a checkmark on a ballot, I think that’s inappropriate and insensitive,” he said of how he unintentionally ignited the controversy. In fact, Cameron stands by his comments and insists he’s not a bully. See his thoughts on the uproar in the full interview below.

“I was surprised, frankly, that people were surprised by the things that I’ve said,” Cameron told host Ann Curry. “I have been consistent for 15 years as a Christian. I’m a Bible-believing Christian. What I would have thought was more newsworthy is if I had said something that contradicted the word of God, if I had contradicted my faith.”

When asked if his comments might encourage people to terrorize homosexuals, he responded, “Nobody should mistreat anybody. We all have our convictions formed by different things and mine are informed by my faith. They’re formed by the word of God, and I found that to be an anchor for me, a compass, and a guide for me. When people start bullying one another and calling each other names for those different convictions, then I think you get into problems.”

What do you think, PopWatchers?

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