Chip winnings And Joanna Gaines gained widespread public attention in 2013 with the release of her HGTV reality series Fixer upper. The two, who own a home renovation and design business in Waco, Texas, made a name for themselves buying and remodeling homes on camera.
After five seasons, the Gaines family continued to expand their empire and brought the series to Magnolia Network, a sister channel of HGTV, which they oversee.
The controversies surrounding Chip (49) and Joanna (46) did not take long to emerge. The couple has made headlines outside of the interior design world, from collaborating with an anti-LGBTQ religious leader to multiple lawsuits.
Keep scrolling to find out some of the biggest controversies the design couple has gotten into over the years.
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May 2016
BuzzFeed reported that Chip and Joanna attend Antioch Community Church under the leadership of Pastor Jimmy Seibert. The religious leader reportedly holds anti-LGBTQ beliefs and believes that “marriage is the union of a man and a woman in a covenant for life,” according to the church’s website.
Seibert claimed that BuzzFeed’s report was untrue. “Not only are we not anti-gay, but we also help people discover who God is and who he made them to be,” he said Fox News. “Our hearts have always been to love Jesus, preach the Word of God and help people on their journey.”
April 2017
According to court documents obtained by Us weekly, John L Lewis And Richard L ClarkCo-founders and former partners of Magnolia Realty, filed a lawsuit against Gaines, claiming he had bought them out two days earlier Fixer upper premiered and paid them $2,500 each for their shares.
Lewis and Clark claim the reality star did not tell them before the sale that HGTV would broadcast the show nationally and “that the show prominently carried the ‘Magnolia’ brand name.” Six years later, the trio settled the dispute with an out-of-court settlement.
June 2018
Chip and Joanna settled with the Environmental Protection Agency after they allegedly violated a lead paint safety rule.
According to the EPA, the couple violated the Renovating, Remodeling and Painting Rule (RRP Rule). Fixer upperwhich requires companies to take necessary precautions to minimize lead exposure when working on homes built before 1978.
The Gaines violated certain elements of the rule, including failure to obtain EPA certification, failure to assign a certified renovator to properties, failure to provide homeowners with a brochure, failure to post warning signs and failure to comply with general workplace standards.
They agreed to pay the EPA a $40,000 civil penalty and created a video about the dangers of lead paint. The New York Times reported. Magnolia Homes agreed to spend $160,000 to reduce the dangers of lead paint in Waco homes where residents are at high risk of exposure.
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May 2021
The duo were accused of racism after they donated money to a campaign for Shannon Braun, Chip’s sister. Braun, who ran for a local school board in Texas, opposes the teaching of critical race theory in schools.
In a Facebook post, Braun said she was an advocate for “returning the focus of our curriculum and teaching to academics rather than filling the curriculum with divisive critical race theory.”
June 2021
During the original run of Fixer upper, Joanna and Chip were criticized for never featuring same-sex couples on the series. The backlash grew louder in 2016 after they filmed a conversation with a pastor who openly spoke out against LGBTQ rights.
“Sometimes I ask myself, ‘Can I just make a statement?'” Magnolia table said the author and apparently addressed the allegations in an interview The Hollywood Reporter. “The accusations that are thrown at you like you’re a racist or you don’t like people in the LGBTQ community, that’s the stuff that really gets on my nerves – because it’s so far removed from who we are really are.” That’s the stuff that keeps me going.”
November 2023
The Houston Chronicle examined the effects Fixer upper has looked into Waco and found that some residents are being displaced due to rising prices and tax increases due to the show’s popularity.
“I look at the children. They had their grandmother right next door or down the street – that’s gone. Families and friends who knew each other forever — gone,” Martie, a local, told the outlet. “This destruction of community just tears my soul apart. This is absolutely the worst possible result.”
April 2024
Chip got caught up in the social media hot streak by tweeting“Money is boring…everyone has money,” in response to the possibility of Scott Drew being poached from his job as Baylor’s head basketball coach.
X users fought back and called the tweet tone deaf. “Man, I love your show and everything, and I totally joke about basketball – but this tweet is not cool. “The majority of people in this country are worried about money because they don’t have enough of it,” one person said wrote.