The Right Has Turned on Two Wholesome, Christian HGTV Stars for an Entirely Predictable Reason

In the HGTV universe , controversy doesn't typically come knocking. Home renovation shows tend to follow a simple structure where an outdated space is transformed—after some budgetary or building bumps—leaving the homeowners happy and the pair of tool belts–toting hosts (it is almost always a pair) primed to take on next week's project. It's comfort TV where the formula is as blandly pleasing as the decor. So color us all surprised to learn that the two biggest and most powerful stars to emerge from the world of HGTV, Chip and Joanna Gaines, have suddenly found themselves embroiled in a good ol' Christian backlash because they broke their traditional mold, however slightly, by doing something that far-right religious bigots apparently cannot tolerate: acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people.

But while that may not seem like a big deal, it is actually an unexpected one if you know anything about the Gaineses' lore. So here's our best attempt to explain what's going on with America's favorite modern farmhouse evangelists .

I'm a middle-aged straight guy. I know nothing about these people and have never experienced the joy that is watching Joanna Gaines use oversized vintage clocks or old repurposed shutters as wall decor . Help me.

Well, while I can't help you with your heterosexuality, I can do my best to educate you. Chip and Joanna Gaines rose to fame after the 2013 premiere of their HGTV show, Fixer Upper . In each episode, the married couple showed other families through a few homes for sale in central Texas, around Waco, before choosing one to renovate and redecorate. The show was a hit, running for five seasons, and inspiring three spinoffs and a 2021 revival . The Gaineses have also been widely credited for popularizing the “farmhouse chic” design trend in the 2010s, leading to a boom in construction of giant white houses across the US The show's popularity also helped revitalize (and gentrify) Waco , and turned the city into a tourist mecca where visitors can take Chip and Joanna–themed tours to visit homes remodeled by the couple, as well as their many shops.

From this one humble show, the Gaineses built an empire. After establishing a media company they named after the home goods store that Joanna originally opened in 2003, Magnolia Market (so called because magnolia trees reminded the couple of their first date ), the Gaineses have since branched out into magazines, cookbooks, cooking shows , a line of home decor items for sale at Target , a real estate brokerage , and a television network . Yes, you read that last part right. In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery relaunched the couple's old DIY Network as the Magnolia Network, making the couple co-owners of an entire TV channel .

So what's religion got to do with it?

This is America, buddy. Religion has got something to do with everything . That's because, in addition to flipping houses on camera, the Gaineses have also been selling a vision of family life that endeared them to people across the country. Like the classic sitcom-couple trope , Chip is the handsome yet goofy handyman husband and Joanna is the responsible, stylish, and patient wife. Along with their five kids, they're an advertisement for both farmhouses and farmhouse life —a traditional, Christian way of life.

The Gaineses have made no secret of their faith, which is rooted in the local Antioch Community Church, an evangelical megachurch with branches across the country. In 2016, BuzzFeed News noted that the pair had never featured a same-sex couple on Fixer Upper and questioned whether this was tied to the teachings of their church and its pastor, Jimmy Seibert, who had preached against gay marriage and in favor of conversion therapy. The story sparked fierce backlash from fans of the Gaineses, who argued that the piece cast aspersions on the couple based not on their personal beliefs, but the views of their church. An article in the Washington Post called it a dangerous “hit piece ,” while Business Insider called it a “ bizarre…guilt-by-association ” story. (Full disclosure: I worked at BuzzFeed News at the time, but wasn't involved in that story)

In response to the article, HGTV ultimately said the network did not discriminate against LGBTQ couples in any of their programming, but ultimately, no same-sex couple ever appeared on Fixer Upper . Still, the accusations of bigotry clearly upset the Gaineses. A month after the BuzzFeed story, Chip wrote a blog post in which he called on readers to engage with people different from them, and stated that neither he nor Joanna focused on a person's sexual orientation, gender, faith, or politics. Years later, in a 2021 interview with the Hollywood Reporter , Joanna also became tearful when defending the couple from claims of anti-LGBTQ bigotry and racism . “That's the stuff that really eats my lunch—because it's so far from who we really are,” she said. “That’s the stuff that keeps me up.”

For the most part, though, the entire BuzzFeed affair seemed to teach the Gaineses that if they wanted to maintain their empire, they needed to do their best to stay above the political fray or culture wars. The result was something of an inkblot test that allowed people to see what they wanted to in the Gaineses. To religious conservatives, the family was one of theirs, while to many others, they were a tolerant couple who had been unfairly maligned.

Okay, wow. I now know more about the Gaineses than I ever thought possible or even necessary. Before I start ripping out my ceiling to expose the beams that Joanna Gaines demands to see, what should I know about what's happening this week?

Chip and Joanna Gaines got same-sex married! They led a Pride parade! They guest-judged on Drag Race ! OK, none of that actually happened. What did happen is the couple cast a same-sex couple, Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, and their twin sons on a new show, Back to the Frontier . Participating in what was dubbed a “social experiment” filmed on the grassy plains of Calgary last year , the Hanna-Riggs family was one of three to spend the summer living as if they were back in the 1880s, without technology or other conveniences of modern life. The first episode aired on the Magnolia Network (and began streaming on HBO Max) on July 10.

Speaking to Queerty earlier this month, Hanna said the show used an image of a gay couple on a flyer when advertising a call for participants, which sparked her interest. “I'm super honored that when they were choosing three modern-day families, that they did choose a same-sex couple as a modern-day family, because we are. We are your neighbors and your co-workers,” Hanna said. “It was this great, amazing opportunity to normalize same-sex couples and same-sex families.”

So, I think I can predict what's about to happen next.

Ten points to you! Yes, the inclusion of the Hanna-Riggs family upset a bunch of people who would prefer that American culture was actually stuck back in the mid-1800s. The backlash began in earnest on Saturday when Franklin Graham, the influential evangelist son of famous Southern Baptist minister Billy Graham, posted his thoughts to—where else—X. In a missive viewed more than 1.5 million times , Graham said the gay couple's inclusion in the show was “very disappointing” because it went against his views on marriage. “Promoting something that God defines as sin is in itself sin,” he wrote.

Graham's words seemed to ignite something of a right-wing firestorm online, eliciting input from some of our most influential human chudbuckets. Far-right commentator Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire called the Gaineses “ frauds ,” while his colleague Megan Basham described them as “Pharisees … publicly parading their false religion in the marketplace.” Joel Berry of the Babylon Bee blamed the Gaineses' pastor for not shunning their family from the church, while the American Family Association's Ed Vitagliano also expressed sadness and disappointment. “We aren't sure why the Gaines have reversed course,” he said , “but we are sure of this: Back to the Frontier promotes an unbiblical view of human sexuality, marriage, and family—a view no Christian should embrace.”

So, yes, none of this is particularly surprising, given the regression the LGBTQ+ rights movement has faced in recent years. A vocal conservative movement no longer seems content with tolerating queer people and has instead harnessed its political power to work to erase LGBTQ+ people from everyday life—including in their representation and inclusion in mainstream entertainment and culture. Apparently, that also includes shows where participants have to poop in outhouses .

Well then, what, if anything, is surprising about this story?

In short: Chip motherfucking Gaines. Rather than shy away from the controversy, or speak in vague platitudes as in the past, Chip spent much of the weekend on X defending the Hanna-Riggs family and criticizing the hatred they are facing from his fellow Christians. “It's a sad Sunday when 'non believers' have never been confronted with hate or vitriol until they are introduced to a modern American Christian💔,” he posted on Sunday.

Gaines accused other Christians of failing to heed the Bible's principles of loving one another and not judging others. While urging those who were angry about the show to simply watch something else, he also denied that his responses were coming as a result of any pressure from the Magnolia board of directors or because one of the Gaines children is LGBTQ. “The road 'less traveled' is the road of love and kindness and sincerely following Jesus,” he wrote . “Loving your neighbors as yourself… that's a less traveled road. Pray that we stay on it.”

Does that mean we should expect to see Chip Gaines being honored at the Eagle anytime soon?

Okay, calm down. No one is suggesting the Gaineses are suddenly card-carrying members of PFLAG. But I do find this whole controversy interesting for a few reasons. For one, it shows in very ugly clarity that the split among Christians over LGBTQ+ people is very real. In one corner, there are those who want a more inclusive—or simply tolerant—church; in the other, there are those working actively (as in the case of the Southern Baptist Convention ) to overturn same-sex marriage and exclude anyone queer from accepted society.

But it also demonstrates the extent to which many on the right who have established online reputations as firebrands rely on stoking outrage at anyone and everyone—including at people with whom they may actually have many things in common. And all this trickles down; keep in mind that when the Gaineses attended a 2023 state dinner held by then-President Joe Biden in honor of South Korea's leader (Joanna is Korean American), Joanna's Instagram comments were flooded with angry MAGA commentators. In Donald Trump's America, it's not enough to be hating privately; you have to be seen hating.