Chip and Joanna Gaines spark backlash for casting gay couple on 'Frontier' show

USA Today

4 days ago

Chip and Joanna Gaines have landed in hot water with some portions of the Christian community.
The home improvement power couple, who have long been vocal about their Christian faith, angered some viewers when a new show they produced featured a same-sex couple.
"Back to the Frontier," which premiered this month on HBO Max and their own Magnolia Network (Thursdays, 8 ET/PT), follows several families as they attempt to live life like frontiersmen in the 1800s. Among the families taking on the challenge is the Hanna/Riggs clan from Texas, comprised of married couple Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs and their 10-year-old twin sons.
Why Joanna Gaines cried over frontier reality series: 'I'm not a crier, but I felt it'
The choice to include them was met with immediate backlash from the evangelical community as notable pastors and media personalities participated in a digital pile-on, chiding the Gaineses for allegedly shirking their Christian values.
On July 12, Franklin Graham — the powerful evangelist and son of pastor Billy Graham, one of the most famous faith leaders in American history — took to X to slam the Gaineses' decision to cast a gay couple on "Frontier."
"While we are to love people, we should love them enough to tell them the truth of God's Word. His Word is absolute truth. God loves us, and His design for marriage is between one man and one woman," Graham wrote. "Promoting something that God defines as sin is in itself sin." While same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015 in the U.S., large sects of the evangelical Christian movement continue to oppose it.
"Why are you promoting homosexuality as a Christian? Why compromise on the Bible's clear teachings on this? Why support homosexuals buying kids? Disappointed would be an understatement," Christian sports commentator Jon Root wrote in a post on X.
But Chip Gaines hit back, responding to the post with a Bible verse. "'But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,' 1 Peter 3:15," Gaines retorted. "I really felt the hope, and gentleness and respect here."
In another post, Chip encouraged viewers, especially those with his shared faith to watch "Frontier" with an open mind.
"Talk, ask qustns, listen.. maybe even learn. Too much to ask of modern American Christian culture. Judge 1st, understand later/never," he wrote on X. "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."
Chip and Joanna Gaines have long been open about their Christianity
In part by sharing their own views on religion and faith, the Magnolia founders and home renovation gurus have gained a following of their own since their HGTV show "Fixer Upper" first premiered in 2013.
Beyond their TV network, they have a successful home goods line at Target, several New York Times bestselling books and a Texas-based market that boasts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. On July 14, the Gaineses were even named guest sharks on the ABC business pitch competition series "Shark Tank."
The Gaineses rose to fame on "Fixer" in which they starred for five seasons as they renovated homes in Waco, Texas from 2013 to 2018.
The undeniable appeal of Chip and Joanna Gaines, HGTV's prom king and queen, explained
The couple has has remained fairly mum on political issues, seemingly to appease their wide fanbase.
Frustrations with the Gaineses from certain viewers, however, have been simmering under the surface for some time. The couple agitated conservative fans when they attended a state dinner hosted by former President Joe Biden with ex-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House in April 2023.
Joanna Gaines, whose own mother is South Korean, traced her heritage in her memoir "The Stories We Tell," published the previous year.
"Frontier," is supposed to be devoid of modernity, a Thursday night throwback to a time gone by.
In an interview this month with USA TODAY, Joanna Gaines said the series made her cry: "I'm not a crier, but I felt it."
"I felt this sense of peace; I felt home," she said. "The idea that these three families got out of their busy rut and got to have this experience of eight weeks together going through the hard, going through the beautiful, it was like this spiritual experience that I felt for these families."
Contributing: Erin Jensen