Latest news with #BibleBelt
New York Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Inside Chip and Joanna Gaines' same sex couple scandal – and whether the ‘Fixer Upper' brand will survive it
The Bible Belt is bringing about a reckoning on Chip and Joanna Gaines. The home renovation superstars sparked backlash for featuring a gay couple on their new reality show 'Back to the Frontier.' Conservative Christian leaders like Reverend Franklin Graham – son of late star evangelist Billy Graham – and podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey both slammed their decision, with Graham calling the casting 'very disappointing.' Sources told The Post Chip and Joanna have a tough position to negotiate – satisfying the demands of an increasingly diverse audience across the US and growing their network while staying true to their faith and fanbase. 9 Home renovation superstars Chip and Joanna Gaines sparked backlash for featuring a gay couple on their new reality show 'Back to the Frontier.' FilmMagic Graham was clear in his stance, writing: 'His Word is absolute truth. God loves us, and His design for marriage is between one man and one woman.' This prompted Chip to pour gasoline on the controversy by tweeting: 'The way of 'modern American Christian culture' is 'Judge 1st, understand later/never.' ' The remark was seen as a rebuke of conservative Christians, who claim the 'Fixer Upper' duo for their own. A source close to Chip and Joanna – who cast married couple Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs and their 10-year-old twin sons on 'Back to the Frontier' – says they have long been inclusive people. 9 Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs with their sons, who were featured on Magnolia Network's 'Back to the Frontier.' Sources told The Post Chip and Joanna have a tough position to negotiate – satisfying the demands of an increasingly diverse audience across the US and growing their network, but also staying true to their faith and fanbase. 2_dallas_dads/Instagram 9 Conservative Christian leaders like Reverend Franklin Graham (pictured) and podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey both slammed Chip and Joanna Gaines for the decision to feature a gay couple on their show. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post 'It's uncomfortable for a super traditional audience to come to terms with … [Chip and Joanna] don't live their life the way a traditional conservative evangelical population does,' the source told The Post. 'They've never been concerned with what people think in that capacity – they believe in what's right. 'They believe in what they believe in, if you're traditional minded and you don't believe in that, then that's your prerogative.' The TV couple – parents to five children ranging between 20 and seven in age – are active members of the traditionally conservative Antioch Community Church of Waco. 9 Graham was clear in his stance, speaking for the evangelical Christians who make up a big part of Chip and Joanne's fanbase. @Franklin_Graham/X 9 Chip poured gasoline on the brewing controversy with his incendiary Tweet. @chipgaines/X A source close to the church says this leads evangelical Christians to feel the couple are 'theirs.' 'It's the bible belt — you have a lot of conservatives, a lot of religious people. They see it as [Chip and Joanna] sold out. [Like] some LA director told them to put this gay couple in and they did it for the money,' the second source, who also once worked with the couple, speculated. However, the source also added Antioch would have no problem with the casting. 'They're a pretty progressive church. They wouldn't condemn them for having a gay couple on their show.' 9 Married couple Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs and their 10-year-old twin sons on 'Back to the Frontier,' the show which has sparked all the backlash. 2_dallas_dads/Instagram Magnolia takes Waco Chip and Joanna ricocheted to stardom with their home renovation HGTV show, 'Fixer Upper,' in 2014. It followed the pair's home renovation and redecoration business centered around Waco, Texas, where they turned run-down homes into souped-up modern living spaces. The pair soon built an empire – including a five-acre shopping complex, Magnolia Market, the Magnolia Press coffee shop, the Silos Baking Co. bakery and Magnolia Table restaurant. It catapulted the small Texas town into one of the state's top tourist destinations almost overnight. 9 Over the years, people have noticed Chip and Joanna's lack of diversity in their shows and criticized them for failing to feature LGBTQ+ couples previously. Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery 'The only thing people knew Waco for was Baylor University and David Koresh and the Branch Davidians [cult]. Chip and Joanna brought another positive aspect to Waco,' one source told The Post, although they noted success also brought a downside to the small town. 'There were more and more tourists, people got more and annoyed at the traffic. It was less convenient. [But] most people still have positive feelings about them,' the source added. After launching their lifestyle brand including books, apparel, furniture and design, the pair pulled the plug on 'Fixer Upper' with HGTV in 2017. 9 'The accusations that get thrown at you, like 'You're a racist' or 'You don't like people in the LGBTQ community — that's the stuff that really eats my lunch, because it's so far from who we really are. That's the stuff that keeps me up,' Joanna Gaines told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images The following year, they teamed up with Discovery Inc., to start their own network, born and bred in their central Texas town. They have since launched a string of shows such as 'Fixer Upper: Welcome Home', 'Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse' and 'Fixer Upper: The Hotel.' However, a third source told The Post they haven't hit the same stride and created a blockbuster like their first show. 'Their network hasn't been the explosive success Discovery hoped for. None of the shows has been a breakout,' a source noted. Fans and Faith Over the years, people have noticed Chip and Joanna's lack of diversity in their shows and criticized them for failing to feature LGBTQ+ couples, something they have previously defended against. 'Sometimes I'm like, 'Can I just make a statement?' Joanna told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. 9 The first industry source says the backlash faced over the casting on the 'Back to the Frontier' show isn't going to tear down the empire Chip and Joanna Gaines have built. 'The accusations that get thrown at you, like 'You're a racist' or 'You don't like people in the LGBTQ community' — that's the stuff that really eats my lunch, because it's so far from who we really are.' However, sources say their current spat isn't going to tear down the empire they've built. 'How they're dealing with the backlash? You have two people who feel proud to stand on what they actually believe in. It's not keeping them up at night,' the industry source added.
USA Today
26-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Key vote moves Texas closer to displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools
Key vote moves Texas closer to displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools Show Caption Hide Caption Texas school board approves Bible-infused curriculum The vote in Texas to allow Bible stories in public school course materials is part of a trend across the region sometimes dubbed the Bible Belt. The Texas House of Representatives advanced a bill requiring all public schools in the state to display the Ten Commandments in the classroom, the latest effort by conservative-led states to integrate religion into public education. The Republican-controlled House voted 82-46 to approve a version of Senate Bill 10 on May 25 after about a week of debate and several attempts by Democratic lawmakers to amend the bill to require other religious texts from Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism be posted in classrooms. Those amendments were rejected. The bill was passed with an amendment to clarify that the state, instead of schools or school districts, will defend and pay for any legal challenges to the law. The legislation likely faces legal action as critics have raised concerns over its potential violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits public schools from providing religious instruction" in a devotional manner or prescribing "prayers to be recited by students or by school authorities." Supporters of the bill have argued that the Ten Commandments are a foundational aspect of U.S. history, according to The Texas Tribune. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign the measure, which would take effect in September. The state Senate passed the bill in March with a 20-11 vote. The bill would require all public classrooms to display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments that is at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall. No school would be exempt from the bill, and schools that do not post the Christian doctrine would be required to "accept any offer of a privately donated poster or framed copy." Related: What to know about charter schools after the latest Supreme Court ruling Republican-led states push for religion in public schools Conservative lawmakers across the country have been leading an effort to spread religious teachings to public school classrooms, including introducing the Bible into reading lessons and requiring classrooms to post the Ten Commandments. In states where evangelical Christians make up a sizable portion of constituents, incorporating Bible teachings into the curriculum has gained traction, Ira C. Lupu, a professor at George Washington University School of Law who has written on religion in the First Amendment, previously told USA TODAY. In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law in June 2024 directing every public classroom to display the Ten Commandments. The law was later blocked by a federal judge who declared it unconstitutional, and was also challenged by parents and several civil rights groups. A similar law was recently passed in Arkansas, Little Rock Public Radio reported in April. In November 2024, Texas officials proposed a curriculum incorporating teachings from the Bible in schools. In July 2024, Oklahoma's top education official ordered public schools to teach the Bible, which large state school districts have largely ignored. Despite the state's Republican-controlled Legislature's rejection of his $3 million request to fund the effort, state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has insisted that classrooms would all have Bibles by fall 2025. School administrators and civil rights advocates have been pushing back, saying these mandates violate students' rights. 'Courts have repeatedly ruled that it is unconstitutional for public schools to coerce anyone to support or participate in religion or its exercise," Megan Lambert, legal director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, said in a statement in response to Walters' directive last year. Contributing: Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY; Murray Evans, The Oklahoman
USA Today
13-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump re-election puts U.S. anger center stage. Let's find a better way to cope.
Trump re-election puts U.S. anger center stage. Let's find a better way to cope. | Opinion Show Caption Hide Caption Healthcare insurance is broken. How do we fix it? The brazen murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in broad daylight in midtown Manhattan last year has open the floodgates to an outpouring of anger and frustration with the health insurance industry. In 2003, just a few years after the Columbine shooting. My then-boyfriend and I were wearing tactical black and combat boots, our daily 'angry kid' uniform. A checkout lady at the Fernandina Beach Publix made a dismissive comment about it. Standing under the swaying live oaks, I watched the red rage splotches creep up his neck. I realized that he chose tactical black every day to provoke someone. That day, it worked; here he was, fuming. He was legitimately angry for years of bullying by our classmates, teachers and school administrators. But choosing anger limited him, too. He could hate and he could fight, but then he could never build anything new there. Donald Trump resumed the presidency a few weeks ago. Whether I look at his supporters or detractors, I am reminded of watching someone I loved being consumed by weaponizing anger. Polarization — visceral dislike of the other party — is a lot like a tactical black uniform. We can hate the other side and we can fight them, but we have a hard time building anything new with our neighbors. Many Americans are legitimately angry that liberal politicians abandoned the working class for an elitist globalization strategy that gutted American manufacturing. Most Americans think their kids will be poorer than they are. Economic despair drives an opioid crisis that is swallowing whole towns. Many folks affected by those crises voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024. I attended the 2017 inauguration. There were a lot of men in tactical black. I've worked with liberal organizers fighting for basic fairness and a lot of them are consumed by legitimate anger, too. They may be heirs to the traumas of slavery or Indigenous boarding schools, or hold personal pain of discrimination. Even those wearing rainbow flags and unicorn pins come equipped for battle. I was also bullied in Fernandina, for being openly atheist in a Bible Belt town. However, as it dawned on me that my boyfriend was choosing anger, I realized I was, too. I could choose something different. Since then, I've spent my adult life working with religious communities to make sure people of all faiths (and no faith) support one another's rights to thrive. No one should be bullied, attacked or harmed for their religious beliefs — not even my neighbors who once hurt me. I'm proud of our American ideals of equality and freedom. Our democracy is battered, though, and I am downright angry about a lot of what's happening in the country now. I'd like to build something new with my neighbors and with others. The most effective way to do that is not by deepening political trenches; it's collaborating with all kinds of neighbors on issues that matter to us. Rachel Kleinfeld of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace advises that one strategy to rebuild a battered democracy is to 'Build a broad-based, multi-stranded, prodemocracy movement around a positive vision concretized in locally rooted action.' What does that look like? A great first step is to meet people different from yourself — Interfaith America has online programs, while Braver Angels and +More Perfect Union work directly in Jacksonville. Try attending (or organizing) a 'citizens assembly,' where people participate in policy development. Letters: Is a prominent vaccine denier the best pick to lead Health & Human Services? Better Together America sponsors nonpartisan 'civic hubs' that help communities collaborate to solve big problems and hold elected officials accountable. Research shows that diverse input makes better policy. Policy must account for human differences of all types if it is going to be both good and long-lasting. When we participate more directly in governance at any level, we build trust in the democratic system. When we work together toward common goals with people different from ourselves, we hate each other less. As Trump begins his second term, Americans' anger at each other is front and center. Let's put that legitimate anger to better use. Allison K. Ralph, Ph.D., is an expert in U.S. religious and ideological pluralism. A native of Fernandina Beach, she graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions.
