Chip and Joanna Gaines are responding to accusations of being racist and anti-LGBTQ.
The home improvement couple, who rose to fame on HGTV show “Fixer Upper,” have faced scrutiny over the years for alleged discrimination. In 2016, reports found that the couple, who live near Waco, Texas, attended a church led by a pastor that had been verbally against same-sex marriage. Last year, the couple appeared on Emmanuel Acho’s YouTube series “Conversations with a Black Man” to ask him for advice on talking to their kids about race.
The Gaineses have been remained mostly quiet about the claims, except for some messages on their brand Magnolia’s website: one where the company condemned racism and announced donations to Waco NAACP, the Waco Community Race Relations Coalition and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Race Forward, and another where Chip Gaines spoke of supporting all people no matter the color of their skin or their sexual orientation.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that published Wednesday, they addressed the accusations head on.
“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Can I just make a statement?’ ” Joanna Gaines said. “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.”
Exclusive: Chip and Joanna Gaines on latest renovation project: Their own cable network
