Right-wing and Christian nationalist media figures are lashing out at Magnolia Network owners and former HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines f
Payton Armstrong at MMFA:
Right-wing and Christian nationalist media figures are lashing out at Magnolia Network owners and former HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines for casting a same-sex couple in a new TV show, declaring that “I would never let my kids watch this filth,” claiming that the show “promotes an unbiblical view of human sexuality, marriage, and family,” and demanding that the Gaineses “repent and make this right.”
Chip and Joanna Gaines’ new show includes a same-sex couple with children
TV personalities Chip and Joanna Gaines cast a same-sex couple in their new show, which premiered on HBO and Magnolia Network last week. The show, Back to the Frontier, features three families role-playing as 1800s homesteaders, including a same-sex couple with twin sons. After backlash from conservative Christian figures, Chip Gaines defended the casting, encouraging people to ask questions and “maybe even learn.” He added, “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.” [NBC News, 7/15/25; Los Angeles Times, 7/15/25; Deadline, 7/15/25]
The Gaineses (no relation to right-wing commentator Riley Gaines) were also targeted by right-wing media figures in 2023 for their business relationship with Target, which carried trans-inclusive merchandise and rainbow-colored children’s clothing in its Pride collection. In one instance, right-wing influencer Benny Johnson shared a video of himself in a Target store, where he complained that the Gaineses “have not disavowed Target's Satanic child grooming despite the backlash.” [Twitter/X, 7/15/25, 7/16/25; Media Matters, 5/30/23; Fox News, Fox News at Night, 5/24/23; Newsweek, 5/27/23]
Right-wing media pundits throw hissy tempers over Chip and Joanna Gaines having a gay couple on their new Magnolia Network show Back To The Frontier.
