WE’RE NOT BEING GREEDY
Chip & Joanna Fight Back Fixer Upper’s Chip and Joanna Gaines slam a report that they’re scheming for more money HGTV Gets New Blood
Were Chip and Joanna Gaines just angling for an upgrade? The Fixer Upper stars shocked millions of fans on Sept. 26 when they announced they are ending their HGTV home renovation show after the upcoming fifth season. But an Oct. 9 New York Post report claims that was simply a shrewd business move. According to the paper, Chip, 42, and Joanna, 39, decided to leave because of the “horrible” contract with Scripps, HGTV’S parent company that took a sizable cut of the Gaineses’ books, endorsement deals and other projects. According to the report, the couple was hoping to negotiate a better deal from Discovery Communications, which is in the process of buying Scripps. “They are using this end of their contract as a total renegotiation to get what they want,” a source claimed to the paper. “More money, less work, more control.”
Not true, say Chip and Joanna. They simply want downtime — not more dough. Their rep fired back at the report with a statement echoing what the Waco, Texas–based couple initially said in their announcement: They want to relax and spend more time with kids Drake, 12, Ella, 11, Duke, 9, and Emmie Kay, 7. “Chip and Jo’s decision to leave Fixer Upper is truly just based on wanting to catch their breath for a minute.” HGTV also slammed the Post report, calling it “inflammatory” and “inaccurate.” And yet, some fans remain skeptical of Chip and Joanna’s motives. One Twitter user shared the Post article and wrote “as I suspected” along with the hashtag “moneytalks.” Another also accused them of greed and posted the piece and commented, “Money, money, money, money.”
That couldn’t be further from the truth, insist Chip and Joanna. “I realized the show was demanding time from me, and I needed to be giving it to our business, to our relationship and my family. [Our kids] would ask, ‘Can’t we just have a picnic? Does the film crew have to be there?’” says Chip. “It’s been a oncein-a-lifetime experience, but for us, being on TV was never the end-all.”
It isn’t the first time the Gaineses have been accused of chasing the almighty dollar. In September, angry viewers took to social media to call out the devout Christians for
signing a deal with Target, which has a trans-friendly bathroom policy many see as counter to their religious beliefs. Any criticism is sure to sting Chip, at least. “Want to hurt my feelings?” he wrote in his new book, Capital Gaines. “All you have to do is tweet at me. Those little 140-character messages can be like a hug or a dagger to the heart.”
He’ll likely face more vitriol if the pair end up making a new deal with Discovery. It’s certainly possible: Though both have insisted they want to step out of the spotlight for the time being, Joanna did leave the door open a crack. “We’re entrepreneurs at heart, so we’ll always be looking forward to what’s next,” she said recently. “As it relates to TV, you just never know.” ◼