McClellan
The next morning, with one eye closed and the other cloudy with tears, he began reading torrents of viewer outrage on social media and the HGTV Facebook page. He quickly realized that the show’s bombshell ending and heavyhanded disqualification backfired.
“If they hadn’t thrown me under the bus, I’d have never received this wonderful gift. The fan base rose to defend me, from kids to a 98-year-old woman. I was still the winner in their eyes. The show was the loser,” McClellan said. Here’s how it happened: The 45-year-old artisan, who makes heirloom-quality furniture from reclaimed wood in the abandoned Mingus High School gym, was named winner on the season’s finale. He beat out five other contestants for the $100,000 prize and spread in HGTV Magazine.
For two months before learning of his disqualification, McClellan secretly basked in his win.
He enjoyed a fantasy spending spree. “I mentally spent that hundred grand in so many ways I can’t tell you.”
That was until a call from an attorney shortly before the last episode was scheduled to air March 2. The lawyer told McClellan he was disqualified because his final piece was too similar to a console created by a German designer.
A dumbfounded McClellan asked if he could appeal the decision. The an- swer: no.
“How could they disqualify me without talking to me? I had never even heard of the designer I was accused of copying. It made no sense. They wouldn’t even tell me what went into the decision,” he said.
Asked to respond, HGTV explained the decision in a written statement: “The HGTV/Ellen production teams, as well as several experts, reviewed and evaluated numerous images of both designs and made an appropriate decision. Tim’s input would not have affected the consensus evaluation of the two designs.”
McClellan grieved alone, prohibited by contract to discuss the show with any- one.
During the final and sixth episode, McClellan was named the winner. Confetti dropped and he called the HGTV experience “life-changing.” The shocking twist came immediately afterward.
The screen went dark with the message: “ONE WEEK LATER.” A narrator explained:
“After the finale, it was discovered there was an existing piece of furniture designed by European designer Simon Schacht that resembles Tim’s,” the narrator said. “That led to the conclusion that Tim did not fulfill the requirement of the final challenge, which was to cre- ate an original piece.”
McClellan was disqualified, and runner-up Kathie Stout of Brooklyn, N.Y., was named the new winner.
McClellan watched himself win then lose in Atlanta with Chip Wade, his carpenter partner on the show and now good friend. He hoped the sympathy of Wade, who helped create the contested piece, and whiskey would dull the pain.
Neither did the trick. The on-air disqualification was harsher and more mean-spirited than expected.
“I was demonized,” McClellan said. “They went beyond calling me a cheater and a liar. I was devastated.”
He also resents the show’s depiction of the pieces. Yes, they were alike, but McClellan said HGTV elongated Schacht’s desk to match the scale of his.
“It made for good TV,” said the bachelor, whose 17-year-old daughter convinced him to appear on the show.
See MCCLELLAN, Page 7H