Chip and Joanna Gaines are in hot water over their support of a controversial candidate.
Chip and Joanna have become beloved for Fixer Upper, their many Magnolia businesses, and so much more. They're parents to five children ranging from ages 2 to 17. Their family values are what have endeared them to so many, with their kids enjoying a childhood that is more farmwork than tech-crazed. Chip and Joanna even did the important work of educating their kids on race last year, appearing in conversation with Emmanuel Acho just a month after the death of George Floyd.
Many applauded Chip and Joanna for the surprisingly progressive move, but their endorsement of a school board candidate is now calling the authenticity of that moment into question. The two donated $1,000 toward a school board candidate who doesn't believe in teaching critical race theory. The story began to draw backlash before fans became aware that the candidate isn't just anyone, but Chip's own sister.
Chip and Joanna Gaines have found themselves in hot water with some fans after news of their support of a school board candidate who opposes critical race theory. The Fixer Upper couple donated $1,000 to Shannon Braun, a candidate for the school board of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District in Texas.
Now, supporting a school board candidate might make sense in their children's school district, but the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District is two hours north of the Gaines family home base in Waco. So why is the donation controversial? It's not about the location or amount of the donation, but the beliefs of the candidate.
Shannon Braun's campaign is, in part, focused on her condemnation of critical race theory. In one of her campaign's Facebook posts, she describes one of her goals as "to ensure GCISD students get the education they deserve by returning the focus of our curriculum and teaching to academics, rather than filling curriculum with divisive Critical Race Theory training."
The stance feels especially pointed considering that a GCISD spokesperson told NBC News in an email that "the curriculum used in GCISD does not include instruction on Critical Race Theory." It seems like she's using the issue as a platform to drum up attention and controversy around a nonexistent issue.
It's Chip and Joanna's connection to this candidate that's raising eyebrows. Though it hasn't been publicly highlighted until recently, Shannon is Chip's sister. Many fans are now wondering whether this was a show of support for a family member or a show of support for an ideology.
Some have also pointed out that Chip and Joanna could have privately supported Shannon's candidacy in any number of ways. The endorsement is featured on Shannon's website, though she doesn't disclose her relationship to the couple there.
Some note it's also a change of tone from last year, when the couple sat down with their five children and Emmanuel Acho on episode three of his YouTube series Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man.
In the sit-down, Chip showed a genuine interest in change. "How do we attack and solve a problem that I would say some people in our community don’t even understand that we’ve got?" he posed.
Chip and Joanna haven't commented on the donation. Regardless of the motivation, it's hard to ignore that it looks bad for an interracial couple with interracial children to support the idea that children shouldn't learn about race in a historical and social context in schools.
