HGTV is the small screen destination for shows about flipping, flopping and many different kinds of home renovations.
But it’s also been the destination for quite a few scandals over the years.
From huge brawls to questions over the treatment of gay individuals, we run down controversial incidents that have plagued HGTV executives and stars below…
A Stunning Separation (Getty Images) Christina and Tarek El Moussa seemed like a happy couple, with two cute kids. But click on the above headline to read how an incident with a gun led to a separation, talk of sex with a nanny and A LOT more.
A Feud with Fixer Upper? Chip and Joanna Gaines host Fixer Upper. Viewers adore this cute couple. But they came under fire after a Buzzfeed article pointed out that the series has not only never featured a gay couple, but that the pastor at the church these two attend is strongly against gay marriage and seems to think homosexuals can be made into heterosexuals.
More LGBT Trouble In 2014, the network also pulled the plug on the program “Flip It Forward” in the middle of production after it was uncovered that the hosts, David and Jason Benham, were REALLY anti-gay. A video actually surfaced online of David talking about “homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation,” as you can read more about by CLICKING THE ABOVE HEADLINE.
House Hunters is STAGED! This is really not shocking. But, in 2012, one of the ex-home buyers featured on the program said her while experience was simply made by producers. Nothing we saw was real. In a statement addressing the controversy, the network even admitted to “managing certain production and time constraints.”
A Property Brothers BRAWL! In 2016, Jonathan Scott – one handsome half of the sibling duo behind Property Brothers – was thrown out of a North Dakota bar in 2016 because he got into a fight with the bouncer when his drink was taken away at closing time.
Flip or Flop Stars Flop More drama from Christina and Tarek El Moussa, on the professional front: According to many attendees for October 2016 classes from the couple on how to flip houses, the El Moussas did not show up in person, leading to the the classes quickly devolving into a sales pitch for other of the couple’s products.
Not Loving Love It or List It In April of 2016, a Raleigh, North Carolina couple filed a lawsuit over their appearance Love It or List It, alleding that they were the victims of shoddy workmanship that left their house in an unusable state after the renovation. They also said that the on-screen personalities had very little to do with the actual work; they they were all assigned “roles” by producers to play for the show, supposedly.
Trouble for the Rehab Addict Nicole Curtis, host of Rehab Addict, said in her memoir that she hid her second pregnancy on air and then detailed a bitter custody battle with her ex. According to Fox News, she was banned from taking her child to worksites with toxins present and was warned she would face jail time for skipping out on expenses, attorney fees and missed visits between her son and her ex.
How Dare They?!? In 2013, a HGTV segment titled “Classic Fourth of July Table Setting Ideas,” suggested using a nylon flag as a table runner “so spills can be easily wiped off and the flag can later be hung with pride on a flag pole.” The Internet was aghast over this idea.
FRAUD! Click on the headline above to read more about a lawsuit filed against Chip Gaines.
Flip or Flop Forever! Despite the personal struggles of their stars, HGTV renewed Flip or Flop through all of 2017. And even ordered five spinoffs!