Chip Gaines and Target are learning the same lesson: straddling America’s cultural divide comes at a cost.
HGTV star Chip Gaines is facing backlash from his traditionally Christian fan base after he and wife Joanna Gaines featured a same-sex couple on their new show Back to the Frontier. The couple, Joe Riggs and Jason Hanna, used their platform on the show to highlight their experience as adoptive gay parents, celebrating it as a step toward “normalizing families like ours.”
Talk, ask qustns, listen.. maybe even learn. Too much to ask of modern American Christian culture. Judge 1st, understand later/never
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💔
— Chip Gaines (@chipgaines) July 13, 2025
The move has stunned longtime fans of the Gaineses, who built their brand on faith, family values, and Southern charm. Many expressed frustration on social media, accusing the couple of abandoning the Christian foundation that made them household names. What especially sparked outrage was the framing of the segment—not just featuring the couple, but openly endorsing the normalization of same-sex parenting as a cultural goal.
Chip Gaines didn’t shy away from the criticism. In fact, he fired back on social media:
“Talk, ask [questions], listen.. maybe even learn. Too much to ask of modern American Christian culture. Judge 1st, understand later/never.”
For many of his Christian fans, that felt like a rebuke—not of culture at large, but of them.
This latest controversy echoes the identity crisis playing out across American retail culture, most notably at Target. Once beloved for its bright aisles, impulse buys, and that “just-for-fun” shopping vibe, Target has increasingly found itself caught in the crossfire of America’s cultural polarization.
And, in CLASSIC modern worldly fasion, @chipgaines
is committing the exact version of “judging” of which he accuses everyone else! NO Chip! Scripture is absolutely clear on the “right/wrong” components of this situation. Joshua 24:15 still stands! There is no “new…— Christopher G. Adamo (@CGAdamo) July 13, 2025
From pride-themed merchandise to shifting corporate statements, Target has managed to alienate both progressives and conservatives, trying to appeal to everyone while satisfying no one. Once a place where customers could feel good about spending money on things they didn’t really need, it’s now become a political symbol, with falling stock prices to show for it—down over 30% in the last year, and more than 50% below its 2021 peak.
The overlap between the Gaineses’ current backlash and Target’s long-term erosion isn’t coincidental. Both built their appeal on aspirational aesthetics, but in today’s environment, style is no longer enough—values matter, and trying to ride the middle line has become nearly impossible.
You’ll see no hate from me. I’m just sad. I can’t let my kids watch your show now, since I’m trying to protect their eyes and hearts from the lies of the world—lies you’re now participating in.
Also, filter out some of the online vitriol and consider taking to heart some of the…
— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) July 13, 2025
Target’s problem? It can’t decide what it stands for, either economically or culturally. And while it loses ground to Amazon on convenience, Walmart on price, and Costco on value, its core differentiator—“fun” shopping—is harder to maintain in a time of locked-up merchandise, shrinking budgets, and social controversy.
Meanwhile, Chip and Joanna Gaines may soon face a similar reckoning. Their attempt to rebrand their image as more inclusive is now clashing with the very base that made them famous. Whether they’re prepared to lose core support for the sake of broader mainstream acceptance remains to be seen.
