Chip Gaines defends 'Back to the Frontier' casting from conservative critics

Chip Gaines is defending the cast of his and wife Joanna Gaines' new reality series “Back to the Frontier.”

The show, produced for their Magnolia Network, features three families roughing it like it’s the 1800s, including Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, and their 10-year-old twins.

The inclusion of a gay family sparked backlash from more conservative Christians, like Frankin Graham, son of the late Billy Graham.

On Sunday, Chip wrote a post on X defending the family and their appearance on the show.

“Talk, ask [questions], listen.. maybe even learn. Too much to ask of modern American Christian culture. Judge 1st, understand later/never,” his post stated. “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.”

His post came after Graham’s post on Saturday, which read, “I hope this isn’t true, but I read today that Chip and Joanna Gaines are featuring a gay couple in their new series. If It is true, it is very disappointing. While we are to love people, we should love them enough to tell them the truth of God’s Word. His Word is absolute truth. God loves us, and His design for marriage is between one man and one woman. Promoting something that God defines as sin is in itself sin.”

Ahead of the show, Hanna spoke with news outlet Queerty about being on the show, saying it presented a "great, amazing opportunity to normalize same-sex couples and same-sex families."

He continued, "I'm super honored that when they were choosing three modern-day families, they did choose a same-sex couple as a modern-day family, because we are. We are your neighbors and your coworkers.”

“Back to the Frontier” airs Thursdays on Magnolia Network and streams on HBO Max.