The Benham brothers are calling for a show of solidarity and support for "Fixer Upper" show hosts Chip and Joanna Gaines. They are asking fans of the couple to hang magnolia wreaths to support the HGTV hosts.
It was last week when the couple, who have recently released their book "The Magnolia Story," received criticism when Buzzfeed published an article about their pastor's beliefs about marriage and homosexuality. The controversy hounded the couple, as the article seemed to imply that the "Fixer Upper" should be punished for the stand of their church.
Now the Benham brothers, whose own HGTV show was canceled in the middle of filming for speculated "anti-gay" comments, are calling on Americans to support the couple through magnolia wreaths. As reported by PJ media, the brothers are comparing it to the Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day which happened in 2012.
"With Chick-fil-A people bought chicken, and with the Gaineses people buy wreaths - it's a great way to show solidarity with those who stand for religious freedom," David Benham said.
The suggestion for magnolia wreaths was first given by Adrienne Royer. She noted the significance of the magnolia for Chip and Joanna Gaines. The magnolia holds a significance to the couple's love story, as told by Joanna Gaines in their book "The Magnolia Story."
When we first started dating, we were driving around talking. Chip saw a magnolia tree on the side of the road and pulled over, ran to the tree, climbed it, pulled off one of the blooms and brought it back to me. It was the first flower he ever gave me, and I fell in love with magnolias after that. Now we plant one in the front yard of every job we finish to remember where we started.
In the "Fixer Upper" show, Joanna likes to hang magnolia wreaths on the homes they fix, but aside from that, all their businesses have the word magnolia on them. They own Magnolia Realty, Magnolia House, and Magnolia Market The magnolia is also a Southern symbol for hospitality.
While the Buzzfeed article regarding the HGTV couple has received some support, there are those who also criticized the site for seeming to single out the "Fixer Upper" hosts but not posting stories on other popular people such as Pastor Jeremiah Wright, who was the former pastor of Obama.
