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‘Fixer Upper’ Star Chip Gaines Finally Breaks His Silence, Slams “Friends” After Being Slapped With a Million Dollar Lawsuit
After getting slapped with a million-dolllar lawsuit, Fixer Upper star Chip Gaines is firing back.
The HGTV star is being sued by two of his former business partners after they accused him of fraud and he is definitely not happy about it. He took to Twitter to address the claims made against him and called out his “friends” for not coming to him first before going public with their case.
Fyi: Ive had the same cell # 15 yrs.. same email for 20 yrs. No one called or emailed? 4 years later "friends" reach out via lawsuit.. humm
— Chip Gaines (@chipgaines) April 29, 2017
“FYI: I’ve had the same cell [number for] 15 [years]…same email for 20 [years.] No one called or emailed? [Four] years later "friends" reach out via lawsuit…humm,” the 42-year-old mused.
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It was the first time Chip had broken his silence after John L. Lewis and Richard L. Clark filed the lawsuit against him last week. The former business partners each helped create the Waco, Texas-based real estate company Magnolia Realty — and in the 24-page court filing, they claimed that Chip has bought both of them out of their shares before he agreed to feature the company on his hit HGTV series, local TV station KWTX 10 reported.
Chip allegedly paid $2,500 to John and Richard “before they discovered the company’s value was radically enhanced by Fixer Upper,” according to E! News. They’re seeking more than $1 million in damages because they claim they missed out on the opportunity to cash in from the company’s recent growth after Chip took full ownership.
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They claimed that when the company was founded in 2007, it only employed one real estate agent. Since the HGTV series aired in 2013 — where Chip stars alongside his wife Joanna Gaines as they remodel homes — Magnolia Realty has grown to employ more than 93 real estate agents and they operate in every major city in the state of Texas. But Chip’s attorney said that John and Richard’s claims are nothing more than just a way for them to piggyback on the success of the show.
“We are confident that these claims will be found to be meritless, and it is disappointing to see people try to take advantage of the hard work and success of Chip and Joanna Gaines,” attorney Jordan Mayfield wrote in a statement.
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