For Andy and Candis Meredith, a Show on the Magnolia Network Was a Dream Come TrueUntil It Wasnt – Glamour

Despite the support the Merediths received, Magnolia Network temporarily pulled the plug on their show, stating they were conducting an investigation into the homeowners claims. A week later Magnolia announced it would put the show back on the air, declaring, We do not believe there was ill or malicious intent. According to a Magnolia Network press release, the network didnt exactly suffer from any of this bad press: More than 3 million viewers tuned in to watch programming on Magnolias premiere night, and the network has continued to thrive, with the second episode of the Gaineses Fixer Upper: Welcome Home drawing 9% more viewers than the first.

Followers, fans, trolls, and allegations aside: Despite the Merediths seeming win with the network, its hard to say there are any real winners in this story. Regardless of the overwhelming abundance of evidence in this argument, everyone appears to have suffered some degree of pain. So what do we do with that? As humans, were wired to thrive off drama and intrigue, but this isnt a soap opera were watching play outthese are real people whose real lives and livelihoods are on the line. With the stakes so high, is schadenfreude an appropriate response? Or is all of thisthe show, the fame, the trust, the destructionconstructed on a faulty foundation?

Just think that there might be two sides to every story.

The premise many of us have bought into is that anyone or anything affiliated with brands and names weve sunk our faith into must, by extension, be worthy of unmitigated confidence. Most of us are guilty of this unconditional loyalty to some degreewhether its the allegiance of wearing a beloved brands logo or the well-intentioned but ultimately disastrous investment in a business model built on manipulation (see: Amazons LuLaRich docuseries). We also now exist in a world in which we all have the ability to wield devastating power through our keyboards and phone screens. What may have, a decade ago, solely served as fodder on Yelp or a niche community message board, now has the potential to level a persons career and social standing. In a culture that has historically silenced so many voices, the opportunity to amplify concerns and critiques is critical, but the flip side is the possible fallout and backfire that can occur when anything goes out into the ether. We may not be able to dismantle an infrastructure that's both elevated influencers on the same platforms we use to praise, question, and condemn them, but we can take a step back and choose how we participate in this ecosystem. And thats a sentiment all parties involved have echoed in one way or another.

I used my platform to tell the truth, Bennion says. I used a platform where so often so many things are untruthful, or are bigger or smaller than they appear. I just wanted to tell the truth after all of the times that I knew that people were trying to silence it.

Two days later Candis told Glamour, It's okay to support people online, [but] when that support means that you're tearing somebody else down, you need to take a moment and pause. Just think that there might be two sides to every story.

Michelle Konstantinovsky is a San Franciscobased freelance journalist who has written for a number of publications including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Shape, Teen Vogue, and O: The Oprah Magazine.

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For Andy and Candis Meredith, a Show on the Magnolia Network Was a Dream Come TrueUntil It Wasnt - Glamour