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Chip and Joanna Gaines sued for allegedly altering $12.5M book deal and ripping off ex-literary agency

Joanna and Chip Gaines are accused of allegedly depriving the literary agency of fees and earnings that were outlined in the original agreement

BY ANNA MATHEW

PUBLISHED DEC 8, 2022

Chip and Joanna Gaines have been sued for over $1 million by their former literary agency Vigliano Associates (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

WACO, TEXAS: 'Fixer Upper' stars Joanna and Chip Gaines have reportedly been sued for over a million dollars by a former literary agent for allegedly ripping the dealer off his cut from their initial massive book deal. Joanna, 44, was set to write five books with HarperCollins as part their $12.5 million deal in 2017. The deal was brokered by the literary agency called Vigliano Associates.

The lawsuit claims Vigliano Associates is entitled to 7.5% of total advances, bonuses, and royalties that Joanna earns from each of the books. It further claims that everything went fine for the first two books till the couple "concocted a scheme" to back out payments for the last three books by trying to amend the contract without her former agent's consent.

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(L-R) Joanna Gaines and Chip Gaines attend the 2022 Creative Arts Emmys at Microsoft Theater on September 03, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. — (L-R) Joanna Gaines and Chip Gaines attend the 2022 Creative Arts Emmys at Microsoft Theater on September 3, 2022, in Los Angeles, California (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Joanna and Chip Gaines are accused of amending the contract in which they reduced the number of books Joanna was set to write down to four, and also allegedly depriving the literary agency of fees and earnings that were outlined in the original agreement. Also, eliminating the possibility of a sixth book, according to the Daily Mail. Vigliano said that the initial deal only applied to Joanna-authored books but the couple then tried to swap out Joanna and make Chip the author for one of the remaining books.

As a result, the deal of 5 books came down to 3 which also meant lesser pay for Vigliano as compared to the original agreement. The literary agency claims that Joanna inked a deal with a different agency for her newly released memoir 'The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters' on November 8, 2022, and is demanding his company should be paid for it instead. The document noted, "Joanna and Chip Gaines brand themselves as moral Christians who purportedly operate in an ethical manner" ... before adding, "Mothing could be further from the truth."

The couple, their business enterprises C&J Gaines Limited Co and Magnolia Brands LLC as well as their management company United Talent Agency, have been named as defendants, according to WSJ. Vigliano is looking for at least $1 million in damages and wants a trial to determine the damages to determine the earnings of the disputed book.