Ellis Ross doesn’t know why episode was pulled

Tracee Ellis Ross never got an answer for why an episode of “black-ish” that covered the NFL kneeling protest was pulled — a situation she describes as “frightening.”

ABC shelved the politically charged episode in February without providing an explanation as for why.

“The details of why the episode was pulled and everything that has surrounded that, I do not have the answers for,” Ross says in a new roundtable conversation for The Hollywood Reporter. “To a certain extent, I have purposefully stayed out of those conversations because I’ve had no power to do something beyond that.

“I have asked for the information and pushed for the information that I felt would be helpful to me and constructive in what I can do with it, because I find it frightening,” she said.

The actress — who stars as Dr. Rainbow Johnson — noted that the “black-ish” cast is regularly involved in discussions about the content of their episodes.

The episode in question was originally slated to air on Feb. 22 and was expected to feature several political and social storylines, including an argument about NFL players kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest, Variety reported earlier this year.

The network’s entertainment president, Channing Dungey, contended in May that the NFL protest portion of the show was not what led to it getting pulled, and said it was a mutual decision between ABC and “black-ish” creator Kenya Barris to make the move.

Gaineses fined for lead paint violations

For five seasons, Chip and Joanna Gaines were the darlings of HGTV with their popular home-improvement show “Fixer Upper.” It turns out the Environmental Protection Agency was watching, too.

As the rural Waco, Texas, couple turned old homes into dream homes, the EPA saw a problem. The Christian couple, who have built a brand on honesty, integrity and down-home charm, were falling short when it came to their Magnolia company’s handling of lead-based paint, the agency determined.

“Video footage of Magnolia’s renovations of older homes appearing in several seasons of ‘Fixer Upper’ reviewed by EPA did not depict the lead-safe work practices normally required,” said a statement issued Tuesday by the EPA, which found possible violations in 33 properties.

The agency announced a settlement with Magnolia Waco Properties LLC, doing business as Magnolia Homes, to ensure compliance. Under the agreement, Magnolia will pay a $40,000 civil penalty and spend $160,000 “to abate lead-based paint hazards in homes or child-occupied facilities in the Waco area.”

A Magnolia Homes spokesman said the company began bringing its practices into compliance with the Toxic Substances Control Act after the EPA first made contact three years ago, according to a statement given to People magazine.

The settlement with the EPA also calls for Magnolia to educate the public about lead-based paint hazards. In March, as the final season of “Fixer Upper” was airing, Chip Gaines tweeted a link to finding “certified renovators” who could deal with questions about possible lead-based paint.

“Fixer Upper” was a ratings bonanza for HGTV, so fans were surprised last year when the Gaineses announced they were ending the show, with a final program airing in April. At the time, the couple said they wanted to devote more time to their family, which included four young children.

“While we are confident that this is the right choice for us, it has for sure not been an easy one to come to terms with,” they said in a statement on their blog. “Our family has grown up alongside yours, and we have felt you rooting us on from the other side of the screen. How bittersweet to say goodbye to the very thing that introduced us all in the first place.”