7 Times Fans Were Not Happy With HGTV's Tarek El Moussa

Tarek El Moussa got famous on the HGTV series "Flip or Flop," alongside his then-wife, Christina Haack. While El Moussa and Haack were portrayed as a hard-working married couple transforming homes, the truth about their real-life relationship was complicated. They would split in 2017. Unfortunately for El Moussa, it would be just the beginning of his controversial time in the spotlight. 

Though El Moussa seemed to be living the high life when the audience met him, he wasn't born with a silver spoon. In fact, the HGTV star has been open and honest with fans about his troubled past, including posting on Instagram about his struggle with alcoholism. He also penned a tell-all memoir in 2024, which covered everything from the controversial 2016 incident where he ran off with a gun after a fight with Haack to his involvement with gangs as a teen. 

Thanks to a history of being candid with his audience, El Moussa's followers are often just as honest with him — just take a look at his social media comments. We're checking out the times that fans weren't very happy with the former "Flip or Flop" star. 

When you star on an HGTV show that showcases your amazing ability to flip houses, it's natural for your fans to want to learn from you. That was the case for Tarek El Moussa's fans, who lined up to attend his real estate seminars that appeared to be taught by El Moussa himself and his co-host and ex-wife, Christina Haack. The seminars, entitled "Success, Path, Education," were advertised with the couple's photo, but attendees quickly realized the duo didn't teach the classes.

Former student Doug Stephens paid for the seminar and arrived hoping to learn directly from the HGTV stars. "They weren't really teaching at all," Stephens explained to CBS News. He told the outlet that students were instructed to pay for courses to learn how the couple flipped homes, and were told that they would have access to investors who would give them cash to buy properties. In reality, Stephens shared that the homework for the first day of class was to call your credit card company to increase your credit limit. 

Ultimately, students were "aggressively pushed" to purchase more training, which could amount to $26,000, according to Stephens. "I paid almost $2,000 for the conference and I paid $1,000 for some software, so I paid almost $3,000." Haack defended their program, telling "Good Morning America," "I stand by our product. It's our tools, it's our system ... I've only heard very minimal complaints."

After finding success in house flipping,, it appeared Tarek El Moussa had a very different definition of money back in 2023. The HGTV star took to Instagram to share what he perceived as a "loss" when it came to a recent flip. In the video post, El Moussa explained a "scary" flip he recently completed. After purchasing a home for $591,000 in 2021, he went on to spend $182,800 to flip it and sold it for $800,330. It left him "a net profit of only $26,530, which is very scary when you're spending this type of money to flip a house." 

The insinuation that making over $26,000 on a house was a terrible result didn't sit well with his fans. One commentor summed up most of El Moussa's followers thoughts, writing, "I feel like this video is pretty tone deaf when you're calling your $26,000 profit an L." El Moussa, who is always interactive with his fans, wrote back, "simple math. It never makes sense to risk almost a million dollars for 26k ..." 

When a follower commented, "I understand, but don't forget that that is more money than some individuals make in a year," the star responded, "And most of the time that is their choice." Not all of his fans were angry at his post. Another follower showed support, writing, "When a $25k profit looks like a loss, you have mastered the game". 

No one could accuse Tarek El Moussa of being shy! After receiving his fair share of negative comments from fans on social media, the house flipper took to Instagram to compile a video featuring some of the gnarliest ones. El Moussa's November 2023 Instagram video kicked off with a video of him flipping homes with text that read, "When you're simply trying to teach people how to flip houses..." The video then went on to showcase screenshots of mean commentary. 

Among the comments, one that El Moussa has faced many times — the insinuation that he isn't kind to women. It read, "He is such a total chauvinist. Can't watch it. Vomit making." Another comment stated, "He shouldn't be on TV at all," while more featured clown emojis and commentary about his first wife, Christina Haack, leaving him. 

El Moussa captioned the post, "Comes with the territory, I guess. People will always have something to say about my flips, but guess what...I'm not stopping!! In fact, all the negativity gives me the motivation to keep going and challenges me to go above and beyond at every flip." He went on to promote the upcoming S2 of his latest show, "The Flipping El Moussas," alongside his new wife, Heather Rae El Moussa, proving that, despite the backlash, he was still a professional.

Being followed by paparazzi is nothing new for celebrities. But in September 2022, fans accused Tarek El Moussa and his wife of staging a photoshoot to flaunt their wealth. In the photos, Tarek can be seen clutching large purchases from a designer shopping spree, including items from Louis Vuitton and Versace. It might not have been noticed — if Tarek himself hadn't posted the photos directly to his Instagram. 

The HGTV star posted one of the snaps alongside the caption, "Got caught by the paparazzi securing all the bags [shades emoji] Just kidding they caught me holding Heather's gifts... so basically another average day for me." Fans were outraged. One follower wrote, "Humble yourselves ... people can't afford gas & groceries," while another said, "You need to delete that post!" 

Some fans accused Tarek of calling the paparazzi on himself, with one writing, "You probably called the paps on yourself." And another added, "Paparazzi [laughing emoji] I seriously doubt they just found you out shopping." 

One follower summed up most of the concerns the best, commenting, "I am all for people making it and having wonderful things. What irks me is when people are constantly showing off what they have. It's so sad. How about post about donating your time or money to help others?" This time, Tarek didn't take to the comment section to fight back. 

Tarek El Moussa is no stranger to lawsuits. In 2025, one in particular came to light that really upset his fans. A former employee of his company, Tarek Buys Houses, sued El Moussa for a myriad of claims, including breach of contract, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and assault, to name just a few. 

The Daily Mail reported that in the lawsuit, former employee Jeffrey Revoy revealed incidents such as the time El Moussa allegedly "lost his temper and threw a sandwich at one of his assistants, complaining that it did not have mustard." Revoy also shared an incident where another one of El Moussa's employees resigned and reported "inexcusable" behaviors, which included "screaming, yelling, cussing, and calling names."

Fans took to the HGTV subreddit r/hgtv to discuss the lawsuit, and most of those fans of his former network weren't shocked by El Moussa's behavior. One Redditor wrote, "This tracks. He comes across as a total hothead." Another wrote, "Tarek seems like he's always ready to pop off," and another user agreed, commenting, "Literally not surprised at all."

In June 2025, Tarek El Moussa made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he was involved in a violent incident in Las Vegas. The reality star allegedly kneed a man in the head, according to TMZ. An onlooker told the outlet the incident was "bad." Cops reportedly arrived on scene and cited El Moussa for battery, though they didn't arrest him at the time. Sources told TMZ that El Moussa was defending his father. That was later corroborated when People divulged details of the incident report, which included a note that El Moussa claimed the victim "hit his dad on the back with his hand." 

When El Moussa and his wife, Heather Rae El Moussa, shared a joint video on Instagram of their Las Vegas trip without mentioning the altercation, fans flocked to the comments. One wrote, "Got video of Tarek kneeing the guy in the head and what started it?" Another fan wasn't quite as delicate about the situation, adding, "I think your unstable qualities shine once every few years." 

On the subreddit covering El Moussa's ex-wife, Christina Haack, r/christinahaacksnark, fans were equally harsh. One Redditor referenced his controversial 2016 domestic incident when he fled his home with a gun, writing on the site, "That says alot about his temper!!! Makes the incident very believable when he left their Yorba linda house with a gun."

HGTV partnered with Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack once again for the highly anticipated show "The Flip Off" in January 2025. The only difference — this time, the show also involved El Moussa's new wife, Heather Rae El Moussa. The show put the El Moussas and Haack head-to-head, competing to see who is the better house flipper once and for all. Reactions about the series were mixed, and many took to the stars' own social media pages to voice their opinions on the exes starring together. 

Tarek took the opportunity to once again make an Instagram post out of fans' negative reactions. This time, he plucked an unfavorable comment from his account and posted it over a video of himself on set. The comment read, "You shouldn't have filmed a tv show with your wife & ex-wife it's really toxic and weird." Underneath it, Tarek wrote, "God forbid a man tries to start a family business."  

Surprisingly, despite using an unhappy note, most of the comments on the post were favorable. One follower summed up the feelings of most of the comments on the video with, "TBH I really wasn't too thrilled about the idea of the show despite loving all [of] you and the individual shows. But then I started watching it and it was great!! It made me laugh so hard at times and wonderful how it brought everyone together!!"