Part-time Durango resident Tim McClellan appeared Thursday on “Ellen,” saying he doesn’t remember having seen the desk he was accused of copying as part of a reality television show.
McClellan appeared on the afternoon talk show after being disqualified for plagiarizing the design for his final project on “Ellen’s Design Challenge,” which aired Monday on national TV.
“I’ve never heard of this designer Simon, uh, I’m not sure of his last name,” McClellan said on the show. Ellen DeGeneres, the host, provided the surname, Schacht. “And I don’t recall ever seeing that design before. But I’ve looked at millions and millions of pieces of furniture over all these years.”
On Monday’s design show, McClellan was announced as the winner.
But soon after, viewers saw the twist: “Tim did not fulfill the requirement of the final challenge, which was to create an original piece,” the narrator of the show said.
After the taping of the show, the producers said McClellan built a piece of furniture that was not original. That’s when they took the championship back from him and announced runner-up Katie Stout the winner.
The design featured a piece that looked like a table in its closed position before opening to display a desk surface, with a drawer and file shelves. Part of the challenge was to design and build a piece of furniture in just two days.
“When I was looking at the wood, the image flashed into my mind,” McClellan told DeGeneres on Thursday. “This has been very taxing on me, of course, but I’m owning it.”
DeGeneres said she might be more nervous than McClellan, which he disputed.
“Most furniture is a derivative of something because there’s only so much you can do with chairs and tables, for example,” she said. “I know you as a person would not have done this on purpose.”
After the show aired Monday night, viewers used social media to give their 2 cents.
“Tim was the winner, not the faux cow table maker. Original, I don’t think so!!” John Francoeur of Minnesota wrote on The Durango Herald website via Facebook.
“The judges should be disqualified as they are supposedly the experts. Kate’s designs, including the finale, can be found all over. Her finale piece us (sic) not new. I won’t watch this show again. Sorry Ellen but you messed up on this one,” commented Susan Joslin via Facebook.
On Twitter, people expressed outrage, many defended McClellan and some even called for a boycott of the show.
“Since when was originality a requirement to win any reality contest show?” Twitter user @woserina said.
Chip Wade, an HGTV host, tweeted his support to McClellan.
“An amazing stand-up guy with great original designs – a pleasure to work with,” Wade said.
DeGeneres said she admires McClellan’s work and plans to work with him in the future. McClellan’s furniture business, Western Heritage Furniture, is in Jerome, Arizona, near Flagstaff.
abutler@durangoherald.com
