Gold Rush Fans Hold Nothing Back In Their Opinions On Fred Lewis

Fred Lewis is a relatively new addition to Discovery's gold-mining reality franchise "Gold Rush." Lewis first joined the team in 2019 during "Gold Rush: Parker's Trail," serving as an on-site medic before starting up a mining operation of his own and becoming a central cast member throughout Seasons 11 and 12. As the series constantly reminds us, Lewis served in the military for 14 years prior to becoming a gold miner, working as a special forces medic and a green beret (via Discovery).

From what we've seen thus far, it's clear that Lewis' military experience makes the unforgiving lifestyle of a gold-miner seem like child's play to him — though, unfortunately, that military experience doesn't entirely translate to gold-mining expertise. In Season 11, Lewis and his fledgling team of gold-miners only managed to pull in a meager 6.4 ounces of gold, and he struggled consistently throughout Season 12 to keep up with his competitors. Lewis' lack of experience and frequent failures have made him incredibly unpopular with longtime fans of the series and they have not been shy about letting him know.

All across social media, fans have made it abundantly clear that Fred Lewis is one of the least likable miners on the show. Fans have attributed their dislike of Lewis to his poor leadership, mind-boggling decision making, and constant cringe-worthy references to his military history. "Anyone else fast forwarding through all of Fred Lewis' scenes?" asked Redditor u/Bruin-lb-31, who continued on to add, "I can no longer handle the inept management or incompetent workers." Meanwhile, u/Passan spoke for many Redditors when they replied, "I absolutely can not stand him injecting any and every bit of military jargon into his conversation." 

The online hatred for Fred Lewis and his crew has actually gotten so bad that Lewis himself has started to take notice. In a behind-the-scenes clip posted to the official "Gold Rush" Twitter account, Lewis decided to read off a particularly mean message that he had recently received from a "fan" of the series. "Hey Fred you suck! Your dog is ugly a**," Lewis recites, reading from his phone. "Your son is the ugliest dog known to man. It's a shame they gave you air time ..." It's clear that this particular fan did not hold anything back in their tirade against Lewis, as they finished up the expletive-laden message by writing, "You have to be ashamed of yourself to be such a loser and your family looks like they're from hell."

Though Lewis manages to laugh his way through the fan's angry tirade, this cruel, insulting message further emphasizes just how much the "Gold Rush" fanbase dislikes Lewis and his crew. But the fact that Lewis isn't afraid to acknowledge the criticism is perhaps an indication that his often mentioned military experience has given him a thick skin.