Fired HGTV Host Nicole Curtis Once Called Herself an ‘Anomaly’ at the Network
Nicole Curtis is out at HGTV after a video surfaced of her using the N-word during filming.
On Wednesday, Radar Online shared a video of the Rehab Addict using the offensive racial slur as she works on a renovation project. She then quickly asks the person filming to “kill” the footage. “F*ck my life,” she adds. The clip surfaced the same day that new episodes of Curtis’ long-running show were set to begin airing on the network after a months-long hiatus.
HGTV swiftly pulled Rehab Addict from its schedule. It also removed past seasons of the show from its streaming platforms, HBO Max and discovery+.
‘Rehab Addict’ canceled at HGTV
“HGTV was recently made aware of an offensive racial comment made during the filming of Rehab Addict. Not only is language like this hurtful and disappointing to our viewers, partners, and employees – it does not align with the values of HGTV,” the network told Deadline.
“Accordingly, we have removed the series from all HGTV platforms. We remain dedicated to fostering a culture of respect and inclusion across our content and our workplace.”
Rehab Addict follows Curtis as she fixes up dilapidated homes, primarily in Detroit and Minneapolis. The show debuted in 2010 on DIY Network before moving to HGTV. After going on hiatus for several years, Curtis returned to TV in the summer of 2025. However, the show was abruptly pulled from the schedule after two episodes. The episodes that were supposed to begin airing this week represented the remainder of the now-mothballed season.
In an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet last year, Curtis characterized herself as an “anomaly” at the home renovation channel, where the focus is often on the finished product.
“I actually do the whole process,” she said. “I’m actually this dirty …. and people want to see that because at home, most of these people that watch our show, they actually have to do these projects themselves.”
“I don’t have managers, I don’t have attorneys speaking to me,” she added. “I work directly with the executives and they have been, they’re friends of mine … So it feels good to be back at HGTV. That’s our home. That’s where we started.” She added that it was “amazing and “surprising” to still be on TV after 15 years. “We do what we can,” she said. “And if it’s four episodes every three years, it’s four episodes every three years and it’s just kind of how it goes.”
Nicole Curtis is ‘filled with remorse and regret’
Now, Curtis’ long relationship with HGTV is over. Not long after the video appeared online, she took to Instagram to share a lengthy apology on her Instagram. She also offered an explanation for her actions.
“I am sorry. I am filled with remorse and regret, just as much as I was one second after that word was said 4 years ago in 2022,” she wrote. “I show this, I say this and I realize you are getting a limited view as what has been circulating is a clip of MY footage that was stolen then manipulated, edited and sold to s tabloid to coincide with my return to television only to create this chaos of hate, anger, disappointment.”
“I make no excuse for this,” she continued. “I am not [a] victim. Nothing I say or do will take that moment 4 years ago away. I know it was wrong. This will never happen again.”
Curtis added that she was “Not OK with the fact that I said that” and that she didn’t have a good answer for why it “just easily came out.”
“I throw together words, this is documented on 15 years of tv, interviews, posts of these random words. The most famous ‘son of s beehive digger’ which took the place of SOB when I became a mommy and could not swear on TV. I’m recent years, I’ve added fart digger, fart knocker. It’s documented.”
“I have disappointed so many and that includes my children who I had to tell,” she added. “I will continue to be as I have always been —transparent and real with all of you. I’m sorry and I understand the hurt, the anger.”
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