Hawaii-Set HGTV Show Hit With Disturbing Allegation

HGTV’s Renovation Aloha is in hot water after choosing to broadcast the discovery of human remains on a property featured on the show. 

‘Renovation Aloha’ discovers a burial site on their property

A recent episode of the Hawaii-set series shows the moment when host host Kamohai Kalama, who stars in the show with his wife, Trysten Kalama, came across the bones while working a home in Hilo. The remains were discovered in a lava tube. 

“Holy crap,” he says in “Bones on the Big Island.” “There’s bones back here.” 

The problem? The bones are considered sacred to Native Hawaiians. Broadcasting them on TV is highly taboo, noted Honolulu Civil Beat. It’s also illegal under state law.  

The discovery was highlighted in previews for the Renovation Aloha episode. Soon after, the Hawaiʻi Attorney General’s Office got a restraining order from a judge ordering the clips be taken down. However, that didn’t stop the episode from airing. But HGTV says the episode will be re-edited for future broadcast and streaming.

“We take the concerns raised by the Native Hawaiian community very seriously and are committed to ensuring our programming is respectful and appropriate,” Lynne Davis Adeyemi, vice president of communications for Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “We apologize to anyone who found any part of the episode offensive, as that was not HGTV’s intention.”

In the episode, the Kalamas contacted the police and an archaeologist after discovering the remains, known as iwi kūpuna. After determining that the remains were ancient, the couple said they would leave them in place and not develop the surrounding land.

HGTV stars call controversial episode ‘special’ 

A Hawaiian community advocate that the Kalamas could have told the story of discovering the iwi kūpuna in a more culturally sensitive way. 

“If they had not shown those images, I wouldn’t be criticizing them at all. I’d actually be praising them,” Stacey Alapai told Honolulu Civil Beat. “There’s a lot of creative ways you can tell that story without crossing that line of broadcasting images of iwi kūpuna to the world.” 

The Kalamas addressed the controversy in an Instagram video. 

“It was a very special episode,” Kamohai said. “…For us, nothing means more to us than our family, our culture, and our history and heritage. And the land that we get to call – are honored to call – home.”

The couple said that after discovering the remains, they swiftly contacted both the police and a cultural practitioner who knew “the proper protocol for a situation like that.”

“We knew this was something we would never build on,” he added. “It wasn’t even in the cards as a question.”

Trysten acknowledged that the episode “did ruffle some feathers.” But she stressed that they handled it in a culturally appropriate way, unlike some other developers who might have simply built on the burial location. 

“It’s always a tricky subject when we’re talking about development,” Kamohai said.   

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