[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
This is not the kind of story we expected to be writing about HGTV star Nicole Curtis.
The popular Rehab Addict star built her brand on grit and authenticity. She was the scrappy, hands-on renovator who prided herself on getting dirty to restore old homes in forgotten neighborhoods. But this week, that image shattered after a shocking video surfaced showing Curtis using a racial slur while filming her show — and now, HGTV has cut ties.
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In footage obtained on Wednesday by Radar Online, the 49-year-old was struggling through a specific renovation moment when frustration took over. She said:
“Why? It’s the last one. Oh, fart n*****.”
Uh… WHAT?!
The clip doesn’t end there. Almost immediately, Curtis appears to realize the magnitude of what she said. As members of the crew can seemingly be heard laughing off camera, she quickly asks for the moment to be erased:
“What the f**k is that I just said? Nick, you gotta, you gotta, can you kill that? F**k my life.”
But in 2026, there is no “killing” footage like that. Once it exists, it exists. And when it surfaced, the fallout was swift.
After being contacted about the video, HGTV released a formal statement to Radar Online acknowledging the situation and condemning the language used:
“[HGTV was] recently made aware of an offensive racial comment made during the filming of Rehab Addict. We understand that language like this is hurtful and disappointing to our viewers, partners, and employees, and it does not align with the values of HGTV.”
The network didn’t stop at words. They took immediate and decisive action:
“[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.”
Wow.
If you wish to see it, you can watch the moment for yourself HERE. Ugh. Absolutely grotesque.
BTW, just hours before that statement became public, fans noticed something telling: an HGTV Instagram post promoting the much-anticipated return of Rehab Addict had been quietly deleted. What had earlier been a celebratory plug for the show’s comeback suddenly redirected users to a message saying the content was no longer available. And… now we know why.
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Curtis, for her part, returned to social media after the video began circulating. But rather than directly addressing the slur or apologizing publicly, she appeared to focus on defending the raw, stripped-down nature of her style and the authenticity of her work. In her own post over on IG on Wednesday, she wrote:
“[I will] go to my last breath being proud that I did this more real, more raw than anyone else. There’s never been 100 people, let alone 25 people, even 10 people labeled production when I’m working. It’s me, it’s my construction guys, on big days (meaning there’s a huge build like roof going on), it’s 2 cameras, but most, it’s one. It’s never been about how I look (I fix that in post) it’s always been about the house.”
She continued by emphasizing the difficult conditions she and her team have worked through over the years:
“[We’ve had] squatters, drugs, human waste, the nastiest you can imagine, and we ended up with the beautiful Doris house. Again — flippers flip. Nicole Curtis (that’s me) and team restore history.”
You can see that post (below):
Obviously, for many viewers, the issue isn’t about production size or renovation challenges. It’s about accountability. Words matter. Especially words that carry centuries of pain and violence.
And in a media landscape where audiences increasingly demand responsibility from public figures, this kind of language — even uttered in frustration, and even followed by regret — has consequences.
To learn more about civil rights issues, check out https://www.splcenter.org/.
[Image via Nicole Curtis/Instagram/Instagram]
