Former “Rehab Addict” host Nicole Curtis claimed on Instagram that “someone” tried to extort money from her before leaking a video of her using the N-word while filming the HGTV Renovation show. The clip led to Curtis’ show being removed from the network.
“I was not signed to any network or program (think free agency in sports),” Curtis wrote on Tuesday. “All of my staff are hired and paid by me. The footage is mine. My staff is not stealing my footage. I don’t own the ‘set’. I own all the property. In other words, no one is my ‘boss’, I am the boss. I make the product and sell the rights to it and my likeness for limited contract use.”
She further added, “Some individual (not a crew member) accessed it and asked for $, which I didn’t pay. Here we are.”
On February 11, HGTV canceled “Rehab Addict” after Curtis made slurs on camera. “HGTV recently became aware of racist and offensive comments made during the filming of ‘Rehab Addiction,'” the network said in a statement at the time. Such language is not only hurtful and disappointing to our viewers, partners and employees, but is also inconsistent with HGTV’s values. Therefore, we have removed this series from all HGTV platforms. We remain focused on fostering a culture of respect and inclusion across our content and workplace. ”
The first two episodes of “Rehab Addict” Season 9 premiered in July 2025, but the season was cut short when Curtis made an “administrative decision” to keep the remaining episodes and recut them for later release. The remainder of the season was scheduled to resume on February 12th before being canceled.
On February 13, Curtis apologized for using the slur on Instagram. She also claimed that the footage was “stolen, manipulated, edited, and sold to tabloids to coincide with[her]television return.”
“I am so sorry. I am as full of remorse and regret as I was one second after those words were said four years ago in 2022,” she wrote. “I show you this and I say this, but I know you are only getting a limited view because what is being circulated is some footage of me that was stolen, manipulated, edited and sold to tabloids to coincide with my return to television, only to create chaos of hate, anger and disappointment.”
