Former “Rehab Addict” host Nicole Curtis claimed on Instagram that “someone personal” tried to extort her for money before leaking a video of her using the N-word while filming her HGTV renovation show. The clip led to Curtis’ show being pulled from the network.
“I was not contracted to any network or show. (think free agent in sports),” Curtis wrote on Tuesday. “Any crew hired, paid by me. The footage is mine. My crew didn’t steal my footage. I don’t have ‘sets’. I own all my properties. In other words, no one is my ‘boss’, I’m the boss. I create product & sell the rights of it & my likeness for limited contracted use.”
She added, “Someone personal (not crew) had access, demanded $, I didn’t pay-here we are.”
On Feb. 11, HGTV cancelled “Rehab Addict” in response to Curtis’ on camera use of the slur. The network said in a statement at the time, “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. 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.”
The first two episodes of “Rehab Addict” Season 9 premiered in July 2025, but the season was cut short after Curtis made an “executive decision” to hold the remaining episodes and recut them for a later release. The rest of the season was supposed to return Feb. 12 before the cancellation.
On Feb. 13, Curtis took to Instagram and apologized for using the slur. She also claimed that the footage was “stolen then manipulated, edited and sold to a tabloid to coincide with [her] return to television.”
“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 a tabloid to coincide with my return to television only to create this chaos of hate, anger, disappointment.”
variety.com
#Rehab #Addict #Host #Nicole #Curtis #Extorted #Slur #Video
