Nicole Curtis’s run on HGTV seems to have come to an end.
The network abruptly canceled the new season of the Michigan-born home renovation star’s popular show Rehab Addict on Wednesday after a leaked production clip caught her using a racial slur.
“I want to be clear: the word in question is wrong and not part of my vocabulary and never has been, and I apologize to everyone,” Curtis said in a statement to TMZ.
In the clip, which was first published by the gossip website Radar Online, Curtis is seen standing on a ladder struggling to remove a piece of metal with a pair of pliers.
“Why? It’s my last one,” she whines, adding, “Oh, fart [n-word].”
Curtis appears to immediately regret the slip, saying, “What the fuck is that I just said?”
Amid laughter from the crew, she then requests for the footage to be deleted.
“Can you kill that?” she asks.
“No, I’ve got 35 minutes,” an offscreen voice says. “I can’t kill it.”
“Fuck my life,” Curtis responds.
Radar Online reported that the clip is believed to have been filmed about two years ago during a project in Wyoming, and suggested it surfaced due to disgruntled staff.
“When something happens, we all know about it… this footage has made it around to the [production] community she [has] screwed over,” a source told the outlet, adding, “You deserve everything you get. Treat us with dignity and respect, and quit making money off of our backs… You are a trash human.”
Metro Times reached out to Curtis for comment, who only agreed to speak to a reporter of her choosing. Metro Times declined the request.
Curtis, who was born in Lake Orion, a suburb of Detroit, launched her show in 2010 as she embarked in a career in real estate. Her show and its spinoffs have frequently featured Michigan properties, including the historic Ransom Gillis home in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood.
The scrapped new season was billed as featuring a renovation of a “disgusting” squatter-filled “crackhouse” in the city.
In addition to shelving the new episodes, the Rehab Addict catalog was also removed from streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+.
“HGTV was recently made aware of an offensive racial comment made during the filming of Rehab Addict,” the network said in a statement. “Not only is language like this hurtful and disappointing to our viewers, partners, and employees — it does not align with the values of HGTV.”
It continued, “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.”
There were also reportedly issues behind the scenes that presaged Rehab Addict’s abrupt return — and disappearance — from the air.
According to realtor.com, Curtis decided to pull the show mid-season in July 2025 to reshoot and recut the remainder of the episodes, citing a desire to spend more time with her family.
Then, in a Feb. 8 Instagram post, she announced the imminent return of Rehab Addict — months ahead of schedule.
“Straight from Detroit—the new episodes drop Wednesday … was told now or never—so you get them now,” she wrote. “And can you do me a huge show of support by sharing this. Sending it to friends, tag a friend, a stranger.”
The show was also moved to the afternoon, a perceived downgrade according to some fans considering its previous prime-time evening slot.
In response to comments from fans asking about the schedule change, Curtis hinted at drama with HGTV, writing, “Brilliant question to which I’ve received no answer that makes sense to me.”
In a statement posted Wednesday to her Instagram page, Curtis teased that she will tell her side of the story.
“There is more to this, but my family comes first and I need to be a mom right now more than anything else,” she wrote. “I will take the time to be as I’ve always been with you, transparent and honest.”
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Correction, February 12, 2026 4:42 pm: This article was updated with more information.