Nicole Curtis Addresses Claim of Extortion Over Racial Slur Video: “I Refused to Pay”
Nicole Curtis Claims Extortion Following Cancellation of ‘Rehab Addict’
Nicole Curtis, the former HGTV star, is speaking out after the cancellation of her show Rehab Addict, which was prompted by the surfacing of a video in which she used a racial slur. Curtis alleges that she was the victim of extortion.
In a recent social media post, Curtis clarified that the footage, which captured her uttering the n-word, was not leaked by anyone on her crew. Instead, she stated that it was someone personally connected to her who had access to the recording.
“I was not contracted to any network or show. (think free agent in sports) Any crew hired, paid by me, The footage is mine. My crew didn’t steal my footage,” Curtis explained on Instagram. “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 [money], I didn’t pay—here we are.”
Rehab Addict was slated to return to HGTV on February 11 but the network ultimately canceled the new season in light of the viral video. The renovation series was also removed from streaming platforms HBO Max and Discovery+.
In the wake of the controversy, Curtis issued an apology, stating that the footage “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.” She acknowledged there was “no excuse for this” and emphasized that she is “not a victim,” affirming, “Nothing I say or do will take that moment 4 years ago away. I know it was wrong. This will never happen again.”
For more on Curtis’s remarks, view her latest Instagram post below.
