Nicole Curtis is probably wondering how it all went wrong. Four years ago, while filming a segment of her show, Rehab Addict, Curtis got frustrated with something that happened on set and impulsively uttered the words, “Oh, fart nigger!” The clip of her comment was published by RadarOnline four years later, after quietly circulating all that time.
In the clip, Curtis immediately realized she was wrong, saying:
“What the fuck is that I just said?”
She turned to her producer, pleading to have that segment cut from the tape.
“Nick, you gotta, you gotta, can you kill that?”
Nick’s response can barely be heard in the background, but he indicated that he couldn’t erase the segment. It was cut from the broadcast and remained private until February 11, 2026, when RadarOnline published the article.
The last words Curtis said on the tape were:
“Fuck my life!”
Curtis may have thought the impact would be immediate, but nothing happened immediately. A show like Rehab Addict typically employs:
- A core production team (10–20 people)
- Camera, audio, lighting crew (5–10)
- Editors and post‑production staff (5–15)
- Field producers and coordinators
- Local contractors and tradespeople (varies by project)
- Freelancers hired per‑episode
Several of those people would have been present on set and heard what she said. At least one person can be heard laughing at her initial comment. An expression usually attributed to Benjamin Franklin is, “Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” Too many people knew about Nicole Curtis, the surprise is that it took four years to become public.
There is an exception to the rule. Season 1 of The Apprentice was shot in 2003. Donald Trump was allegedly filmed discussing whether one of the two finalists, Kwame Jackson, who is Black, would be accepted by America as the winner. Producer Bill Pruitt told Slate about it, and Omarosa, who later worked in the first Trump administration, confirmed it.
“My certainty about the N-word tape and his frequent uses of that word were the top of a high mountain of truly appalling things I’d experienced with him, during the last two years in particular," said Omarosa. "It had finally sunk in that the person I’d thought I’d known so well for so long was actually a racist.
"Using the N-word was not just the way he talked, but, more disturbing, it was how he thought of African Americans as a whole and me.”
Unlike Nicole Curtis, Donald Trump's tapes were never made public. Four entities are frequently mentioned as having access to the tapes. Mark Burnett was the creator and Executive Producer of the show. Burnett has shown extreme loyalty to Trump and has allegedly blocked his staff from sharing or leaking the footage. MGM acquired Burnett’s production company but says releasing the tapes would violate contractual obligations. NBC says it does not own the original footage, and former producers and editors have signed NDA’s preventing them from leaking the tape. Given the number of people speaking openly about it. It’s not really a secret that Trump used the N-word. The surprise is how many people refuse to care.
When I first heard what Curtis was supposed to have said and confirmed it by watching the clip, my first question was about the combination of words “fart” and “nigger,” which I’d never heard used together, and I wondered if it had any special meaning. I’ve been unable to find any other time in history when anyone turned those words into an expression.
Curtis wasn’t directing her words against anyone in particular. There was no Black person or group of people she was calling a nigger, the words apparently were just blurted out in frustration. In her apology, which came immediately after the clip was released. Curtis indicated the word wasn’t part of her vocabulary. But if she used the words, apparently it was.
HGTV made a statement as well:
“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. We remain dedicated to fostering a culture of respect and inclusion across our content and our workplace.”
The HGTV statement caught me by surprise because they haven’t shown any great love for their Black viewers, partners, and employees. HGTV has recently faced backlash from fans over a series of cancellations and renewal delays of shows with Black hosts, including Married to Real Estate, 100 Day Dream Home, Fix My Flip, and others. Urban Belle Magazine has written that HGTV promotes their white-hosted shows more aggressively, while quietly canceling Black-hosted shows and not renewing Black-hosted series in a timely fashion. Atlanta Black Star reported that HGTV buried and failed to promote its Black-led shows, and The Root argues that the network underinvests in Black talent. My point is that HGTV is hardly the place you look to as the poster child for erasing someone who used a racial slur.
I think if Nicole Curtis wants her job back, she should reach out to Donald Trump, who understands how these things might get caught on tape. He can go to the FCC to pressure HGTV to renew Rehab Addict with Curtis as the host. In theory, the FCC has limited regulatory power over cable stations, but since when has that stopped Trump? Maybe he can increase tariffs on homebuilding products to 1,000%, forcing all shows that use them to shut down. It would take someone extremely petty to attempt such a maneuver, so Trump is just the man for the job.
The truth is that every network has vaults full of outtakes, hot‑mic moments, and discarded footage that would rewrite the public image of the people it elevates. Most of it never sees the light of day because the people who control the archives understand the stakes.
Curtis became a headline because someone, somewhere, decided her moment didn’t deserve protection anymore. That’s the real story. Not the slur, not the apology, not the cancellation — but the reminder that the line between “beloved host” and “liability” is thinner than anyone wants to admit. And once the footage escapes the vault, the narrative belongs to everyone else.