PR Expert Tells Us How Bad HGTV Star Nicole Curtis' Reputation Is Tarnished

Former HGTV star Nicole Curtis is facing an uphill battle to salvage her ruined reputation and win back public trust after she was axed for using a racial slur on camera. The network also confirmed to Deadline that her hit show, "Rehab Addict," has been removed from all of its platforms. Leaked footage of Curtis working on a home renovation project, supposedly from an upcoming episode, quickly did the rounds on social media. The clip showed the host struggling to cut a wire when she blurted out a racial slur and then immediately asked the crew to delete the footage. Later, Curtis posited that the clip was actually recorded back in 2022 for a personal project.

The former "Rehab Addict" host also implied that an ex-boyfriend purposely leaked it, to sabotage her image. As Curtis, who was never the same after her custody battle went public, clarified on Instagram, "No one was aware except the people in that room." Amy Prenner, a communications expert and the founder of The Prenner Group, exclusively told Nicki Swift that Curtis' career will struggle to recover from this disturbing incident. "Her show was literally set to return the same day this video surfaced," she pointed out. "That's not just bad luck, that's a PR nightmare." 

Although Curtis did the right thing by apologizing instead of waiting for it to blow over, she should have just acknowledged her mistake instead of trying to gaslight viewers. "When you say a word is 'not part of your vocabulary and never has been' — and there's video — you've got a credibility problem on top of an already serious situation," Moore asserted. "Now the conversation shifts from 'what did she do' to 'is she being honest,' and that's a much harder hole to dig out of."

In her lengthy Instagram statement, Nicole Curtis professed that she was "filled with remorse and regret" after the reality star was put on blast for making a racist comment. The former HGTV host, who sparked outrage among viewers, claimed she was prepared to face the consequences and vowed to learn from her actions. "I know it was wrong," Curtis wrote. "This will never happen again." However, she did argue that the leaked footage was taken out of context and manipulated in such a way that would cast her in a negative light just in time for her show's big return. The reality star also defended her use of a racial slur by chalking it up to her habit of using "random words" on camera. As she argued, "This is documented on 15 years of tv, interviews, posts of these random words. The most famous [is] 'son of a beehive digger' which took the place of SOB when I became a mommy and could not swear on TV." The mother-of-two added, "In recent years, I've added fart digger, fart knocker." 

Moving forward, communications expert Amy Prenner advised Curtis to take a step back and reflect more deeply on her actions. It's not enough to issue an apology — she has to take full accountability and make things right with those she hurt and offended with her derogatory language, ideally "with real action, not a one-time donation but a genuine, ongoing commitment to communities directly impacted." Only by showing true remorse and following through can Curtis recover from the mess she created. According to Prenner, "She needs experienced crisis counsel, a plan, and most importantly, the willingness to do the actual work over the long haul," noting, "There are no shortcuts here."