A month after she was fired by HGTV for using the N-word in unaired footage from her show, former Rehab Addict host Nicole Curtis took another L when she attempted to explain the incident during an awkward appearance on The Breakfast Club this week.
As The Ashley previously reported, a video of unaired footage shared by Radar Online in February showed Nicole getting frustrated during a renovation project before randomly blurting out, “Oh, fart n*****.” After realizing the racial slur had been caught on camera, Nicole begged the crew to delete the footage.
After the footage surfaced, HGTV condemned Nicole’s use of the slur and confirmed that she had been booted from the network– a day before ‘Rehab Addict’ was set to return with new episodes. Days later, Nicole apologized for using the slur, insisting that the released clip had been “stolen then manipulated, edited and sold to a tabloid to coincide with [her] return to television.”
The following week, Nicole claimed that “someone personal” attempted to blackmail her before releasing the footage of her using the N-word and that she didn’t pay so the clip was released.
In her latest attempt to defend the resurfaced gaffe, Nicole appeared on The Breakfast Club this week, where she again insisted that her use of the N-word stemmed from her using terms like “fart knocker” and “fart digger.” Nicole claimed that these terms originated from her sons and the fact that “boys talk about farts all the time.”
“ … again, I can’t swear on my show, OK?” Nicole said. “So yes, I have made up these crazy words … .”
Co-host DJ Envy went on to interject, telling Nicole that if she actually uses terms like “fart digger” as frequently as she claims, then she should’ve released footage of her saying it on-camera to back up her explanation for using the N-word. Meanwhile, Charlamagne Tha God questioned the legitimacy of these so-called “crazy words,” to which the former HGTV host said she didn’t have a “rhyme or reason” for the words she’s made up and that she says “nonsense stuff all the time.”
“ … I edit my shows, right? I’ll be editing my shows and I’ll be like, ‘F**k, just finish what the f**k you’re saying,’ cause I go off on, like, this and that and I’m off the cuff, I’m not scripted,” she added, before going on to assure The Breakfast Club hosts— who are Black— that she was “absolutely” trying to say something else when she dropped the racial slur on camera.
Co-host Jess Hilarious then discussed the initial apology Nicole made, claiming she understood why Nicole chose to apologize to her children first.
“ … they may have Black friends and for them to see their friend’s mom use the term, they could be bullied for that, they could have to pay that price,” Jess said.
Nicole explained that she apologized to her kids first because they “live in Detroit”– a fact that Charlamagne took issue with, as Nicole kept bringing it up in her argument.
“ … what are you trying to prove here, when you keep saying you’re from Detroit and you’re around rappers and your best friends are Black,” Charlamagne asked. “What are you saying, Nicole?”
Before Nicole offered a response, co-host Loren LoRosa suggested that this incident could be a “learning moment” for Nicole, as she noted that Black people “don’t have the privilege to not understand what we say or how we’re saying it.”
“Even in this moment, you might not mean anything by saying, ‘I live in Detroit,’ but even if you didn’t get caught saying the N-word on this video, it still would come off as very privileged and very unbalanced because it’s different for us, and that’s what we’re trying to have a conversation about,” Loren said.
“I would also add, do you think sometimes privilege makes people think they can say anything,” Charlamagne added, to which Nicole replied, “Oh, absolutely … .”
Nicole proceeded to point out some people’s use of the R-word– another slur she claims she does not use. After one of his co-hosts explained to him what the R-word refers to, Charlamagne suggested that Nicole was providing an example of this word by her choosing to come on their show in the aftermath of her on-air debacle.
“Oh, [it’s] like saying ‘fart n*****’ and then coming to a Black radio show and trying to explain yourself about it,” he said. “That is r******d.”
Nicole– who claimed during her interview that the only people who have “come after” her for using the N-word are white people– confirmed this week that she had issued necessary apologies for the incident, though she made a point to deliver another apology to the Black community, while assuring listeners that using the N-word is something she doesn’t condone.
On Tuesday, Nicole defended her decision to go on The Breakfast Club, despite the fact that “everyone advised against” her doing it.
“ … no one thought this was a good idea for me and I reached out and asked if they would have the conversation,” Nicole wrote. “Here’s what happens in life when we stay in our own echo chamber -we stay stuck.
“Thank you to Loren for answering my call,” she continued. “I realize they are getting heat for giving me time from their followers, I think it’s time we all got out of our comfort zones and have these conversations. Thanks to Jess -this pic is, seriously, 2 moms chatting about life, kids, struggles.”
Watch a clip from Nicole’s interview on The Breakfast Club below.
(Photos: Instagram; The Breakfast Club; HGTV)
One Response
I just hate people who do this- I can not imagine any time using that slur would ever be appropriate! But you keep hearing it over and over- what is wrong with people!