What To Know
- Nicole Curtis is currently being sued by the city of Detroit over a “public nuisance” property in her company’s ownership.
- Curtis addressed the legal drama in a recent social media post.
- The lawsuit comes several months after HGTV canceled Rehab Addict after footage of Curtis using a racial slur on set was leaked.
Nicole Curtis is speaking out amid her legal trouble with the city of Detroit.
Last month, the city filed a lawsuit against the former Rehab Addict host over her company’s failure to renovate and maintain a property in its ownership, which has been deemed a “public nuisance” since 2021.
Per the lawsuit, published by the Detroit Free Press, Detroit’s Buildings Safety Engineering and Environmental Department issued multiple correction orders from 2022 to 2026 related to code violations. The legal documents also claim that Curtis’ company, Detroit Renovations, has failed to comply with 25 total violation tickets and owes thousands in fines, inspection, and registration fees.
Curtis subtly addressed the lawsuit in a Sunday, August 2, Facebook post. “Just a reminder, I save old houses, but it’s not a job – it’s one of my passions and it is second to my passion to just be me,” she began her lengthy message. “Most days that’s just blending in being mom wearing the same darn outfit you’ve seen me in for 20 years and just doing my best to ensure that my legacy is being great mom that loved rather than ‘that chick who had that show’ when I die.”
She continued, “I used to clean houses in Detroit, I used that money to buy my first house, then my next house, then my next house, then my next house … I didn’t use bank loans, no one would finance me. I saved it all, I sold garbage finds on craigslist. I wasn’t an ‘influencer’ (there was no social media). I worked my an off and kept building. I took a random one – off 30 sec opportunity and built the idea of Rehab Addict. I was 35 years old. I was told how to be so I’d be more popular on TV and I said No. I was told to do as I was told and I said No. I fought against it all and I built.”
Curtis said the “stamina and determination” she built over the years has given her both a “solid foundation” and “a list of enemies.” She explained, “I’ve been sued, blackmailed, extorted, betrayed, you name it and not just by the usual suspects, but by ‘friends’ and loved ones that I trusted with my soul. It’s a grief that is hard to explain if you haven’t gone through it, but, also, one that does the opposite of what your enemies intentions were … it builds you right back up.”
Despite the drama, the former HGTV star said she was getting right back to work the next day. “Not out to make a buck, not out to make a name for myself, not out to rob and pillage (as some say about me), just out to save historic homes from being demolished and/or ruined by flippers,” she said.
Curtis concluded the message by thanking her fans for their support. “You all know my love for these cities I call (ed) home and it’s never been for the heck of it,” she wrote, “So, I’m just continuing being me unapologetically Nicole Curtis – the mom that prefers under the radar, hiding in plain sight, working on an old house.”
Curtis shared the same photo featured in the Facebook post via Instagram on Monday, August 3, writing, “Not so subtly …. Happy Monday from Detroit to my haters, my lovers and those in between.”
The lawsuit comes several months after Rehab Addict was canceled by HGTV after footage of Curtis using a racial slur on set was leaked online. Curtis apologized in a statement to TMZ at the time, saying, “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 also claimed in a February 17 Instagram post that someone with access to the footage leaked it after she refused to pay their financial demand.