HGTV’s Egypt Sherrod Slams New York Times Over ‘Slanted’ Article About Her Show

HGTV star Egypt Sherrod has hit out at the New York Times after the outlet published what she called a “slanted” article about home renovation shows and “DIY influencers.”

Sherrod, who hosts the show Married to Real Estate with her husband, Mike Jackson, took to her Instagram account on Monday (April 14) to respond to the NYT article, which described the HGTV series as “a hard-hat Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

The piece also called the production “a well-oiled machine” where Sherrod and Jackson “breezed in” to perform some grouting work while “a construction worker with AirPods in his ears revved a power drill for background noise.” The reporter noted, “An hour and a half into shooting, it was already time to wrap the scene.”

Sherrod took issue with the article, telling her Instagram followers, “I am tired y’all. I am tired of having to prove myself. I am tired of being overworked, underpaid, if paid at all. I am tired of not getting equal press or publicity. I am tired of being the scapegoat. I am tired.”

 

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She continued, “So there’s this article in the New York Times because Mike and I were invited to be in the New York Times by our network to promote this season of our show. And they came to set, took pictures of Mike and I, documented the whole experience, and then wrote it in a slant, as if we ease in and ease out of properties. As if we’re not doing the real work.”

Sherrod filmed her response while working on a client’s property, noting, “We’re here right now, working on a clients’ house. No cameras… this is what we do. When I leave here, I gotta go limewash a wall… Oh and no New York Times reporters here for an hour to tell us we’re just doing this for TV.”

The real estate broker and designer continued her thoughts in the post’s caption, writing, “You have no idea. You see the glory, but not the grind. The beauty, but not the behind-the-scenes story.”

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“We were so excited to have the @nytimes come to set and write a story about US. Imagine our surprise this morning to see ONLY me… with a hypercritical article about the entire home tv movement,” she continued. “I won’t be a scapegoat. I won’t be martyred.”

Sherrod went on to say she and Jackson are “still a small family business,” adding, “So for a publication like The New York Times to use my image to headline an article filled with distortions and mediocrity? That’s not just irresponsible—it’s unacceptable! Let the fakes be your poster child. Not me.”

The reality star, who rose to fame hosting HGTV’s Flipping Virgins and Property Virgins before debuting Married to Real Estate in 2022, stated her show is “one of the very few positive shows about Black families on television.”

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“And yet, we’re constantly overlooked—left out of the press, the covers, the licensing deals, the invites,” she added. “We don’t get equal treatment. We don’t get equal protection. We have to fight for every inch to protect our narrative. Even from BIPOC media.”

She took particular issue with the NYT article only showing her “when my husband stood right there with me, gave that interview with me?” Sherrod stated, “That’s not just a slight. That’s erasure. And it reinforces exactly the kind of division we work so hard to fight against.”

“I’m choosing to share this pain. For every woman, every family, who can’t speak up. Who can’t cry out. Who can’t scream at the hypocrisy. I see you. I am you. Enough,” Sherrod concluded.

The NYT responded to Sherrod’s post in a statement to the Daily Mail, writing, “Our piece on D.I.Y. home influencers was well-reported, thorough and fair, covering a wide range of figures and how they’ve turned renovation videos into a lucrative career.’