HGTV Show Finds Itself in Legal Mess After Allegedly Breaking Hawaii State Law

HGTV has found itself embroiled in a legal dispute in Hawaii after the state’s attorney general claims that a recent episode of Renovation Aloha broke local law.

In an April 14 episode of Renovation Aloha, titled “Bones on the Big Island,” hosts Kamohai and Trysten Kalama were surprised to discover human bones at a Hilo property while checking out a renovation site, according to Deadline.

Cameras continued to roll after the discovery, and preview clips of the moment were shared on social media, despite the ultimate decision made by the Kalamas within the episode not to develop the property and to have it blessed by a community elder.

Filming Native Hawaiian ancestral remains is considered deeply disrespectful to the islands’ Indigenous ancestors. This kind of photography, known as iwi kūpuna, is illegal under Hawaiian law without permission from a state burial council, which court documents obtained by the Honolulu Civil Beat indicate HGTV did not obtain.

While the Hawaii Attorney General’s office did obtain a temporary restraining order last week to prevent the footage from being disseminated, it did not prevent the episode from being aired, according to April 14 court documents naming the Kalamas, HGTV, producer Nathan Fields and Discovery Inc.

“The broadcast of footage depicting iwi kūpuna on national television causes profound and irreparable harm to the Native Hawaiian community, to the State’s interest in protecting its cultural resources, and to the dignity and sanctity of the ancestors whose remains were depicted,” Deputy Attorney General Miranda Steed wrote in the court complaint.

“We take the concerns raised by the Native Hawaiian community very seriously and are committed to ensuring our programming is respectful and appropriate,” an HGTV spokesperson subsequently said in a statement to Deadline. “We apologize to anyone who found any part of the episode offensive, as that was not HGTV’s intention.”

HGTV has since re-edited the episode, removing footage of the remains “for all future network airings and platforms.”

Renovation Aloha stars husband-and-wife duo the Kalamas, who work to transform rundown homes on the island of O’ahu. Two days after the episode initially aired, Kamohai and Tristyn said in an Instagram Live video that they had followed the proper steps with local law enforcement after discovering the remains.

“The police archeologists said just leave the bones, they didn’t need to do anything further at that time,” Tristyn said, in the video, as Kamohai added, “We were put in touch with our kūpuna that know the proper protocol for a situation like that.”

The two said they were told to “protect in place,” which they felt they did by erecting a fence to shield the lot. “That property will remain that way in perpetuity, which will ensure that no one ever gets to build on that site, and it will remain that way forever. For us, that was most important,” Kamohai said.