Realitywanted.net » Interview with Victoria, the 3rd eliminated lady from America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 9

Interview with Victoria, the 3rd eliminated lady from America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 9

Posted on October 18th, 2007 by Jackie
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^{Interview with Victoria, the 3^{rd eliminated lady from America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 9.}^{By Jackie Helm}}

^{Cycle 9 interviews are a collection of questions and answers from a conference call involving me, other writers and the eliminated models. Enjoy…}

^{Q: When Tyra was letting you go and she was giving you advice about having to listen. I don’t know if it’s because of editing but you kind of snapped back at Twiggy. How have you taken that?}

^{A: I think the first thing that I should say is that I actually didn’t watch the show, so I don’t know very specific things. I do know how it was edited though. Apparently they made me look like I was snapping back at Twiggy a lot. Which just isn’t the case at all. It’s kind of funny that they edited it like that. Actually after the show, a couple of the models called me and were like, “That conversation didn’t happen, I don’t remember that at all, you weren’t snapping at anybody.” I don’t know what they did. So you know its TV and they edit it the way that they do for whatever reason. I was well liked in the house, my photos were fine. So if they needed to eliminate me for another reason that was the avenue that they chose. I guess in panel I did ask a lot of questions, because I was curious. They knew that I had no experience in the industry or no real knowledge either. When they would tell me things like “you look very different, you have a very different look”, I was trying to figure out how I could use that to my advantage. I haven’t really watched any of the other seasons that much. Apparently that is not the protocol in panel. I would ask them questions and they would always get very flustered. They wouldn’t answer me very well or be able to back up what they said substantially. I don’t know if they felt threatened or if they didn’t want me to ask a lot of questions. But I guess that did not make them like me very much.}

Q: When you were walking out, you said that you learned a lot from being a model. What had you gone in there thinking and what did you come out with?

A: I went into the competition thinking that this was an industry that valued walking coat hangers and nothing really beyond that. I came out of it thinking the same thing. The show is geared in a specific way to make it seem that modeling takes a lot of different qualities. But in reality as long as you have the right body type and the right look and your able to take great pictures and have a great walk and your not insane…then you have a pretty good shot at making it. I think that Tyra looks for girls with personalities that she likes, but quiet girls don’t do that well.

Q: You also said that you were happy to be leaving so that it would free up a spot for someone who does deserves it. Out of the girls in the house, who did you probably think deserves it the most?

A: I really like and respect all of them. I know no one really says that. But I really do think that they all really have a lot going for them. Based on pure ability I would have to say that Jenah, Chantal, Heather and maybe Ebony would be my pick for a really successful model. I don’t think that the show is geared toward pure ability though so I don’t know if they would win or not. But I really do think they have quite bright careers ahead of them.

Q: What did your fellow classmates at Yale have to say about seeing you on America’s Next Top Model?

A: It’s kind of funny actually. Everyone was very taken aback when the commercials came on for the show. Everyone was like, “why is Victoria on a modeling show?” They definitely didn’t see that coming. I would be sitting there watching the commercials for the most glamorous show on television and I would be in a soccer jersey eating peanut butter out of the jar.

Q: Did you eat with a spoon or your finger?

A: I ate with a spoon. I am a little bit classier than that. It was either taking a chance and going on that show or else I was going to drive a mail truck for the summer to make money for school. So what the hell, why not try it out? People here do watch it and they were rooting for me and which was nice. People have asked if I have been mobbed or if it feels weird to go to Yale and be on the show at the same time. To be honest, I have a very normal life. I think the extent of my celebrity was when I went to Walgreens and someone took a picture of me with their camera phone. I’m very, very Y list celebrity right now.

Q: Do you think that they chose you because you’re from Yale and having that smart background?

A: Absolutely. To be fair, I made it to the call-backs purely based on looks. But once they found out that I went to Yale, they were definitely more interested. I filled a stereotype or a character that they wanted on the show. I’m not stupid, like I know that.

Q: Did that inhibit you at all? Having that “smart card”?

A: This is the biggest problem that I have with the show. Apparently every episode they would put something from Yale in there. Or make it seem like I was going around the house being like, “I’m so smart, I’m from Yale”. In reality I didn’t tell the girls that I went to Yale. They only found out because the producers told them and they tried to make it an issue in the house. But it really wasn’t an issue and if it was an issue I am sure they would have put Bianca or somebody else calling me out on it on TV. Again, I really did not talk about it or mention it. Because intelligence, to be honest, has nothing to do with modeling. Despite how people try to say it does, it really doesn’t. I don’t think that education had any role in this show. But they definitely did try to make it an issue. They took one interview that I had talking about Yale and put clips of it on every episode which was kind of annoying.

JACKIE: Although you weren’t very interested in modeling, how do you rate yourself as a model?

A: That is a good question. I’ve never thought that I’ve been very typically pretty. I’m a very gangly pale girl. But I think my pictures were good. I don’t know if I am what agencies are looking for or not. But I am definitely not adverse to trying it out and to pursuing it. I got a lot of internet hype about being the weird looking one or being the strange looking one, with very big eyes and very narrow face. I can’t change that really so, I am what I am. I’d rather be interesting looking than pretty.

JACKIE: If you could go back, would there be anything that you would do differently?

A: I don’t think so. I guess I would just refuse to answer them when they asked me questions about Yale or education. Other than that I had a good time, I made friends with a lot of the other girls. No I don’t think I would change that much.

JACKIE: I didn’t find your dialogue with the judges to be offensive at all. At times it was just and always polite. With Tyra making such a big deal about it, do you feel that the judges act as though they can’t be spoken to or participate in any conversation with the models?

A: The thing is that they showed very short clips of just me being aggressive or something like that. When we did engage in a dialogue, which I was trying to understand why they were saying specific things. Very politely, it’s kind of funny that I get pegged for being the arrogant and abrasive one when in real life I am probably like the complete opposite of that. I guess they are not used to being questioned or talking about what they are saying very much. They did get very flustered when I asked them questions. They really didn’t know how to explain their statements very well. I wasn’t trying to be very abrasive or anything like that. I was really just trying to understand what they were saying. They have certain standard phrases, “you have such great legs, your eyes are dead, this is a boring photo”, stuff like that. I wanted to understand why this photo was good and this photo wasn’t good. Because they also seemed to contradict themselves a lot, so I was just trying to understand.

JACKIE: Are there any funny or juicy details that happened behind the scenes that we were not shown on TV?

A: Gosh, was so much stuff happened that was funny or sweet that they don’t show on TV which is kind of unfortunate. Chantal would cook for us a lot which was a lot of fun. A lot of the girls were really good at cooking, so that was a big thing in our house. Heather is an amazing artist, so she would draw stuff for me. That was always a lot of fun. There wasn’t that much drama. We all got along pretty well and everyone was a lot less crazy than they seem.

Q: My friend Andrew Beatty went to Yale with you, we were rooting for you very hard. He told me that you wound up going with a friend and it was kind of a joke. So made you decide to go for it and why go to begin with.

A: I am a very happy-go-lucky person which is probably not a good thing in many respects. I didn’t just do it for the sheer hell of it. It’s always better to do things than to not do them and to regret not taking chances in your life. That is sort of a very passive or cowardly way to go through life. I was very up front from the very beginning that I went as a dare and I went as a joke. And they still chose to put me on the show. I don’t really regret it. It’s a good story.

Q: I know you said that you didn’t talk about it, but was it weird going from an atmosphere of being at Yale to being with a lot of different kinds of people.

A: It was actually kind of refreshing. It was nice to get out of the Ivory Tower for a little bit and experience something ghastly different. But it is kind of strange to go from a role that values how you speak and how you think and how you write and how you present yourself….to a role that definitely just values appearance and how you move. It’s kind of fun in that respect. I guess I carried the inquisitiveness or the curiosity from this world over to that world and that didn’t really transfer that well. It was sort of nice but you are right it was very different.

Q: You were around for about three photo shoots, what were your favorites, the most challenging…??

A. Actually the cactus one was kind of fun. I liked it, it was such a ridiculous outfit. I mean it was awesome to be a cactus. The photo shoot actually got a lot better. It started out a little rocky, but it got a lot better toward the end. Jay was like, “I like your poses, that’s great, that’s very high fashion.” But of course they didn’t use those photos in the panel. But it was just fun. I really liked the rock climbing one. It was definitely a challenge in moving, but it was a lot of fun to do and to be up high like that. That was probably my favorite.

Q: You are back at Yale, you still have time left?

A: I am a junior. So, I have a semester and a year to go?

Q. What are you studying?

A: I actually study History.

Q: Are you planning on doing anything in connection with this?

A: I really did like the photo shoots and I did like the pure modeling aspect of the show. I will definitely keep my options open if anyone wants to hire me or sign me. I think that would be great and I would love to pursue that path. That being said, I would never drop out of school. So, if I could do both, that would be idea.

Q: Are you planning to watch the show now that you are off?

A: I think I will. I haven’t been watching it for two reasons. One is that I just want to remember it how it was and not how it was edited and how they make me and my friends look. Second reason is that if I did watch it, I would never ever stop laughing at myself. Now that I am off I definitely will watch and cheer every on?

Q: In the last couple of minutes of the show you said that your opinion of modeling has changed. What about your experience on the show made you change your opinion on the modeling industry?

A: I think I realized a little bit more now that it’s a lot more challenging than it looks to get a great photo and to move in a certain way or to position your body in a certain way to get a good phot. With that being said I do think the show plays up personality more than pure ability. If you are not really loud or diva-like, you are not seen as being secure or wanting it or something like that. I think that reality TV is definitely different than that modeling industry. I think the modeling industry is pretty cool, I guess I know about it more now.

Q: Did Tyra have a lot of interaction with you and all of the girls?

A: She really didn’t at all for me. I kind of knew from the very beginning of the show that I wasn’t going to make it very far. Because she called all of the other girls personally to congratulate them for going on the show and she never called me. She would say things to me that weren’t very polite I guess. We didn’t have that much interaction with her. I wish I had just sat down with her and had a conversation. But it was all very calculated which was to be expected and understood.

Q: I’ve always wondered about the soft suspenseful voice that she uses when she calls everyone up near the end, is that intimidating to anyone?

A: (Laughs) Yes, she scared the bejesus out of me at times. I was quite nervous a lot of the time. Also keep in mind that none of us had slept at all. They just sleep deprive you so much. That you are just very wound up. That is why everyone cries and cat fights all the time because they are so tired. She is very dramatic and the show is very dramatic in that respect. I kind of laughed a lot in very inappropriate places. Because it is so overly dramatic and over the top at times you just kind of have to.

Q: Do you feel that using intellectually ability is a way to empower women.

A: Absolutely, I’ve always been very adiment about showing that you are smart and not to be ashamed of it. In school it is sort of socially encouraged to hide how bright you are. That was always very hard for me in a lot of ways. When you are smart and you answer questions correctly and get high scores on your tests. I would hide it a lot in school and blow off getting an A or getting 100 on a test. Because it’s not encouraged for girls to show that. I am glad that I went on the show to show that if you want to use the label of nerd or someone that does their homework all the time. It’s fine, it’s okay to be smart. It’s okay to be intelligent. As long as your not overbearing about it. I am not like Chantal. I didn’t grow up wanting to be a supermodel at all. I went thru a period of wanting to be an astronaut or a historian or a mathematician. To be honest I think those professions probably have a lot more impact on the modeling one does.

Q: You touched on this earlier, I think that part of being an intellectual or part of being a student is through challenging people through questions and asking questions; how can I do better and constantly encouraging yourself. Were other girls doing that?

A: No. The way to get ahead in that show is to nod, smile, look pretty, to sob about how you wanted this your whole life or your mom has cancer or AIDS or no legs or something. How if you don’t become a model you’re a worthless human being. That’s just not true for me. I guess they saw me as a little bit subversive because I would ask questions. Part of life is challenging peoples’ beliefs. Knowing that you are wrong some of the time, knowing that other people are wrong some of the time. I would always rather be eliminated for asking questions or being seen as argumentative than for crying or something like that. Reality TV is definitely not reality. I am a very curious person. That is part of why I went on the show. Why not take a jab at something I have no experience or knowledge in.