Interview With Brittany of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 8
Age: 21
Hometown: Savannah, Georgia
Occupation: Bartender
Brittany, the eighth eliminee from America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 8, caught the attention of the judges with her gorgeous looks and flawless photos. She did wonderfully, winning two challenges, but when it came down to the go sees, Brittany’s personality was too “blah” and failed to impress the designers and the judges. We recently spoke with her and discovered why the competition was a total growing experience.
Hi Brittany! How’s it going? Thanks for sparing time to talk to us.
Hi! I’m doing good. No problem.
As you were growing up, what did you dream of doing?
I think I pretty much wanted to be everything when I was little. I wanted to be a writer, an actress and a veterinarian. Like every little kid, I think I had a lot of aspirations. When I was about 14, my mother took me to New York. She really wanted me to model. I might’ve been interested in it in the back of my mind but because I was 14 and she wanted me to do it, I wanted nothing to do with it.
Were you a girly girl?
Oh God, no. I was the biggest tomboy on the face of the planet. I was always sort of the tomboy artistic.
How did you end up auditioning for America’s Next Top Model?
My friend told me that she would never ever, ever, ever, bother me about modeling again if I tried out for the show. I figured I would give it a shot. I was at least somewhat interested in it a little bit, but I wasn’t really sure that I could do it. They must’ve thought I could.
With so many girls auditioning, what made you stand out from the rest? What caused the judges to take notice?
I have absolutely no idea. I think just the fact that I’m a goofball and I’m sort of wild… (I’m sure everyone knows that by now.)
Let’s talk about the makeover. You were pretty comfortable with anything Tyra chose to have done, right?
I’ve had my hair down to the middle of my back and I’ve had my head shaved. I could care less what they did appearance-wise. It’s just that it was painful. They had dyed my hair 7 or 8 times in the process in trying to get the color of it the right red to match the weave. My scalp had started to blister. When they braided my hair up, it had actually ripped my skin underneath and I was scabbing and bleeding underneath that weave.
Ouch, it sounds painful. How long did the process take altogether?
I was started the same time as everyone else and I was the last person to get done that day, so probably about 10 hours.
How did you handle the pain?
It took a lot of Tylenol. Jael was also really sympathetic and supportive. She told me, “Don’t worry about them, go ahead and cry. You’re a human being.”
The girls thought you were too emotional and cried a lot. What do you think?
I think it’s reality television. There are a lot of exaggerations. People should know that by now. You’re sort of put into this environment that’s meant to create stress and meant to create drama and meant to sort of react extremely. It’s sort of how they set everything up psychologically. The contestants are made to feel like there’s nothing beyond ANTM. The real world doesn’t exist anymore. It’s only what they say and how they say it. You have a camera guy in your face every time you get a little irritated. It’s pretty hard after a certain amount of time when you want to be left alone occasionally not to break down or blow up.
I think everyone handles stress differently. Renee did it in a catty way. I’m not a catty person or a mean person. I hate kind of saying anything to hurt anyone else because 90% of the time it’s something you wish you could take back. I think my way of dealing with the stress was to sort of internalize it and then let it out in tears. I think it’s better than hurting someone.
When the judges thought your photos were dynamic, did you receive any negative criticism from them?
I couldn’t even remember at this point. I couldn’t remember the best either. I mean it was all a pretty strange thing. It’s hard to remember exactly what happened and how it happened.
Was standing before the judges hard?
Absolutely. You feel like you wait a million years. You stand there forever, but really in reality it’s probably a few hours long. It’s excruciating at the same time. You think you’re never going to react the way the other girls did or anything like that, then you get there and you’re like, “Oh no!”
How would you finish this statement? The hardest part about living in the Top Model house was…
Um, being watched 24/7, but we signed up for that, so it’s okay.
Which challenge or photo shoot was your worst?
My worst was the go sees. I did real bad.
What actually happened with the taxi driver? Did he forget to wait for you during the go see?
I don’t really know if there was an error in that area but you never know how editing goes on reality television. I really do believe that I asked him to meet me there, but obviously it’s my fault that I did not communicate that clearly. I think I over reacted and I acted very childishly; but I’ve learned from it and I can move on in life. It’s all a part of my past.
Speaking of editing, did we miss anything behind the scenes?
I don’t know. I think really the show is just for entertainment and no one watching it is ever really going to know any of the girls completely and this proves a point. As long as it was entertaining it was fine the way it was.
Even though you felt it was more about entertainment, what did you gain from this experience?
I just learned a lot about myself and the other girls. It was just really fun.
You seemed to be pretty well-liked by the other girls. Who were you close to in the house?
I formed a lot of relationships with a lot of the girls. I was close to Jael and Sarah and Samantha and Felicia, definitely.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about auditioning for the show?
Just be absolutely genuine when you try out because you come across a lot clearer and more real that way.
Australia must’ve been amazing. What was the most memorable part for you?
We got to go in the koala cages in the zoo. They let us go in. It was very tempting to touch the koalas but we were told we were not allowed or they might rip our faces off. They were very adorable though and it was a once in a lifetime experience to get to stand 2 inches from one.
What does the future look like at this point?
I actually plan on moving to New York this summer and plan on giving the whole modeling thing in the real world a shot and see how things work out.
With only 4 girls remaining in the competition, who are you cheering for?
I would have to say either Natasha or Renee. I think they’re both fantastic models. I think they both will go very far in the competition and in their careers in the industry.
Would you like to say anything to the fans and people who have cheered you on, and been so supportive?
I would just like to say, “Thank you for supporting me.” I think it’s great that there are people out there that do support me. I’ll try to do well in my future career for all of you.
Do you have a Myspace page? How can you fans get in touch with you?
I don’t have a Myspace page at the current time. I guess I should get around to putting up one or something but they can contact me through the CW website.
It was a pleasure speaking with you Brittany. Good luck with modeling. Thank you for your time. Bye!
Oh thank you. Bye!
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