It's nothing new for a reality TV contestant to complain about his or her portrayal on a show. It's actually a good way to extend your fifteen minutes: raise a ruckus about what the truth really is.
Rachael Murphy, aka "Aussie Rachael," from
America's Most Smartest Model, however, has a different beef with the producers of that show.
She's not so much upset about how she was portrayed ON the show, rather, it's how the show was portrayed TO her prior to her agreeing to participate.
Rachael recently underwent the America's Most Smartest Model post-show cleansing ritual: an interview with the VH1 blog.
(As an aside, I must admit, I find it admirable that VH1 not only allows their reality show participants to give quite frank interviews after the show – and debate the reality of the reality show, a la
Heather Chadwell's cries of editing funny business after the
Rock of Love finale – but actually carries out interviews like that AND publishes them. Imagine ABC doing that with the women of
The Bachelor. Oh wait – you can't, can you? Yeah, neither can I.)
Aussie Racahel's complaint about
America's Most Smartest Model is that she feels like she was given the ol' bait-n-switch.
She said, “I didn't anticipate for being involved in that kind of a show. It wasn't anything like I expected it to be. I was told that it was a show that was to be more structured. It wasn't going to be as voyeuristic or invasive. We would be able to live in our own accommodations, have our own transportation we'd only be required on set from 9 to 5 like normal business hours. I was expecting it to be more of a host type role that I'd be assuming myself rather than being a contestant on a spoof, like a spin-off reality show. I was told by the producers that we actually had to have some intelligence to get through the experience. Then I really wasn't told much about the concept of the show. It wasn't something that I would have ordinarily signed up for.”
That said, she doesn't have any complaints about how she was portrayed on the show. She remarked, “[T]hey edited the footage of me pretty well. They made me out to be sort of sweet and innocent. Which is nice, I'm pleased they did that. They could have gone a completely different direction.”
And ultimately, she found a way to still enjoy herself. “I had a good time,” she said, “don't get me wrong. I enjoyed meeting new people, I enjoyed getting to know some people in the business. Once I was able to laugh about it, I did enjoy myself. I think that was the key: just being able to accept it for what it was. I've looked at the footage and I was always smiling or laughing so I was enjoying myself. It was just a little misleading, but I don't regret doing it.”
- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: VH1 Blog
(Image courtesy of VH1)