America's Next Top Model

There's something interesting happening this season on America's Next Top Model.  It seems that the judges make a decision about a particular model and then there's nothing she can say or do to prevent her elimination from happening.  Last week, Tyra and company came to the decision that Marvita had checked out of the competition and sent her home.  This week, they felt that Aimee was too young and naive to do well in the modeling world and gave her a one way ticket home.  Aimee says that she felt she was not only able to handle the competition but more mature than some of her fellow contestants who were years older.  Today, she spoke to BuddyTV about her elimination and what the future holds for her.

Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.

Hey everyone, this is Gina from BuddyTV, and today I'm talking to Aimee from America's Next Top Model.

Hi.


Hey Aimee, how are you?

I'm doing okay. How are you?


I'm good. Well on last night's episode, the judges kept talking about how young you were and how inexperienced you were. So first of all, how old are you?

I'm 18.


Did you feel like you weren't ready for the competition, or that you didn't have the maturity to do well?

I think I was definitely ready for the competition. I think that the judges had possibly looked at that I had kind of a religious upbringing, and the fact that I was the youngest girl in the house. I think they developed the impression without really seeing who I really was. In my opinion, I feel like I'm more mature for my age than maybe a few of the other girls were.


Yeah, you definitely treated the other girls with respect and you stayed out of drama. What was your opinion of the other girls in the house and the way they behaved?

A lot of times it was just really petty. As Lauren said, some of the arguments in the house, they're just ridiculous. It'd be over really stupid stuff, so a lot of times I just tried to stay out of the drama. I'm not one to really get in on the arguments with people.


On last night's episode, everybody was so mad at Dominique over the alarm clock. Did you have a problem with it?

I did have a problem with that part. It had woken us up several mornings in a row, so it was pretty annoying. That morning it didn't wake me up, but it had happened several times, to the point where everybody was really mad about it.


Is being on the show tiring? Do you have a very full day when you're filming?

Yeah, it's really tiring. I know that I had to get chamomile tea, because I was spending a lot of time tossing and turning in bed, thinking about what I would do the next day and what happened that day. There was so much stuff that it was hard to really relax.


Was there any part of being on a reality show that you weren't prepared for, such as the lack of privacy?

I think it's the lack of privacy. I kind of knew, kind of had an idea, but I don't think that I knew to that extent that there would be no privacy. Even for photo shoots and stuff, we're stripping down right in front of everybody to get changed into outfits. In the modeling world I'm going to have to do that, and I'm prepared to do that kind of stuff for runway shows, so it wasn't too big of a deal.


You said last night that you were happy that you didn't win the prize that Anya won, the naked photo shoot with Nigel. Do you feel that doing modeling you will do nude photo shoots, or do you think that you'll stick to your morals?

I don't really have a problem with it. I see it more as a form of art. It is an advertisement, and I would be selling a product, I wouldn't be selling my body. I'm pretty okay with doing that. I'd probably do simulated nude, where it wouldn't be an actual scene where I would be naked, but it would look like I am.


Last week, the judges said that Marvita had checked out of the competition, and this week, they said you were too young for it. Do you think there's anything you could have done to change their minds, or were they already set that you were the one going home?

I think they were set in the beginning that they felt like I was too naive for the competition, or that I needed to experience more. It was kind of frustrating, because last week, for the paint photo shoot, they were criticizing me because I wasn't enough of myself when I came into the judging room, and because I was a lot of a chameleon. But I don't know, it kind of confused me, because I had always seen being a chameleon as such a positive thing, and yet they were kind of criticizing me for it. Maybe I should have pushed myself harder in the last photo shoot. I think there was a lot more that I could have done, so if I could I would change that part.


When they say that you need to mature or experience life more, do you know what they mean by that? Do they mean they want you to travel? Do they mean they want you to fall in love and have a relationship? What do they want you to do?

I think, yeah, they just want me to maybe travel and get out there more. Get into the modeling world and really experience it for what it really is. I think they just feel like I'm more sheltered than I really am.


What's the plan now for you in terms of pursuing a modeling career?

I plan to apply for college first of all, then I definitely want to do modeling after that, probably during college. Now that I'm off the show, I'm going to go look for agencies and see where that takes me.


Will education come first before a modeling career?

It is important to me, for sure. I think it's important to have an education or foundation to really get anywhere, because if modeling ends up not working out, I really want to have a backup plan.


Alright. Well I just wanted to thank you Aimee, and I wish you good luck.

Thank you.

- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of CW)