America's Next Top Model

On this week's episode of America's Next Top Model, Tyra eliminated Sarah Hartshorne from the competition.  Sarah ended up in the bottom two this week with Chantal after Tyra felt neither of them were climbing to the top of the pack.  Tyra felt that Sarah did not have a place in the modeling world, saying she was too thin to be plus size and too big to be a regular model.  She also felt that Sarah had not gotten better since the first day and was too uncomfortable with herself.  Today, Sarah talked to BuddyTV about her elimination and her time on America's Next Top Model.

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

Hey everybody, this is Gina from BuddyTV and today, I’m talking to Sarah from America’s Next Top Model.  Well, let’s talk a little bit about growing up.  I’m wondering if modeling was something you always wanted to do?

Oh no, not at all. I don’t think there was a point in my life where if you’d offered me a contract I would have said no, but I just never thought about it. My mom is a poet and my dad was a journalist and he’s very intellectual, and my grandfather is a novelist ... so I have a very creative family, but it’s in a very different way. So it’s sort of always, education first, which I’m very grateful for and I love being a student. It was just never ... I just never thought of it.


For you, what was the appeal about being on America’s Next Top Model?

I really tried out last minute at the urging of someone else, so I never ... you know. I have no Idea what I would have said if you’d asked me because I just never thought in my head. Once I realized I was going to be on the show, I was just sort of shocked and just ... you know, I didn’t even know what to think. It was so surprising.


From day one until the day you were eliminated, it did look like you had lost weight, but did you? Or were you trying to?

I was certainly not trying to. I lost like three and half pounds. I hadn’t really thought about it but now that I do, maybe a lot of it was just the way I was carrying myself. Being in a house full of models you straighten up. You stand tall. Like when I’d laugh I used to kind of hunch up. Like the pictures that they show to contrast between what I look like before and after, I’m sort of laughing and hunching up my shoulders and I don’t do that so much anymore. I think maybe a lot of it was carriage and being aware of my body, which I never really had to be before except as an actress. And that’s a very different type of awareness.


Your elimination had a lot of BuddyTV readers really upset, especially since Tyra makes such a big deal about being okay with your body on her talk show. When she brought up your weight as an issue, what were your thoughts on that?

My thought was that, it is an issue. And I acknowledge that. And it’s an issue in the fashion industry on both ends. Weight is an issue in America really. We have and obesity problem, but at the same time we have problems with eating disorders among young girls. So, it’s an issue at a really high level of American culture and consciousness, but it’s also an issue in the fashion industry. Therefore, it’s going to be an issue on the show. So, I don’t think she’s wrong to bring it up. I mean, it’s unfortunate that she brought it up, but it does and she did. She always said that I was beautiful, so it’s not as though she ever said anything disparaging about the way I looked. So, I never really felt that badly or anything.


Can you talk a little bit about the conditions at the video shoot and a little bit about what made Heather not feel so well and feel faint?

You know what happened there was, they happened to film her segment, her and Jenah’s segment during lunch, and so she didn’t get to eat lunch. And time just kept going on and there was stuff to do and we were sort of sitting. And then we were filming that scene, we were sort of jumping up and down in this big dance club and it was so hot. It was probably 100 degrees down there. And it’s summer in Los Angeles, you know? In the desert, it’s going to be hot. So, underground, no windows, jumping in heels with no food and not enough water and it was just too much. It was a lot for all of us. It was really really hot. It was fun and exciting, but looking back she just sort of ... it just worked out that it was just too much for her body. I don’t think ... I mean, it would be easy to blame her weight or something like that, but I don’t think anyone could have really handled it. I think she just pushed herself too hard.


We have a lot of BuddyTV readers who are now pulling for Heather and Jenah to go far in the competition, what do you think about their performances so far?

I think they’ve been very very strong so far. I think they’ve really done well and I think they are very very talented models. I think all the girls in the house are. They have been at the top of the pac, so that definitely deserves respect. They deserve kudos for that, they’ve done so well. I mean all the girls are really amazing models, I think they all have it in them and they’ve all turned out great performances. Those two have just had a lot.


And what’s your goal in life after top model now? Will you continue modeling? Or will you look to act?

I hope to model and act. I still hold on to that dream of being an actress, which I’ve had since I’ve been 11. So it’s hard to let that go. Now I’m excited to have this new career aspect, I’m really excited for whatever comes next. And top model was great. And I was really surprised at how angry people were that I was eliminated. I’m so touched. I mean I was upset. A lot of my reaction was just how tired I was, and you know everything seems worse when you’re exhausted which I absolutely was. But that was really nice. I was really really touched.


Well there’s a lot of supporters here at BuddyTV and we hope to hear good things from you in the future Sarah.

Definitely. I’m so flattered. And thank you so much and thanks to all the readers and commenters.


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