Ilan Hall, Top Chef Season 2 winner, blames the show’s editing for the awful impression and the unpleasant image that lingered on the minds of viewers after his inclusion on the reality cooking show.

The 24-year old chef is not alone with his stance. “What I didn't expect was how much I believed what I saw and how much friends who have known Ilan since he was little reassessed their opinion of him, good and bad, based on the edited version of reality that they saw weekly on the small screen," Rita Hall, mother of Ilan Hall, wrote in Sunday's edition of Newsday, where she works as a section designer in the newspaper's editorial department.

Rita stands by her views and defends his son against the "viewers in the blogosphere." She also was furious about acquisitions that her son did not deserve to win Top Chef regardless of being the most triumphant in the elimination rounds, as well as speculations that he is gay.

In addition, the Newsday article also expressed Ilan’s opinion, having the same views with his mother, stating what the viewers saw “wasn’t all of me…it was TV…The only thing that's real about reality TV is that the people you see are not scripted actors. The situations are completely contrived - which is fine, they are making a TV show," wrote Ilan. "What's real are people's reactions to those situations. Since most of the episodes are taken from several days of shooting, you aren't getting the purest representation of what everybody is doing. But the things that are happening are not fake. They are real people in real situations."

Moreover, he tackles the nasty side of reality shows, pulling from what he experienced in the show Top Chef. "You are sort of signing your likeness away. They can manipulate and mold you into whatever they want," he wrote. "They create situations that make you seem a little more conniving than you actually are. They don't show entire conversations that would explain why you are reacting in a certain way. They will cut out encouragement or instigation from other contestants. What you saw on TV was me, just an edited me."

-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist

Source: RealityTVWorld