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Sunday, December 13, 2009

VH1 Interview: Jaguar (For The Love Of Ray-J)




Luscious announced that she was celibate on the first episode of For the Love of Ray J 2, but it was Jaguar who emerged with the reputation for being the most prudish. Below, she talks about unaired kisses with Ray, behaving herself in front of the cameras, beef with Heartbreaker and why she’s ultimately OK with her portrayal.


How was your time on the show?

I had fun. I wouldn’t change anything that I did. I’d do it all over again if I had to.

It seems like the fact that you wouldn’t kiss Ray was a major roadblock for him. Was that how you experienced it?

It’s funny, because we actually did kiss a couple of times on our dates, but they didn’t show that.

Really? Like, full-on kissing?

We kissed. It wasn’t down the throat or anything, but we did have our cute romantic moments. I just feel like Ray had his favorites in the house, and he, I guess, wanted to see even more from me. I think it stemmed from the first date. He gathered that I had a wall up, and it was hard to prove to him that it was still OK to flirt with me. I think that wall was hard for him.

You didn’t think that you were one his favorites? You had four dates with him…

In the house, he was automatically drawn to about three of the girls, and no matter what was going on in the house, he was like a magnet to them. We all saw it. Now that I’m watching, though, I realize that he was a little more into me than I thought.

All of that said, you do admit that you were relatively reserved, right?

To an extent. I wasn’t the loudest or the most touchy-feely person in the house, but that’s kinda how I am. I open up slowly.

Was there any element of playing hard to get in there?

It probably looked like it, but I really wasn’t playing. I was trying to be myself. Being in the house, we’re already thrown into this situation where it’s do-or-die. You have to do things for the show that you wouldn’t normally do. I think I was so stuck in trying to prove that I can still be me and win this competition, I was so stuck in trying to not do anything crazy, that it made it seem like I was playing a game.

So you were aware of how your behavior might translate to TV?

I was very aware. I wanted to be outgoing, but at the same time I didn’t want to go overboard. You have to go home and watch this, and your parents have to watch it. That was always on my mind.

You told Ray before you were eliminated that you were “trying to make this something real.” What was that in response to?

It was in response to what I was seeing in the house. A lot of people were playing a game. They were putting on a show for the cameras. I was trying to show Ray: forget the cameras, I’m trying to get to know you. I wasn’t out to feel on him in the hot tub and then forget about him. I didn’t want to be another Cocktail: go through the motions, and then we don’t end up as anything. I wasn’t there for fun – I wanted to make something out of it.

What did you think of Ray coming away from the show?

I get it. I can see where he would think that I was just being withdrawn for no reason. When I first got eliminated, I was mad. I felt like he was choosing fun over something real. But I always respected his choice. He likes what he likes.

There was an extra that featured you getting into it with Heartbreaker. What was that all about?

Lava called the house and made up some conversation between us that I was there for my career. The whole house was talking about it, but it was Heartbreaker who went to Ray to tell him that. She said I was there for my career and always singing. Just making me sound real bad. I finally talked to Ray and he told me, “You might want to handle that.” I confronted her, and it turned into this big old thing. She really pissed me off for forming an opinion on some he said/she said.

Are you pursuing singing as a career?

I am now. That stems from the show. After the challenge on this week’s show, Brandy took me to the side and told me, “Jaguar, you should really pursue this and think about doing this for real.” Because that came from Brandy, a legend, when I got home, I thought, “You know, I’m just gonna do it. Full out.” I have a single coming out, “Neighbors.” It’s on my MySpace.

It’s interesting that the exposure issue caused a fight, when your career might still end up benefiting from you being on the show.

Right. As much as Heartbreaker tried to tear me down, it ended up helping me in a sense. People are more aware of my singing now.

Is there anything else you wanted to talk about that we didn’t cover?

At first I was mad at how they were making me look really goofy and awkward, but I’m satisfied with it now. I laugh at it. I’m happy the way I was edited. Looking back on the episodes, I’m glad I left the way I did.

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