Jamie who was on the team Roll Models on Money Hungry did a post show interview with
VH1.com She talks about her time on the show, why she was a prime target. She also says that she was a bit insecure going to the hot tub with four men and that her tears were real. She also adds that she will "leave the door open" for Josh, since he has a crush on her.
How was the Money Hungry experience for you overall?
Overall, it was a good experience. It was very surreal to be followed by cameras all day long. I would do it again, you know, but maybe with different circumstances.
Obviously you were a prime target. Why do you think so many people had nasty things to say about you?
I didn’t do anything to be targeted the way that I was. Something happened behind the scenes of production early on that had a negative effect on the way others in house viewed me and I think that ultimately led to me to be a target and led my team being on the chopping block. I’m not at liberty to discuss the details of what goes on behind the scenes. But that was the initial reason why I was targeted.
So it was out of your control?
Completely out of my control. Something that was not my fault. Something that happened with production. That was the initial reason why we were targeted. Additionally, Bridget had a problem with me apparently from Day 1, and I think that ultimately she just didn’t give me a chance. I think ultimately they saw me doing my own thing. They saw me enjoying myself. They saw me dancing and not being ashamed of my body and maybe they were a little bit jealous that they couldn’t feel so free, that they couldn’t feel so good about themselves. Shanté and I went on the show partly to show that you could feel beautiful at any size. It’s our mission to show women everywhere see that they can feel beautiful regardless of shape, size or color.
Do you feel people misconstrued that? A lot of people on the first episode where saying that you weren’t there for the right reasons because of your modeling and your entertaining.
I was absolutely there for the right reasons. And who is to say what the right reasons are for being on a reality show? Everybody in that house was there to be on television. There are so many other ways that you could put $10,000 to use to lose weight that does not involve being on TV. Anybody that was in that house was there to be on a TV show regardless of what their own specific reasons were. I was there to lose weight and to inspire and entertain people because that’s what I do. I am an entertainer. And I want to touch people doing that
How much weight did you end up losing?
I personally wound up losing 18 lbs. in the first two episodes.
That’s pretty good, right?
Yes and actually, it upset me to watch the show and for people to say that all I was doing was dancing the whole time to lose weight. I worked my butt off, doing machines, doing the treadmill. I did so much more than dancing and it showed on the scale. I had one of the highest number percentages of weight loss out of any girl in the house, both weeks that I was there. So I was absolutely there for the right reasons. And then Tricia, Missy and Bridget calling me ugly? I mean, take a look in the mirror and into your own soul and then see who’s ugly. I couldn’t believe the things Tricia and Missy were saying about me considering that they’re teachers. They should be more mature than that.
How humiliating was the hot-tub situation, when you flirted with a tub full of guys in vain?
I was not humiliated at all by what I did in the hot tub. I went in there legitimately to talk Yamil and Johnny to find out who they were going to give immunity to. And when I got there I almost turned back because I was a little insecure getting into the hot tub with four guys on camera. I was embarrassed by how it was edited on TV. Not everything you see on reality shows happens in the exact order or at the exact time it seems on reality shows. That’s part of the editing process. That’s all I can really say about that.
So in other words, it wasn’t as awkward as we had been led to believe?
The scene was not nearly as awkward as people were lead to believe. The guys on the show actually all were great to me. The only guy that might have had a slight problem with me was Phillip. But we all know he is kind of a diva himself. The girls were catty. And I was pretty amazed at what Bridget said, because she’s supposed to be a human-resource specialist. She is supposed to give everyone a fair shot from the beginning, and she kind of spearheaded the whole campaign against me. And there was nothing I could do to change her mind. I never said a bad word about anybody on the entire show. My whole mission on the show was, and my whole mission in life is to show people the beauty that’s within themselves. So for people to be judging me for being ugly on the inside is absurd to me and pretty hurtful.
What about Josh? He was clearly interested in you.
I think what Josh did for me was amazing. He is such a sweet guy, totally a diamond in the rough. And I knew at some point that he had a crush on me. Initially I had been hoping that he and his partner Melissa were going to get together because they look like a cute couple. But then I found out that he had a crush on me. And I think he’s great! I think he’s very sweet. And we talk now on Facebook often.
But you don’t like him like that?
I’m going to leave the door open.
Really?
Yeah! I’ll leave the door open.
I was confused about the situation with Shanté’s relative. It seemed that her grandmother had passed away but it also seemed to that her husband’s grandmother had passed because she said, “Tony’s grandmother passed away.”
Shanté’s husband’s grandmother passed away but it was as if Shanté’s grandmother had passed away. She was very close to her. I was emotional, just because of the stress of the house and because I love Shanté. She is one of my best friends. And for her to be in pain makes me sad. The tears in the Jacuzzi were 100 percent real. The tears in the confessional were 100 percent real.
Speaking of being an actress, and a singer and an entertainer, were you happy with the level of exposure you got at the show?
I was happy to get exposure on the show. I was not happy with the kind of exposure I got with the singing and the dancing. I had been a trained dancer for years. I’ve danced professionally; I sing professionally. I am much better than the clips that they chose to put out there. But I can’t blame them. They want to tell a story so they are going to try to make me look like I’m crazy for thinking that I’m talented. Is that embarrassing? Yes. But anyone who has seen me perform, for real, knows that I am much more talented than what was shown on the show. And I think that’s also a reason why some of the girls were jealous. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with A Pair of Nuts going on the show partially to promote their comedy. If you have something to share with the world you should be proud to share it.
So you’re out $5,000 at least, $10,000 for your team. Does that hurt?
Well, it hurts to be out the money because we got it from corporate sponsors and we had a responsibility to our sponsors and their time got cut short, largely due to reasons that not within my control. I had hoped going into it that people would be eliminated solely based on their weight…
That would have been like a more traditional kind of weight loss show.
Yeah, exactly. Because we probably could have won. Because we had the second highest percentage weight loss the first week and the third highest percentage the week we were eliminated. But when they threw the curve ball at us, it was like, oh my gosh. This changes it. This changes everything. And you know, when they threw the curve ball at us it was like “Wow, maybe I shouldn’t have let myself shine as much or be as openly me as much because it’s causing animosity from some of the female contestants.” But then again I don’t think you should let yourself shine any less to make others happy. That’s kind of what they were hoping to do.
Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?
I would love to share with you that now Shanté and I are holding sessions with teenage girls about their self-esteem and their body image. We’re starting with one of our sponsors, Camp Shane, and its really rewarding and touching to be able to help these girls feel better about themselves and realize that they’re beautiful now, to make them realize the same things that make them beautiful now will make them beautiful when they lose weight and they would still be beautiful if they gained weight. Those things don’t change. The problem with people’s negative self-esteem does not magically go away when you lose 80 lbs. If you don’t love yourself now, you’re not going to love yourself when you lose weight. And so that’s why it’s so important to spread the message that you are beautiful at any size and we are really, really happy with the work that we are doing with them. Watching the show I was really hurt by all the negative things the girls were saying about me. But if I let that affect my self-esteem, they would win. The show was kind of like a big test for me. If I am going to be talking about self-esteem and body image, I can’t let a few catty girls on reality show destroy my self-esteem. I have to be able to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
