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Trying to interview Kelly Cutrone is like trying to drink from a fire hose. We had coffee with the PR maven-turned reality star-turned America's Next Top Model judge yesterday, intending to ask her a handful of questions about the show, but we got so much more than we bargained for. Read on to see what she has to say about replacing Andre Leon Talley, her hard-ass image, wearing rollers in her hair, the Jean Paul Gaultier-Amy Winehouse controversy, Adele, the entertainment industry in general, and how to stay positive about it all. (Fair warning: be prepared for a few f-bombs along the way.)
· Kelly on being an ANTM judge: "I like it. I mean, I do it all day for free, so the fact that I can get paid for it, I felt like I was multitasking."
· On replacing Andre Leon Talley: "I think he was nicer. People don't really want me to be nice on TV. If I'm too nice, the dial goes way down. Kids want me to tell it like it is, and they want me to speak up for them. They haven't chosen me to be the fairy of sweetness."
· On her hard-ass image: "There's a really good rule: The bitch on TV is the nice girl in real life, and the nice girl on TV is the bitch in real life. Ask any hair and makeup person, they'll tell you."
· On competition: "I learned a lot about myself by watching these girls. It was an amazing sociological study of emotion and thought. When something goes bad, you have to just get back up, and brush yourself off, and start again. What happened was if someone had a bad photo, it would just become this drill into devastation and pity, and then you'd just watch them fall apart. So they'd have a bad first shot, then they'd take a bad second shot, then they'd take a bad third shot. Next thing you know, they're crying on set. Next thing you know people are trying to help them up. Next thing you know, they've just got themselves out of the competition, because of that negativity."
· On doing her own social media: "I really like to talk to the kids. I don't want to give them some fake version of me. I think that's the whole beauty of social media. When I was growing up, it was like, imagine if you could call the Fonz and say, 'Fonzi, you fucking looked hot in that leather jacket.' The whole point is that it's supposed to be instant, and real, and vulnerable. I don't want to have a fake me."
· On Adele: "She's like 50 years old. I'm pretty sure she's the reincarnation of Dusty Springfield."
· On the Jean Paul Gaultier-Amy Winehouse controversy: "She was a legend when she was alive. She was definitely a controversial figure then, and I can't imagine being upset with Jean Paul Gaultier, who's one of the greatest designers in the world, and who's created some of the iconic images of women, including Madonna."
· On the entertainment industry: "I started thinking about who gets in and out of the industry, and it's usually people who don't drink or do drugs, or have stopped. Everyone else seems to take a very serious hit. I've never seen anybody who's life didn't get worse. Except Keith Richards."
· On putting her hair in rollers for the show: "I felt like the senior citizens version of a Guess ad. I'd put on a really big bulky coat and hop out to find Nigel [Barker] on the set, who would always be in his tie and suit. He was like my husband on TV. It was very Mrs. Roper."
· On staying positive: "If I had a dime for every time I thought I was going to lose my company, or my life was over, or I would never love again, I'd be a really, really rich woman. Now, I can see that devastation coming. It used to get inside of me and have it's way with me, but now it's like, 'Oh, ok, here you come. I know how I'm going to handle you now.'"
· On success: "The more successful you get, the less opportunity for wellness you have, because you're trying to juggle all this stuff. Sometimes negative things come and take a bite out of your ass. And you think that drinking wine at night or fucking some asshole is going to make you feel better. It's not... Sometimes I jump into a sea of dysfunction, and then I say to myself, 'Ok, did you have fun? Cause it's over now.' That's where having good faith, and good women, and good family become the most beautiful, powerful things you can have."
See her in action for yourself tonight on the premier of America’s Next Top Model: British Invasion at 9/8c on the CW.
· America's Next Top Model [cwtv.com]
· All ANTM coverage [Racked]
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