An Interview with Schatar "Hottie" Taylor
Matt Richenthal
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Although she's been expelled from Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, Schatar "Hottie" Taylor wants you to know she's no dumb blonde.
She said as much in a recent interview with Essence magazine. Here are some highlights from it:
You were outraged and demanded a public apology from VH1 when you were kicked off the show. Why?
This is the reality: I was defamed. For the record, I'm not a thief and I'm not a gold digger. The judges should have held off on eliminations until they reviewed the tape, which revealed the two girls who were responsible for hiding Leilene's (Smiley's) photos under my mattress. I didn't even know who'd done it until the episode aired.
Even after hiding Heather's (Krazy's) clothing earlier, you'd say this incident was sabotage and not karma?
That definitely wasn't karma. Larissa (Bootz) and Shay (Buckeey) stooped so low when they decided to hide Leilene's deceased mother's photos. They could have hidden anything else. I played a prank, but what they did was devious. And Mo'Nique could have said, "Schatar if I find out that I'm wrong about this, I will promise to bring you on tour as my opening act;" the same way she promised to have Goldie on tour, and implied offering assistance with Krazy's debut CD when they were expelled.
No, it had nothing to do with circumstances of elimination. Courtney was offered to go on tour, but all of the girls should have been offered something just like American Idol goes on tour with its contestants.
Wow, okay. You've also said you would like to have your own VH1 show entitled Shopping Couture With Schatar. Why should anyone trust you as an authority on fashion?
My fans love my sense of style! Everywhere I go - from Disneyland to different countries - they compliment my taste in clothes. In fact, after the fashion episode I was asked many times if I was going to start my own collection.
You claim to know couture but the clerks at the thrift store felt otherwise.
If my stuff is worth nothing, how were Darra and I able to raise $600? Now, the people that work there devalued my clothing because they probably figured they'd keep the items and give it to their friends. Also, I have to mention that the underwear on the picture in the room in an earlier episode, were not mine. They were way too big for me; I'm a size four or five. Maybe they were Brooke's (Pumkin's).
Do you think you ever crossed the line on the show and played yourself?
Not at all. I understand that the name of the game is ratings, so I made sure to do my best to provide entertainment that the audience and I could enjoy and laugh at. I am the female Tiger Woods of the big and small screens. He calculates his moves for a winning stroke and so do I.
If you had won, how would you have spent the $50,000?
I was planning to give back by donating 10 percent to a charity.
Do you feel you learned anything from Charm School?
As far as etiquette, I am a true descendant of royalty so I learned at an early age about proper manners, table settings and such. When I agreed to do the show, I did it thinking I'd have the opportunity to do volunteer work of some kind and make a difference that way.
You're so confident. What adversities have you faced?
As a child growing up in Washington, D.C., I suffered from an eye condition called Exotropia. The disease nearly blinded me, and I wore an eye patch and glasses. Because I had moved from Boston, I had a dialect that was different from everyone else's. For these reasons I was often picked on in school and kids threatened to beat me up. Enduring four eye surgeries to maintain my vision helped me become strong at a young age. My strength is one of the reasons the women on the show could never rattle me.
Do you have any insecurities?
I ride a motorcycle and I know how to shoot a gun, so I don't have time for insecurity.
Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.
