Last Wednesday night, Jaeda Young, a student from Parkersburg, Iowa, was the eighth girl eliminated during the seventh cycle of The CW′s hit dramality series, AMERICA′S NEXT TOP MODEL.
During the judging, Jaeda warned the judges of her poor performance before they watched her commercial. "You were right to warn us. It was like watching a car crash," Twiggy said. Despite the judges′ appreciation of Jaeda′s beauty, they could not overlook that week after week she had been in the bottom two. "Some girls need a little bit more time," Tyra said before eliminating her from the race to become AMERICA′S NEXT TOP MODEL
Our own RealityTVWebsite.com Elaine James caught up with Jaeda in this exclusive one-on-one interview.
Elaine James: You said on the show that everyone is telling you to just get over your hair. Looking back now, was it silly to dwell on that, or do you still feel as strongly about it as you did then?
Jaeda Young: My hair was my everything, back then. Having my hair cut, it just made me find myself. I′m more than just my hair and I′m more than just my looks. I have an interesting personality and it′s opening my eyes to some new things.
Elaine James: So when did you come to this realization?
Jaeda Young: (Laughing) I didn′t realize it until I got home and was off the show. I wish I could have realized that earlier. I think I would have lasted a lot longer if I would have had the strength that I do now.
Elaine James: So what does it look like now? It is short or long?
Jaeda Young: It′s still short. It′s grown out a bit, but it′s still short. I think I′m just going to keep it this way.
Elaine James: How did it feel when you found out that you had to kiss the male model that hated black girls?
Jaeda Young: First of all, it was really upsetting and frustrating. Everyone else was getting an equal opportunity to learn the script and go over it and I′m not because he never went over it with me. So the next day I′m upset because I never really learned my lines and I′m upset and him and then there was his comment and then I′ve got to kiss him and it′s all in my head.
Elaine James: So it′s down to you and these other five girls. You′ve made it this far; did you start to think you had a chance to go all the way or were you ready to go home?
Jaeda Young: It was a mixture of both. I really wanted to go home, but I might as well go for the gold because I′ve made it this far and I′ve gone through all this crap and got my haircut. I′ve been uncomfortable for this long; I might as well finish it off.
Elaine James: At the judging, you and Caridee were standing in front of Tyra and she said you were the girl with nine lives in this competition. Did you know you would be the one going home?
Jaeda Young: Yeah, I figured I would. I was prepared for it because I know I didn′t do that well. I wasn′t surprised.
Elaine James: So tell me about your best experience and your worst experience on the show.
Jaeda Young: The worst was probably the second shoot when I had just gotten all my hair cut off. They were like, hurry up and practice in the mirror with your short hair and then they slap hair on me for the next shoot and tell me to model through the hair. My best time was hanging out with the girls and doing the impression of Tyra.
Elaine James: So what was your favorite shoot?
Jaeda Young: My favorite shoot was the runway shoot. I feel like I was really strong in that. The runway at first was so scary because you could fall in. It was so fun and I just loved it because it was exciting and trilling.
Elaine James: What′s next for you?
Jaeda Young: It′s depends. If I get offers for modeling jobs then I might move to New York or LA. If I don′t get offers right away, then I might just go back to school. I′ll do anything I can to be in the fashion world.
Elaine James: Who are you rooting for to win?
Jaeda Young: I′m rooting for Caridee. She′s got the best personality. Photo Credits: Tracy Bayne/ The CW Network
