Stylista villain Megan claims she was a victim of editing, and accused rival contestant Kate of being homophobic. Kate—as well as Megan's former business partner—promptly contacted us about how Megan's bitchiness is indeed, very real.
Stylista underdog, and the focus of much of Megan's mean girl-ness, Kate Gallagher, also emailed us, upset about Megan's allegation that Kate slung homophobic epithets behind the scenes.
Look, I've never contacted a press source before, but this time I just couldn't help myself. Megan is preaching to the United States that she's some sweet innocent girl and this whole show was a big fraud, and I can't stomach it for one more second.
She agreed to an interview about this mess.
So what are the root of these "homophobe" allegations?
Right after my elimination I wrote another blog entry on ELLE.com. I was extremely fragile at that time, and emotionally very unstable. The behavior on that show was just an awful fashion version of Lord of the Flies. On the first episode where I wore a corset dress [and] I was nicknamed "BOOBS," but that never really ended. The sexual harassment and bullying continued for weeks. The nice people in the loft were eliminated so early on, that by the time William left I just broke down and cried everyday. I knew what I was left with. I called Dyshaun a gay slur at the end of our fight [in which he called her "Chlamydia"]. I was yelling and hysterically crying saying that if he didn't leave then I was going to. It was edited out. It should have been. After weeks of filming around, and with, a lot of gay men, I'm pretty certain the producers were confident that I wasn't a homophobe, but rather I was just being pushed too damn far. Megan and Johanna reported that I had been taunting him because he was gay and that was the reason for the comments he made to me. It takes the viewer into another area that is completely out of context. I do not advocate the use of the word, in any situation, but that group incited the behavior which makes my comment entirely void of falling under any category of hate speech.
How has it affected you?
It was painful to deal with the media backlash of her all caps letter. I called [Stylista contestant] William and read it and he said in his accent, "It's like call up those people or whateva and simply tell them that's not true, can you do that? I mean really." It made me smile but it didn't change what damage was already done. I live in San Francisco and I grew up in Palm Springs. I've been a gay rights activist since college. So to take a hit like that on a community I love so much was hard. You don't want to ever offend anyone or make them believe that you have any hate inside of you toward a sexual orientation.
Was there a period, after taping ended, that you and Megan ever made peace? Have you spoken since then, aside from communication on the internet?
Yes, for about a minute at the very beginning of the season we decided to be civil. Then I watched the show. I heard all of her interview answers. I had the most airtime and articles and comments throughout the show so that seemed to upset [her].
What do you make of the assertions that editing manipulated situations, storylines, and people's personalities?
Victims of editing! If they were victims of editing and their behavior was inaccurate then I was a participant in one of the biggest frauds of all time, because my [elimination] was a direct result of my emotional response to their acting. Should I be getting SAG rates for being hustled so badly or is someone just lying? I would feel a lot better if they said, "Yeah, we did act exactly like that on the show, but in real life we are nice." Then it would make more sense.
How did you feel about the way that you, personally, were edited?
I was edited exactly the way I behaved. We all were. I was a talented wreck. I think the only hard thing was the "BIMBO" reference. I'm a really smart girl. Being around people that didn't smile ever was really scary for me. I was experiencing a serious culture shock. I'm also not as wealthy as some of the other kids, so instead of just being considered a normal 22-year-old with college loans to payoff, I was branded the girl with no style. I mean you put me next to someone in a $900 dress what do you expect?
Do you think that your elimination speech affected the outcome of the competition, since your recommendations were pretty much taken?
Absolutely. Johanna was best of the three. She has the academic credentials and her age and work ethic made for a good choice. However, I don't think it's fair that anyone without a BA was even let in the final three. I don't care if you know every damn designer that ever lived walked or breathed, too many people, myself included worked too hard for their degrees to not take a little offense to that.
Are you done with trying to break into the fashion industry now?
I don't think the fashion industry needs a Katie. Besides, if that is what the fashion industry is about, then one word: YUCK.
Read more about Kate on her blog, StylistaKate.