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Remember the time I started sobbing blogically when Leslie got eliminated from America’s Next Top Model? Because I put $5 on her in the office pool and I also thought she was fackin’ hott? Yeah. Anyway, I managed to contact her on MySpace (yes, sigh, I know) and got her to answer some Q&A. Hooray!

Me: When you first arrived in LA with the top 32, was there anybody who blew you away? Like, made you go, “oh, crap”.

Leslie: I first saw Jade and I did kind of go “oh, crap”. I remember especially when it was down to the final 24 (I think that was the number before the final 13) and we did that photoshoot with 10 frames. Jade was pulling some poses with her arms and all, and I remember some of the girls and I went “okaaay, she knows what she’s doing!”. She’s gorgeous and she has this certain aura about her when you first meet her. But then you know, you start talking to her and it’s just good-ol crazy Jade!

Me: What makes you laugh the most when you’re watching the episodes?

Leslie: A lot of things make me laugh! Like last night with the Thai dancing and how they edited Furonda’s dance. I was laughing for like 5 minutes straight. Where was she hiding those moves during the krumping? It was just hilarious. Just the little things, like the commentary girls make or comments that come from the judges. It’s a trip down memory lane and you remember funny things that happened in the house they didn’t neccesarily show. And of course my duck-walk was an easy target. Trust me, I was there with everyone else poking fun at my booty.

Me: I read that your fave photo was the sexy criminologist. Which photo from another girl did you love?

Leslie: Hmm, good question! I really liked Joanie’s picture two weeks ago, as a doll. The smile was kinda creepy but still pretty at the same time. She pulled off the ventriloquist vibe really well. I thought Nnenna’s crying picture was amazing. Also Jade’s mannequin. Again, it has this creepy doll vibe to it with the “dead” eyes but it’s still gorgeous to look at. We have a strong group of girls this cycle! Oh and last but not least, Brooke’s krumping photo. She looked really hot in it. But you know, it’s Brooke. Brooke would look hot dressed up as a penguin! Okay so that’s more than one..my bad!

Me: What was your inner monologue when you met Janice Dickinson?

Leslie: Where do I begin? Honestly, I was petrified when we first met her at the press conference. I didn’t expect her to jump out of nowhere and that was definitely my first official real “oh holy crap!” moment. But then she gave us t-shirts and was really nice, so I wasn’t as scared anymore. And then there was the whole restaurant incident and I was just like “what in the world?” It was bizarre. The whole removal of her eyelash grossed me out, I think I put it back on her plate. And then the fiasco with Gina..that night was interesting to say the least.

Me: Despite being a quiet presence on the show, which is wack considering your personality, you’ve got a hefty following. Is fame all it’s cracked up to be?

Leslie: LOL this question made me laugh. Well, I would hardly say I’m a “celebrity”. You know, just milking my 15 minutes for all its worth lol! Kidding! I know I’ve spoken to you a couple of times on the oh-so-fabulous MySpace and you probably have gotten more of a feel for my personality than anyone would by just watching the show. I’m very opposite of what was shown. Like I’ve said in other interviews, I was a bit more reserved while there so the editing didn’t completely shock me. But yeah, I am definitely suprised by the amount of support I receive! I really didn’t expect to have any fans
and to see how people react is amazing. I recently had one fan create my own website, lesliemancia.com and I was kinda blown away. This is their own money they are spending on some random girl who happened to be on a reality tv show, who on top of that didn’t even get much airtime. Perhaps it is because I do genuinely appreciate the love and I do try to take the time to respond to people, maybe fans can sense that.

The “fame” hasn’t gotten too nuts. I get a lot of the “Hey, you’re Leslie from Top Model!” and you speak to people and they may ask you to take a picture, etc. It’s all very flattering and fun and I definitely don’t mind. Sometimes I have to be like, “are you sure you want to talk to me?”, it’s not like I see myself as a reality TV personality!

Me: What’s the craziest thing to happen to you since you’ve been on the show?

Leslie: Hmm, craziest thing? Nothing too crazy. Perhaps fans you meet who get pretty emotional. I was almost late dropping off an important English paper the other day at school. Someone stopped me, like almost falls off his bike. I got distracted and I just started talking to him, he was a huge fan of the show and was freaking out. And then I realized, “Shoot I’m going to be late!..I’m gonna end up failing this essay if I keep talking!” That would have been a very bad sort of crazy! But I think the REAL craziness is still to come!

Me: What other reality show would you totally go on, if any?

Leslie: I wouldn’t do reality tv again. Well, never say never! Not because I disliked my experience on Top Model, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. But because I’m not sure I’m cut out for the the whole reality tv business. But I’ve joked around before that I should audition for The Real World. You hang around in this mansion with all sorts of crazy people. And I think you get paid for it on top of that. Sounds good to me.

Posted on Friday, May 5th, 2006 at 1:31 pm by Wendy and is filed under Blog.

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