American Idol's "Bikini Girl" rubbed some people the wrong way as a Hooters girl before her audition encounter with judge Kara DioGuardi.
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Katrina Darrell, the 21-year-old model from Chino Hills, CA who made headlines for her scantily-clad confrontation with DioGuardi during American Idol's eighth-season premiere last week, reportedly worked at a West Covina, CA Hooters for three months last year as a greeter, but was fired after she continually left her shift early to go on auditions, a friend told RadarOnline.com in a Monday report.
"Katrina would come in for her shift, take a phone call and then suddenly announce 'I've gotta' go. I've got an audition,'" the friend said. "After the third time, the manager told her 'If you leave, you better not bother coming back'... Katrina said the audition was too important to miss. She went running out of the restaurant and she was fired."
Given the way Darrell had acted while working for the restaurant, few were surprised when she popped up on American Idol and stole the show with her attention-seeking antics.
"All Katrina ever talked about was becoming famous," the friend told RadarOnline.com. "Her one aim in life was to make it in Hollywood
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"'[She said] when I get my big break, I won't let it get away," the friend added. "[So] it was no surprise to us that Katrina would turn up for auditions in a bikini, flirt with Ryan Seacrest and get in a fight with a judge. She definitely knows how to get attention."
It should also come as no surprise that Darrell didn't have a hard time adjusting to Hooters' revealing outfits.
"Some girls who work at Hooters are embarrassed by the tight shorts and skimpy tops they have to wear," the friend told RadarOnline. "But Katrina loved it. She always had her shorts pulled up the tightest and her T-shirt knotted up to show off the most midriff. She loved the attention."
Darrell auditioned for Idol in Arizona wearing only a bikini and was featured on may of the show's advertisements prior to its January 12 premiere, earning her "Bikini Girl" nickname. After singing Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love" for the judges, she eventually received an invitation to the Hollywood Round, even after contesting DioGuardi's criticism that her voice lacked "swing."
About The Author: John Bracchitta