Despite being the third girl eliminated from America's Next Top Model's eleventh season, Brittany Rubalcaba, managed to be involved in several memorable moments during her brief time as a contestant on the show.
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However, during a conference call with reporters on Thursday, the 19-year-old customer service representative and student from Henderson, NV took some time to clear the air, apologize, and address some misunderstandings regarding her actions on Top Model.
"The situation with Hannah, I think honestly, was blown out of proportion. I never said Hannah was racist, that's one thing I never did say," Brittany told Reality TV World regarding her confrontation with the 19-year-old Alaskan during the show's second episode.
In addition, Britney also stated that despite the way the incident was presented on the show, she and some of the other girls didn't decide to collectively confront Harrah with their concerns that she may be prejudiced.
"It all came around and it ended up looking like we were ganging up, or that it was approached in that manner," she told Reality TV World. "Unfortunately it wasn't really like that."
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Britney also showed remorse and regret for her argument with Elina in which she challenged the 19-year-old Ukrainian native's statement that she "hates" her mother and trashed her during a subsequent confessional interview.
"With Elina. Yeah, I apologize for the wording I used. If I could take back what I said in regard to calling her the 'evil B-word,' I apologized to her about that and we've talked about it and her and I are actually on good terms," she told Reality TV World. "But yeah I am apologetic and kind of embarrassed for my family, and my loved ones and everyone else who watched it because I shouldn't have said that."
Brittany also said that she has stayed in touch with Isis, and told Reality TV World that she never had any issue with her transgender status.
"My initial reaction, I was surprised because looking at Isis I would've never guessed that," she told Reality TV World. "But I think that early on I had a very good understanding in knowing that this was a competition, and whether you're transgendered or not, you're still a competitor... that's exactly what she is, she's a fair competitor... and she's a very good person."
Britney -- who described herself as "very young, very open and very willing to jump into [modeling]" -- told reporters that she was frustrated when constant descriptions of her being "pretty" eventually lead to her exit from the competition. While added that she had carried that label for much of her life, she added that it was a "double-edged sword" in the world of modeling.
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"I felt like I got that stigma about me, and it kind of stuck," she told reporters. "Everything was 'Oh that's pretty' and 'You're so pretty' and its like, 'We don't want pretty.' So I was trying to break out of that mold and I couldn't find it, so it was just frustrating and I found myself continuously stuck in that kind of thing where 'Yeah, it's a pretty photo.' But I don't want a pretty photo I want a fierce photo!"
After being told by America's Next Top Model host Tyra Banks to study European fashion magazines following her elimination, Brittany told reporters that she had heeded the advice and added them to her busy schedule, which currently includes working and attending school.
"It is helping. I'm practicing my poses. I'm practicing my looks, more than I should be," she said with a laugh.
Brittany also said that the competition -- and her elimination from it -- had taught many lessons about the modeling industry, including the importance refocusing expectations and adjusting accordingly in order to succeed.
"I saw myself as being more than just a pretty commercial face And from what I've taken from the judges and learned from Mr. Jay [Manuel], Jay "Miss J." Alexander and Tyra, there isn't anything wrong with that. It's just that maybe I didn't have the face for high fashion.
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Brittany said she still plans to pursue a modeling career, albeit perhaps not in the initial field she had been interested in.
"I can take my modeling career down a different path, in not necessarily high fashion but maybe catalogs," she told reporters. "Maybe catalogs will be my thing."
About The Author: John Bracchitta