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Being tall, beautiful, and having a terrific portfolio couldn't help 20 year-old Lisa Jackson, from Jersey City, remain in the competition for America's Next Top Model once she was labeled by the judging panel as having lost her spark and confidence. Viewers of the show can immediately recognize that death knell for the contestant so labeled, and it didn't help that she was in the bottom two last week. Despite having perhaps the best photo during the CoverGirl shoot, Lisa was, nonetheless, eliminated. An introspective Lisa shares her experience during her venture into reality television with us today!
Hi, Lisa! How are you doing?
Hi! How are you? I’m good.
Thank you so much for speaking with me today.
I’m very happy to.
What made you decide to try out for America’s Next Top Model?
Actually, I have always wanted to be a model, and I was never prepared to be on America’s Next Top Model. Either I was too young, or I didn’t have my citizenship, yet. I actually moved out to Jersey to be a model and just try it on mine own, and I had a really hard time, so when the show came around this time, I was more prepared. I was like maybe I’ll just give it a shot, and I did, and before you know it, I kept getting call-back after call-back, and then I was on the show!
Did you say you had had previous modeling experience, or you hadn’t had any luck with that?
I hadn’t really had any luck. I mean, I put together a portfolio, but it still wasn’t strong enough to really get me with a . . . like, I put together a portfolio. I went with a photographer. That was the extent of my experience, really. It’s not very good experience.
How tall are you?
I’m actually 6’ 1 ½”. I try not to throw that half in because I barely hit that, but it’s been like that forever now.
And they round you up to 6’ 2”.
Yeah, I try to stay away from that. I don’t want to be any taller!
There was a lot of drama in the house, and you were featured in some of it. What was that experience like for you living in the house with all those girls?
I really didn’t want any drama while I was on the show. So, when it happened in the very beginning—when you’re still aware of the cameras, and you tend to forget about the cameras as you’re there longer, but while you’re still aware, you’re like, “No, I don’t want any drama!” The fact that everything got brought up, and I didn’t want it, I got really upset, but overall, towards the end, a lot of the girls and I had gotten along. We had gotten to talk to each other and just really understand where we were all coming from. We were actually all getting along.
I forgot to ask you, had you watched previous episodes of America’s Next Top Model?
Yeah! Actually, I pretty much watched the majority of them, especially the beginning ones, you know, with Eva. I watched Cycle 8, so I pretty much try to keep up with it. I really like the show!
I hear there was one bathroom in the house? That’s got to be rough for 13 girls!
[Laughs] Yeah! Actually, there were two bathrooms. There was one that had no window and one that did. We said that the one with the window was, you know, for number two, and the one without was for number one. If you saw the episode where they do the recap, and they show the incident with Bianca where she had to plunge up the thing? It was the one without the window, so we were like, “Bianca, noooo!” But, there really wasn’t any drama. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
The viewers weren’t there, but you were. What went on with the shower incident involving you, Saleisha, and Heather, and do you think Heather was overreacting?
Saleisha and I . . . it was really meant to be innocent. We were really just playing around because we all looked at each other like friends/sisters. It wasn’t anything that serious, and we had all shared the shower previous times with Heather. We share the shower with other girls, and it wasn’t really a big deal. So, when Heather really blew up like that, we were like, “Okaaay.” We didn’t think it was that serious, so I would think she blew it out of proportion, and the editing blew it out of proportion even more.
Would the sharing of the bed also be blown out of proportion?
The sharing of the bed completely had nothing to do with me. I don’t know how I really felt about that, but I’m glad Chantal came up with the whole “if you don’t want to share a bed with somebody else that might want to share the bed, you could do that.”
Do you think Saleisha was just kidding around, and Heather blew that out of proportion—from your perspective?
By the time we got to China, a lot of us were . . . we had this long, long flight, and we were all a little irritated, a little edgy. We really just wanted to go to sleep, so I thought that was actually kind of childish to me. It was something that could have been settled a completely different way from both sides. That’s how I look at it.
Who were you closest to during the show?
In the very beginning, Janet and Ebony. I really had grown really close with them, so when they left me back-to-back, I was like, “Nooo.” But, then I got closer to Saleisha, and she was like always neutral with everybody, but I really liked Saleisha. She was just such a sweetheart, and like I said, I ended up getting along with all the girls, but towards the end, it was really Salesiha.
Was that really difficult for you when Ebony quit? I know she said that you tried to talk her out of it.
Yeah, I really did. I didn’t want her to go because she brought it up before, and I was like, “Come on, Ebony. You can stick it out.” You know, I wanted her to stay, and I had really grown close to her. So, when she left, I felt bad, but I also understood why. The fact that she stood up for herself—I’m kind of proud of her because it’s really something hard to do, and especially in front of Tyra. Here you’re like telling her you don’t want it, but she wasn’t happy, and she stood up for herself. I’m proud of her!
Is it pretty intimidating being up in front of Tyra just under normal circumstances?
Oh, yeah! I think you get used to it after a while, but at first it’s like, “Wow! I’m actually, you know.” Then, you kind of put it all together, and for me it was still kind of mind-boggling to think I’m actually standing here, and they’re actually filming me in front of Tyra, and she’s looking at me! So, yes, it could be a lot of things. On top of that, with the critiques and everything, you just really want to please her and all the judges.
Who was the most difficult one for you to get along with?
I wouldn’t say that it was difficult. We all ended up trying to get along because we had to live together, but there were some boundaries when it came to me and some of the other girls as far as Jenah, Chantal, Bianca, and that group kind of formed like a circle. They were courteous with me, but I was aware of the way they had talked about me. I kept a good distance from them. I didn’t dislike them, or look down on them, or talk bad about them. I just knew how they felt about me, so it made it kind of hard for me to be too buddy-buddy with them. But, overall, we had a good time together.
Who would you say was responsible for creating the most drama in the house?
[Both laugh] Bianca, definitely! I think when she got bored, she tried to stir things up, and she made good TV, and that’s what she was there for. She definitely tried to keep things fun. It wasn’t just drama. She also was really funny at different times. It just felt that if it wasn’t one girl, it was another girl that she was going after. At one point, it was almost ridiculous, I think.
Our readers always like to hear another contestant’s opinion of the other girls in the house. Could you give me a one or two word description or just a brief sentence to describe each girl?
Ambreal: She is just absolutely talented.
Bianca: Outspoken and definitely does love drama.
Chantal: Really cheerful and a very positive person.
Ebony: Oh, my goodness. When you see her, she is just striking, and she is hilarious, too.
Heather: Actually, just so sweet. Something about her is so endearing.
Janet: She has like a magnetic personality and is just a wonderful person.
Jenah: Fun, loud, and crazy all wrapped up in one.
Kimberly: Oh, my goodness. I loved Kimberly! She was so goofy, and I could just sit there and watch her talk forever.
Mila: Very optimistic.
Saleisha: She’s another sweetheart. She really is.
Sarah: She was another funny one. She was hilarious.
Victoria: Very intelligent and fair-minded person.
Yourself (Lisa): Um, I don’t know. I’m open. I never really get to think about myself. I’m open-minded, and I’m . . . what’s the word? Yeah, open. [laughs]
It’s not easy to come up with something for yourself when you don’t think about it.
Yeah, that’s my problem. I over-think everything!
Do you read any of the online sites discussing the show?
Yeah, actually I do read Fans of Reality here and there. My fiancé goes up there, and he’ll see what they’re saying. He’ll root on for me and stuff like that.
You must know you have a lot of supporters on our site, so feel free to stop by and say “hi.”
What did you think of your makeover, and is it a look you kept?
At first I really wasn’t crazy about it, but I didn’t want to complain. Now, it’s kind of grown on me, but I want to see how the modeling agencies take to it, and if they aren’t crazy about it, I’m planning on dying it jet black and leaving it short. Then, if it still doesn’t do me any good, I’m just going to put extensions in.
That reminds me. I think I forgot to ask you a question as I got side-tracked. Are you planning on pursuing modeling, and have you taken any steps toward that?
Definitely! I already have something set up with a photographer. I know I have a portfolio with America’s Next Top Model, but I want to show range and different things. I want to try out different ideas. I’m going to work with a photographer and really by the end of next week, I plan on going to all the open calls because New York is at my convenience, so I plan on going to every spot and just submitting all my photos and just doing everything that I can to be a model.
That sounds awesome! I can’t believe I forgot to ask you that question. I would have been strung up! [laughs]
Oh, that’s okay!
You seemed to start out strong and then nerves and your breaking down started becoming a problem. What precipitated that and when did you start losing confidence in yourself?
You know, really throughout the competition at first I was like, “Okay, I’m doing it.” But, I’m such an over-analyzer that everything I do I was just trying to be perfect at it. Then, it started really breaking me down by the time we got to the gargoyle shoot. But, when I pulled through the gargoyle shoot I was like, “This is good.” [laughs] When it came down to the CoverGirl shoot, I think I would try to take as much as I could from the judges, but I would be so hard on myself because I really wanted to prove that I wanted this and that I would be good at it if they picked me. Then, I put so much pressure on myself that it made things worse.
The critiques most of the girls receive are sometimes pretty harsh. You were given the edit of not being able to handle criticism. Do you think you have a problem handling criticism?
You know, the funny thing is I really don’t. I’ve spent my whole life hearing things to my face that were way worse than Tyra could ever say to me and from all different things through my life—through high school. Even being a dancer you hear a lot of different things. I’ve actually always been able to suck it up. It was just that this was something that I wanted, and I just felt at this point I couldn’t afford to be having these kinds of criticism. Like, pull it together, Lisa. It really just became me being my worst . . . you know, I was really down on myself. I’m my worst, you know, . . .
Critic?
Critic! Thank you.
To me, you seemed to want to do really well, and you put pressure on yourself not to fail. However, Jay stated that you were focused on failing. Do you agree with his assessment? Or mine? [laughs]
I like yours better. [laughs] At one point I really did just tell him how I felt, and I was just like, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. I think once I opened my mouth and I said that it was like, “Okay, she really can’t take this.” And, I really didn’t even mean it like that, but I was really trying to work through it. I actually walked in to that CoverGirl shoot that day kind of almost knowing that no matter how good I did that it was my time to go. Once you have that in your head, it’s kind of hard to get that out. I knew they’d have to give me more criticism. I just had a feeling that it was my time, and they were just trying to get me out as quick as possible. I just knew it, and I told him that, and I probably shouldn’t have. I think that is where that all came from, too.
Do you feel that some of the judges show favoritism toward certain girls and in turn are also harder on other girls?
Possibly. But, I feel that they have an idea of what they feel should represent America’s Next Top Model, and whether or not that might make the girl their favorite just because they look at her and they’re like, “I see ANTM written all over her forehead, and that’s the girl that I want.” So, it’s kind of hard, I think, when they have that in their minds. Then, again, I’m not really sure.
Was there a particular judge you felt was rooting for you?
Yeah! Actually, I wasn’t really sure, but I was so happy when I saw that Miss Jay thought that I was his favorite because he was my favorite judge. So, that made me feel really good. He seemed to always kind of—even with all the criticism—he would try to round it out for me and try to maybe let me go with a little ease of mind here and there, so it made me feel really good. It made me feel as though he had my back, you know?
Did you feel there was any one judge out to get you?
No, I didn’t think that, either. I didn’t feel anyone was out for me. I just felt that one of the judges might not have seen one thing in me, and another one might see that, but they didn’t see what the other one saw. So, just like all the girls because all the girls got their own critiques. I felt like you get to hear what they say to all the girls, so it was pretty much the same for some of us.
Were you portrayed accurately on the show?
I think the side of me that you saw was my weaker side because I don’t know how to be anyone else but myself. What you saw is me, but there is more to me, I mean, that you didn’t get to see. You, know, the happy side. The goofier side. The side where I would talk with the girls, you know. But, I guess that didn’t make good TV, so you weren’t going to see it. [laughs]
Would you say the other girls were being portrayed accurately, as well? I know there’s editing, and it’s reality TV, and there’s a story to tell.
I don’t feel that all the girls were, but I feel they had a story that they had to follow, and they wanted to keep consistent with it by putting those girls into those characters. For instance, Victoria, like the way they tried to portray her. I mean, I didn’t find out that, like, she, you know, it came up that she was from Yale, but she didn’t really go on and on about it, and she didn’t try to sound any smarter than anybody else. She wasn’t really arrogant. She was actually a really sweet girl—probably one of the girls I could really go to, and talk to, and just have a real conversation with. I really enjoyed her company. I think they tried to show her as a different kind of person, like more so her than any of the other girls.
Yes, I talked with her, and we had discussed that. [laughs]
Yeah. [laughs]
It seemed your spirit was just broken toward the end of the show, and that is so sad to see. Are you doing okay now?
Definitely. On the show it’s like you’re in this reality TV world, and that is all that mattered in that moment. You forgot that there was a real world outside of those cameras, and I got really focused, and that is what happened. As soon as I left, it was like I took a deep breath, and I was like (mimics taking a deep breath), “Okay. I’m okay.” And, I was okay. The next day I was fine. It was also good to know that I was going home to my family. Even watching the show, I’d look at myself and like, “Lisa. Why? Why did you do that?” It was the first time I could laugh a lot about different things I did, too.
Your pre-show occupation is listed as a dancer. Bianca and you got into an argument about that, and she called you a stripper. Can you give us any insight into that fight, and what kind of dancing do you do?
I’m an exotic dancer, and that basically means, like I said, that I am not topless. I am not nude. It’s not like the worst job in the world. There are worst things I could do. I was always this dancer, you know. I was in Connecticut, I had a regular job that I had for two years—working at Radio Shack of all places, and I really wanted to be a model and moved out to the city and really needed a job really quickly. The first thing that came, well not the first thing that came to mind, but someone that knew about it told me it was pretty good money and to check it out, and I went for it. You know, it actually built my confidence up because prior to that I never felt that comfortable in my body, and in a weird way, it helps with the modeling. So, for her to say that and to try to say that because I was a dancer that I would be any less of a model and in the way any less of a person really hurt me because I know girls who are doing dancing now, but you know what? They are dancing so they can go to college to be a doctor, so would they be any less of a doctor if they were trying to save a life? That’s how I look at it, and it wasn’t something that I wanted to do forever. It was just my step out of the world that I was in to get to the next step, and here I am!
Do you think she was just saying that to be hurtful, to give herself a leg-up on the competition, or throw you off your game?
Definitely. Honestly, what we were arguing about had nothing to do with any of it. It didn’t even have to go that far, and the fact that she has to scramble—she did that to other girls, as well. When she’d argue, she’d run out of things to say, so she would go back to the high school way of arguing. Kind of like name-calling again, and I was really trying to be respectful. I was like, “Bianca, I just want to talk to you.” And, I couldn’t get that from her, so it turned into that.
Do you think having been labeled as an exotic dancer was a detriment to you in the competition—as in that might not be the type of role model CoverGirl wanted?
Yeah. Looking back on it, I wondered if maybe I would have gotten farther if I wasn’t a dancer because CoverGirl is a bit conservative. I mean, it never really got brought up in front of any of the judges, and they never had anything to say about me being too sexual or too, you know, hoochie. So other girls got that, and I didn’t get that. Not once.
You have a beautiful, elegant, and exotic look about you. If I might ask, what is your ethnicity?
I’m Jamaican and I’m German. I was actually born in Jamaica.
Is that where your citizenship is or was?
Yes.
You stated you had a fear of heights, and there were a lot of challenges and photo-shoots that involved heights this cycle, yet, you performed the tasks at hand. What are your thoughts about being in the bottom two with Heather, especially with your being eliminated when Bianca refused to do that last challenge because of her issue with heights?
Throughout this I tried so hard not to let anything that was outside of how I felt affect my performance, but when I was in the bottom two, like I said, it was like I prepared myself for it. I kind of had a feeling that it was getting down to there, especially after my last shoot where I was in the bottom two. I wasn’t even really that surprised, and I kind of just felt that they wanted me to go. Like I said, I prepared myself, and I went out there, and I tried not to cry, and I did. It hurt. I felt bad because I felt that I had more to offer, and if I had continued in the competition, that I would have pulled myself out, especially for the go-sees. I would be looking so good! [laughs]
Do you think Saleisha has an unfair advantage in this competition having been associated with Tyra through T-Zone and also modeling on Tyra’s show?
That did come up, and I actually talked to Saleisha about it, like one-on-one, and I was like a lot of the girls are, you know [talking about it], and she said that Tyra had told her she would be hard on her because of it. So, I try not to let that interfere in my way or think too hard on it, or worry about it, or try to let it affect me because it is what it is. Even if that was the case, or if it was unfair, there was nothing I can do about it. Nothing I can do about it now.
A lot of our readers don’t feel that Tyra is being hard on Saleisha at all. Just pointing that out. [laughs]
Yeah! [laughs}
What are your thoughts about Heather? All things being equal, do you think she has been given special consideration due to her “disability?”
No, actually I’ve expressed that, too. I’ve spoken in front of Heather. We used to say she’s the girl that could do no wrong, and like she could do no wrong. I would say that, but again I was aware that she was a beautiful girl, and she had a way about her to connect with the camera. I’d seen her perform exceptionally on the rock-climbing, and she did amazing things, so I knew she was also a good model. So, I couldn’t really hate or sit there and talk about her because she still was talented. So, me getting upset about how the judges were with her wouldn’t have changed anything, so I just didn’t let it bother me.
Do you think the other girls (yourself included) picked on Heather at all, or did she just ask for . . . what she got?
Well, you know what happened? After we had been with her for a while, we really stopped looking at Heather as though she had any issues or any problems. We actually treated her like one of us. If Jenah had acted the way she did, or Saleisha acted the way she did, we would have treated her just the same, and we tend to look at her like a sister. Like, you know, you have your sister, and you argue with them sometimes, and you might tease them, but it was out of fun, and nothing, I think, was meant to hurt her or offend her.
So you were just kidding around and not being mean-spirited?
Yes, from the beginning I tried to support Heather and things like that.
When I say “you” I mean collectively—the girls. Not that you were doing this, but that all of you were kidding around with her and not being mean-spirited.
But that’s like on the show. Watching the show and then seeing the different girls in the confessionals, and seeing who was at it. It just didn’t appear that way to me at all.
That’s funny that you mentioned the confessionals. Watching the show and seeing the confessionals of the other girls, did your opinion change about any of them, and I’m thinking primarily Bianca, here.
I think the one thing was that we had gotten into an argument, and I had apologized. I meant it, and I was over it, and you don’t forget, but you move on. Life is way too short to see that she was trying to make another strategic move. I was just like that was really uncalled for. So, if she’s going to be like that I was really, “Wow!” Other than that, I kind of knew how all the girls really were, so it wasn’t much of a surprise on some different occasions.
Was your performance in the CoverGirl commercial affected by the pressure of the competition itself, pressure you put on yourself, or do you simply have problems with public speaking?
I really think that I put a lot of pressure on myself. I guess I do have somewhat stage fright, but that is something you can get over, especially when I did the runway challenge. Oh, that was bad! I was just so nervous. [laughs] But, that is part of who I am, and I know even if I were to be a spokesmodel, that is something you can always work on, and that’s something I could be good at, actually.
How long did you have to learn the lines for the CoverGirl shoot, and do you think if you had more time you would have been able to pull it off?
Literally? Five minutes.
Really?!
Yeah, and it’s a lot longer than they show. We kept going over and over it, but it kills me to this day because literally right before I went on I said it three times straight without messing up. Not once. That camera came on, and all the thoughts of messing up, and just knowing I couldn’t mess up because I couldn’t afford to mess up. I didn’t want to give them not one reason to cut me out.
Do you think that is something that would hold you back in the real modeling world, or is it something you could work on? I think you said it’s something you could work on. [laughs]
Yeah, it’s definitely something that I could work on because, like I said, the reality world and I guess in that moment it feels like it’s the only thing that matters, but in the real world, I don’t think that stress would be there. I’m sure they would give us more time to work on our different lines, and some models even get to take acting classes and different things to work on their appearance on camera.
Despite having problems during the commercial shoot, and all of the girls had problems, you were able to pull yourself together and arguably had the best picture for the CoverGirl shoot. Even Jeffrey Chu commented on how well you did. So, were you expecting to be in the bottom two and be sent home?
I really felt that way. When I saw my picture, my hopes did go up a little bit. I was like, “Okay, yess! It’s a good one!” My hopes went up when I saw my picture, and I thought maybe I’d pull through, but when I was really in the bottom two, I was like, “I’m just out.”
What was your favorite photo-shoot to do, and what photo do you think was your best?
My favorite one to do was probably the gargoyle shoot just because I got to prove that I could be fierce, and that I could show that side of me that can be editorial and really pull a real model out of me, and show that I’m not fake. I definitely like my first shot because I surprised myself. In the beginning, I was like, “Wow!” In the very beginning with the smoking shot, that is my favorite one.
Yes. That was really good!
I was surprised how it looked and how it came off. It just makes me miss my hair. [laughs]
Who would you like to see win America’s Next Top Model?
I guess, you know, I’m saying this because my friends are all saying it, too. I’m now rooting for Heather. We both shared that bottom two together, and she really is a beautiful model, and she has a good heart. She’s a good person.
Did you say your friends were rooting for her?
There were rooting for me, but when I left, they were like, “Who’s next? Heather!”
What are you going to take from this experience, and did you learn any real modeling skills that will help you in the modeling world?
I definitely think it did teach me how to expand my expression on film. It taught me how to fit the moment. Like if they wanted me to be happy, I can now pull that person out of me and all these different emotions you have to learn. I think that’s something I learned—a little bit of acting and modeling put together, so at least I can walk away with that. Definitely learning to work with different photographers and what they like to see and learning how to fit what their vision is.
Well, you can walk away with a great portfolio, too!
Yes, that’s good. It helps!
What is your favorite memory from this entire experience?
Wow. Everything about it was a great experience for me—the cruise and to China. I have to say one of my favorite moments was definitely when I went on the Akademiks shoot with Janet and Ebony because I literally walked away that day with two really good friends, and we had such an awesome time. In that moment, we felt like we weren’t on any TV show. We felt like we were actually doing a job, which we were, and it was just us having a good time, and we really became friends that day.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the video shot with Enrique.
That, for me, actually taught me that I can consider doing different things with acting because in a way we had to learn how to play for the camera, and not just a still photo, but for this film. That was just fun, and they kept it very professional. He was extremely professional. We did it. We got it done in literally three takes, and it was just so exciting for me to work with Jessy, as well. The casting director, Jessy? He was just absolutely one of the coolest judges I think that we had on the show.
Are there any final thoughts you’d like to leave with our readers?
When I read this, I’m so thankful for the support from all these different people that look past everything—from my dancing—and just see a talented model trying to make it, and I really appreciate it. And, again, I’m just thankful and flattered when they say nice things about me. [laughs]
Congratulations for making it to the final six, Lisa, good luck in whatever the future holds for you, and it was really a pleasure speaking with you!
Oh, thank you so much. It was my pleasure, as well.
Many thanks to THE CW and Lisa for this interview opportunity and also our members who submitted questions for Lisa.
Photo Credit: The CW
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