For those that are friends of mine on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter, you saw that yesterday I made mention of some huge news regarding the “After the Final Rose” show coming this week. Yes, I said “this week”, not today. There’s a reason for that. Because I gave an exclusive interview to “In Touch” magazine regarding what happened at the “ATFR” taping this past Sunday, and I’m not allowed to post it on the site until 12:01am EST later on tonight. So you’re gonna have to wait a few hours. But, for the latest on what the final conclusion is to the “ATFR” show (which will be shown immediately after the 2 hr. finale next Monday night), come back here to the site tonight at 12:01am EST, or pick up this weeks copy of “In Touch” magazine.
This column is usually a little bit different than the others since it’s not as much a detailed account of what happened on the episode last night, but more of jumping around to all my different thoughts. The “Women Tell All” is usually a lot of fluff, repeating scenes and conversations we’ve already seen and stuff I’ve already commented on in previous columns. The Rozlyn stuff was just downright ridiculous. More on that later. I gotta say, I never thought the Jason/Molly/Melissa scandal would ever be topped in the tabloids when it comes to this show, but man, this season might have overtaken it. Jake, and Vienna’s past, and Ali’s work situation – it’s been gossip magazine fodder for a solid month straight. And there really is no scandal to report this season, yet, they cannot stop writing about each of these girls and their pasts.
With that said, I don’t blame the tabloid magazines one bit. That’s what they do. It’s how they stay in business. Does it make it right? Probably not. But this is 2010. It’s just the way the media is nowadays, and you have to live with it. We’re living in a “need to know now” world. Everyone wants an instant reaction to everything that’s happening every minute. If you go on a reality show, people are going to dig into your past. And you know what? They might even make stuff up. If you don’t want that out there, then don’t sign up for the show. Period. End of story. What happened to Rozlyn was unfortunate, but, if she doesn’t go on the show, it doesn’t happen. Same for Vienna. And Gia. And Ali. The list goes on. All I’m here to do is to let you know when I feel the show has crossed the line. The media? You’ll never hear me say much about what the tabloids say because it’s what they do. TMZ is in business because there’s a market for it. Sometimes gossip mags are right and break a story (Tiger’s voicemail to his mistress, LeAnn Rimes cheating on her husband, “In Touch” tomorrow…ha ha), and sometimes they’re wrong (the 100 times I’ve read Brad and Angelina are broken up). You take the good with the bad. However, for ABC to claim “we’re just a reality show and we let the cameras roll and what you see is real” is a completely different story. The emotions are “kinda” real. Very much exaggerated and heightened due to the situation they’re in, but, everything else is pretty much mapped out. So if I hear something where what we were shown is not what really happened, then I will report it and you can make your own decision from there.
I’m sure there are plenty of times in the past where I’ve commented on something without knowing the real story behind how it was said or how it was presented on camera. I’m fine with that. I don’t know everything. And there have been plenty of times where I’ve known more to a story than what’s going on, but for privacy reasons, I’ve chosen not to share it in my blog. Trust me on that one. There’s some stuff that’d blow your mind I cannot tell you about. When it comes to “Who is the final one”, or, “Who is in the final four”, or “What happens on this episode”, that’s basic stuff. If I know it, I’ll tell it. But not all behind-the-scenes stuff am I at liberty to share. I just don’t want to break the trust I’ve built with my sources.
I do my best to distinguish what should get out there, and what shouldn’t. Have I screwed up at times? Without a doubt. Probably will happen again at some point too. What you see is what you get with me. If it’s speculation, I’ll tell you it’s speculation. If it’s fact direct from a source, I’ll tell you that as well. If it’s rumor, I’ll tell you it’s a rumor then usually try to show you how that rumor isn’t possible (like the rumor of re-shooting the ending to this season. One of the stupidest things I’ve heard). I enjoy writing this column, I really do. Sometimes it gets taxing getting asked questions I’ve already answered a 1,000 times, or ones that I’ve explained in my column already, but remember, it’s all fun and games in the end. It’s a TV show. I’ve never taken this show or myself seriously, which is why I’ve made fun of it for the last eight years and will continue to do so. All I try to do is clear the air on perception vs. reality whenever I get information from sources.
I thought that Ali and Gia’s post show exit interviews were quite interesting. You can read Ali’s here, and Gia’s here, courtesy of Film.com. I think the most interesting things that Ali said (and we saw her repeat it last night), was the connection Jake had with Vienna. On the show you see Ali flabbergasted he’s keeping Vienna around, even to the point of whining about it. However, Ali was only basing that off her interaction with Vienna. She admits she never saw any connection with them until actually watching the show like the rest of us. For Ali to admit she could actually see Jake and Vienna having a long-lasting relationship, well, I’d say that’s a pretty big deal. Especially coming from Vienna’s biggest critic in the house. At least Ali was woman enough to admit, “You know what? I probably jumped the gun a bit on her. Sure, she speaks her mind without thinking and her and I are different in that aspect, but that had nothing to do with her and Jake.” Plus, the fact that Ali apologized to Vienna last night on TV was also pretty big of her. I thought Ali handled herself really well last night and toned down her bitchiness towards Vienna. Regardless of her being the next “Bachelorette”, she didn’t have to do that. But she did. Now, does she honestly think Jake and Vienna could have a long lasting relationship? Probably not. No one thinks that.
I think Gia saying that she really liked Vienna and would want to keep in touch with her speaks volumes. I mean, we’ll see if that’s really the case, but Gia even admitting to wanting to have anything to do with Vienna once the show is over is impressive. I think both girls realized, in a heightened situation, where your sole focus for 5-6 weeks is on this one man, mixed in with all the alcohol flowing in the house and the fact that it’s a competition, probably led to a lot of disagreements and arguments that probably wouldn’t have happened under normal dating circumstances. I relate this to “Survivor” where you see two tribemates not get along, bitch at each other, say hurtful things, then by the time the reunion show rolls around, they’re fine with each other and always say the same thing, “Hey, we’re just playing a game.” Stephanie even said in her post show interview last week that James has already told her “no hard feelings”, even though he acted like a complete ass last week. Same difference on this show. In the heat of “battle” or “competition”, of course you’re gonna say things you might normally not say, or even really mean. But with cameras and alcohol all around, you ramp up the drama. Ali could’ve stuck with, “Vienna is a total bitch and I do not like her” on last night’s show, but she didn’t. She apologized for her calling her out after the 1-on-1 date, and she even said in the interview she feels bad for the media attacking Vienna and that she’s a good person. Not everyone hates everyone on this show, despite what they want you to believe.
Producer was fired for sending a card to Roz’s son, Producer separated from his wife 9 months PRIOR to even meeting Rozlyn, Producer admits (still have not heard ANYTHING from his mouth yet only Chris’s) that he had a relationship with Roz in order to get his severance package.
Yes, I did my research and his wife’s twitter prooves it.
I agree with others here who have said that the truth lies somewhere in between. I do think that Rozlyn is a young woman who is willing to use her looks to get what she wants from men. She obviously realized fairly early on that this producer was infatuated with her. Maybe she thought that this could be used to her advantage. She probably thinks that flirting and fooling around isn’t that big a deal. Also, I would think the producer would know where all the cameras are and when they are on. That may well be the reason why there is no film footage of anything going on between them.
When they escorted Rozlyn to the stage with this beefy bodyguard, it presented a powerful visual to the viewing audience. They had this guy with her to make sure that she didn’t have any contact with the other women and couldn’t hear what was being said on stage. It certainly made her look like some kind of criminal. She was basically walking into a trap. Once Chris got her on the record denying any inappropriate behavior of any kind, that’s all they needed. I don’t know that Rozlyn could have done anything else. If she answered his direct question ambiguously, then the viewing audience would conclude that she had something to hide.
I thought Rozlyn’s best moment was when she asked Chris Harrison directly for specific instances of misconduct. Then all Chris had to do was wave his hand like an orchestra conductor and call on each of the women to give their pre-planned accusations. Rozlyn really had no chance. She might have responded differently to the women, kind of saying that she understood that they were just doing what they were told and she felt sorry for them. That would have been better than the stammering and defensive words she blurted out. But it was a total no-win situation. I thought Rozlyn’s worst moment was when she brought up that nonsense about Chris supposedly flirting with this producer’s wife in New Zealand. First, it had precisely nothing to do with the issue at hand. Second, it made Rozlyn look petty, mean-spirited and vindictive. That’s why they aired it. I am surprised that anyone would think that they wouldn’t air it. It only served to make Rozlyn look even worse than she already did.
As far as the other women, I thought Valishia was the most interesting to watch. You can tell a lot from someone’s demeanor. She clearly was feeling a great deal of stress and didn’t seem comfortable going after Rozlyn. She even told Rozlyn that she knew that she liked her. Then she blurted out this bizarre story of being sick and Rozlyn not being in their room that night. So what’s the big deal with that? Also, if you are sick, then why would you get out of bed to go looking for your roommate? All she said was that she couldn’t find Rozlyn. Not particularly damning, if you ask me. I am not surprised to learn that she apologized to Rozlyn afterwards. As far as Terry, well, I feel that she her statements do line up. A slight correction doesn’t mean that she was lying. Ella’s detailed description of the four legged position Rozlyn was in seemed to be meant to inflame the viewing audience. Was she saying that Rozlyn was in that position with the producer guy underneath her? I don’t get it. Who cares if she had her chest down and her butt up in the air with her panties on. Oooh! Shocking!
All I can say is, if that’s the best ABC can do when it comes to firsthand evidence, then they are in big trouble. I don’t think Rozlyn was intimate with this guy, but I do think there was some hanky-panky going on between them. Whether it rises to the level of a scandal and warranted all this attention, I have no idea. It could well be that the women were told to either exaggerate what they saw or told to flat out lie. At this point, I don’t think I even care. But I don’t think Rozlyn is an innocent as she would like all of us to believe.
I’m sorry if someone already said this or asked this…but let me tell you there are so many comments here, I just couldn’t finish reading them. I would just like to say that I do not believe Rozlyn. I also do not feel the same as you RS about Chris H. This is his job…sure he is probably picking up a hefty truckload of cash to continue on in this charade…so do I blame him? Nope. Would I or could I? Nope. But, I believed the girls attacks more than I believed Rozlyns responses and facial expressions to them. Really? I mean I’m sure there are a huge percentage of woman out there, that if there were attacked and lies were spat right out in front of them like that, would break down. Sorry. She was not in anyway believable. Well except for the part about making a phone call to her son from the “never named” producer. That was about the most believable thing that came out of her mouth. And her attack at Chris about the “never named” producers wife…again I say “Really?” Any respectable honest woman would not air his dirty laundry out like that, truth or lie. I commend him for his response, whether he was lying or not. If she wants us to believe her…maybe she should try and put her big girl pants on.
That show was a far cry from reality…though it fit the bill for entertainment…fake or real. It makes me laugh to see how many people believe any of this…I thank you RS for making us see the truth. Although I have to say that for the first time this season I have to disagree with you…Sorry, but Rozlyn is lying. Maybe just by not telling the whole truth, but in reality, omitting the truth is still lying. She’s hiding something…I would live to know what.
Oh yeah. The “never named” producer came to visit her WITH his father!?! And she didn’t have ANY type of “inappropriate relationship” with him at all! C’mon Rozlyn! Give me a break!! You probably nuzzled his neck, gave him a hard on, now he follows you around everywhere like some love struck schmuck and you are loving every disgusting minute of it.