A Project Runway shocker!

In case you weren't watching last night, Jack Mackenroth withdrew from the "Project Runway" competition after developing a potentially dangerous staph infection. Here is part of an exit interview he did with TVGuide.com.

TVGuide.com: First, let me say how bummed I am about your leaving the show.
Jack Mackenroth: Not as bummed as me! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Can you walk me through the sequence of events? What happened?
Jack: Basically, it seems like a week but it’s only a day, tops. The day before, I had this bump in my nose and I thought, "This is weird." The next morning, I woke up, and my lip was really puffy. The progression was so rapid that I thought, "I know what this is." Twice before, long ago, I had a very antibiotic-resistant form of a staph infection. It’s not an HIV-related thing. [Mackenroth is HIV-positive.] Anyone can get it. And it’s not the horror story you hear, like the flesh-eating bacteria, but it’s very serious. I went immediately to the production staff and said, "I think I have a staph infection in my face and I need to seek medical attention." They got on it, and I had medical treatment, but it wasn’t working fast enough.

TVGuide.com: We saw you and Tim Gunn leave the workroom and then return. What did you talk about off camera?
Jack: We were in the middle of the challenge, and I started to get a fever. I could feel it. So when Tim came up to me to review my outfit, I said, "I need to really speak to you." At this point, I knew I had to make a decision. It wasn’t safe for me to be there. It wasn’t safe for the other contestants. So we left the workroom and we sat down and I was crying. It still makes me very emotional. I said to him, "Obviously there’s something going on, and I’m pretty sure what it is, and for my own health and the health of everyone else involved, I think I need to withdraw."

TVGuide.com: Was your decision influenced by the producers?
Jack: No. It was a personal decision. I’m sure, at some point, if I hadn’t said something, the producers would have been responsible. They have everyone’s welfare in mind, and there are insurance issues and all that. But I wanted to do it on my terms and I think they let me do that.

TVGuide.com: Were you touched by the other designers’ reactions?
Jack: All of the emotion you see on television is really real. In person, it was awful and beautiful at the same time.

TVGuide.com: When you left the show, did you go straight to the hospital?
Jack: I didn’t even pack my stuff. I literally went to the emergency room from there. I was in the hospital for five days.

TVGuide.com: How is your health now?
Jack: Oh, amazing — this was June, so we’re talking months ago. I’m in perfect health.