Out in Reality TV: August 2008 Archives

Hey, I didn't watch a single episode of Bravo's "Make Me A Supermodel" but I'm sure plenty of you did and want to know what Ronnie Kroell has to say about his bromance with fellow contestant Ben.

He's so good looking, apparently, that people are shocked that he has a brain inside his pretty head: "It's funny how many times I meet people, and I start to talk, actually having an in-depth conversation about politics or religion, and it takes them off guard," he says in the story. "I used to take it as an offense, but it's just the idea that's out there. People don't expect us to have brain cells I guess."

On his embarrassing first attempt to break into the modeling industry: "I had no clue about proper etiquette or dress when you're going into casting calls and go-sees. So little Ronnie at 15 got in his prom tuxedo and went into an open call. The agent was about ready to have a coronary laughing so hard at me!"

There is a little more depth in the mag's Soapbox feature which allows the wonderful Judith Light to make an intelligent, compassionate call to arms for the LGBT community:"I encourage the younger generation to know their history. What your people have done, who your friends and straight allies were. Know it so you can have real pride in your being: of who you are and where you came from," she says. "That's your family. I urge you to draw courage and power from it."

Remember the Bravo "dating" show "Boy Meets Boy" where one dude (James Getzlaff) gets to be the "bachelor" and get wooed by dozens of guys? The annoying thing was that some of the guys were NOT gay! They were part of the reality show twist or whatever. Is it any wonder that we never saw a season two of this 2003 disaster?

I don't remember much from the show - and I did see every episode - but I do remember one particularly hot contestant who flashed his backside in the shower. His name is Dan Wells and he was one of the straight ones. So, in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly, Dan is among the former reality show participants interviewed for an article titled: "What Were They Thinking?"

Here's part of what Dan says now about that experience: "I reached a point where I was like, 'Dude, this isn't cool.' People started getting emotional. Then you see the difficulty James had with his decisions, and here I am toying with him. It wasn't very nice. ... But it wasn't tough to act gay. You just pretend that you feel about guys the way you feel about girls. You learn as you go and you watch how the gay men were acting and behaving and so forth, and you role with the vibe of the situation."