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3.31.2008
From the start, the girls on Flavor of Love 3 wondered just how real Shy was. It turns out they were right to do so: after the jump, the supposedly loud-mouthed, bad-breathed instigator talks at length about it all being an act, as well as the haters who get her down. Weird! VERY.
Did you enjoy your time on the show?
To be honest, I really didn’t. It was a really hellish experience for me. I was going crazy in there. I came back home still screaming and shouting. I had to shake the Shy character off. It took me like two months.
Was frequent conflict what made the experience hellish?
It like being locked up. On the show, you can’t go nowhere. I couldn’t breathe. I had no space and then to wake up every morning with negative, the arguments of the women. There was nothing positive in there and I’m a positive person, so it threw me for a loop.
I’m surprised to hear you say that because it seems that, at the very least, you helped out with the negativity. You weren’t there to make friends.
I knew I was going to meet people, but I wasn’t planning on getting anyone’s number. I was there for business. I knew there was going to be drama, but I had no idea what intensity level it was going to be. Basically, I am a true actress and I took that character in and became Shy. I had a little something of me, but I became that character. I was confused. I was getting mixed signals from Flav. You know, if he was really looking for love, why don’t he know my real name? I can’t have a man talking about, “I love you, Shy.” That’s not on my birth certificate. My child don’t know me by Shy. I’m Monalisa, and for you to rename me and think I’m going to become somebody I’m not…Shy is the negative character of who I am and I made that character live. I tapped into a character instead of showing my true swagger.
It’s interesting that you distance yourself from being called “Shy,” on your MySpace videos, for example. Most girls keep their Flav names for, I guess, “branding” purposes.
I want it cut off immediately. I really have a lot to offer to the world. I’m not gonna be the average girl that goes on the videos and other stuff. I have some real skills and I truly believe that I’m destined to be one of the biggest entertainers out here. I rap, I sing, dancing, acting, TV, model. This is what I breathe and live. When I came home, I knew that Shy wasn’t me. I knew I was acting and was out to get TV ratings. But I also wanted to meet Flav.
What are the differences between Shy and Monalisa?
Shy is a person that really don’t care about how a person feel at times. She just ready to shut down everybody immediately. She’s one of those aggressive types with power. She knows she can control anything and she uses her power in a negative way. She’s saying the truth, but it’s the way how she say the truth. Nobody can’t receive the truth from Shy because she’s not presenting it right: she’s screaming, she’s yelling, she’s got people on edge. Monalisa speaks the truth presented in a way that you have to receive it. It’s well-presented in a manner that people can respect. She’s also a person who likes to receive things and learn things.
So do you regret taking on this Shy persona?
I don’t regret nothing, because it taught me a lesson in the business that I’m trying to get in. I was kind of hurt because I put in so much energy and I expected my storyline to be a little bit better. I felt like Flav tried to kill my career on the breath stuff. It went too far. And that was a wake-up. But it’s all good. I’m not mad at Flav. As long as I can help someone get ratings, something good got to happen for me.
It disappoints me that you feel negatively about your, uh, performance on the show, because I thought it was awesome. You had me sold as soon as you started talking about the wind in your hair.
The biggest shock for me was all this mail. I can’t even go on my FlavorOfLoveWorld.com, because it’s just too much negative mail. I understand why stars don’t read stuff like that. It went in my spirit when I read it. I got lost. That’s probably why I feel bad now. But I had fun with the producers and stuff on the show. It wasn’t VH1, it was me. I got confused. But it was something I had to experience.
Say you ended up being chosen as Flav’s No. 1 as a result of playing this character. What would you have done? Did you even think that far?
I thought about that. I felt like I had a connection with Flav and that we could be something, but I didn’t feel like I was knowing him enough. I did not want to get myself hurt. I don’t think I would have gone all the way. I probably would have calmed down in the Top 3 and told him that I didn’t think we should get to know each other this way. I think I would have eliminated myself.
When the girls and Flav pointed out your bad breath (repeatedly), was it news to you?
I knew what I had to take care of with my teeth even before the show. I could have had my dental records sent in. But that was not a cause of bad breath. I have never smelled my breath like the way he says it, and no one else I’m around has. I’m from Chicago. We cold-blooded in the streets, as you can see from me on the show. They woulda let me know, “Boo, your breath stank.” And I woulda really made sure I would have taken care of that. I think it came from Bee-Ex and Hotlanta starting the rumor at the roast. That’s when everything about my breath kicked off. I had been in Flav’s face before anyone ever said that. We had the first one-on-one! He didn’t smell nothing then. Now all of a sudden it stinks? You wanna be funny, it’s cool, but be funny to a point. He took it all the way to the end and that’s some real gutter stuff. I’ll go out and be the girl with the stanky breath. Whatever. That was Shy. I’m Monalisa.
Is there any bad blood between you and anyone from the show at this point?
I wanna say that I feel resentment, but I can’t get mad at people and their bad acting skills, coming on there and being real stupid. I wanna be mad, but I’m so over it. Really. I did enough screaming and hollering. I don’t need to do that again. I’m not judging anyone, but I don’t want to connect with no one, either. But I give it up to all the women on that show. It was a major experience to get through in life.
Were you attracted to Flav?
I was attracted to his swagger, not his looks. Every morning I wasn’t gonna wake up, like, “Oh, sexy chocolate’s next to me.” No. It was his personality and his swagger. The inner beauty kept shining within him and a lot of people don’t have that. A lot of people are just beautiful outside. If he didn’t have all that, but there would be no point of going on the show. I can’t judge Flav by the face, ’cause by the face, he loses.
And even considering the breath thing, you still see his inner beauty?
Yeah. Flav had to do what he had to do. It was worth the experience because I got close to an icon.
I know you wear a lot of hats. Are there any projects coming up that you want to mention?
I got a couple of singles coming out. I’m doing something in England, my video for “Dancin’” just came out. It’s a house-music joint and I have some singles coming out in Chicago. I’m hosting a lot of events. I’m ready to bust down the acting door. I did a lot of independent films before I did the reality show and now it’s time to really shine and break through. I look forward to working with Tyler Perry. I want to work with the best out there because I feel like I’m the next millionaire walking.
interview via vh1
