"I Was Beyond Shocked When I Was Eliminated" – An Interview with America's Next Top Model 8's Felicia

I have to admit that Felicia being sent packing so early in the competition really did shock me. After all, I had her pegged for the final three! I did have a chance to chat with Felicia about her time on the show, and she was able to shed some light on a few things – like Renee’s attitude, the judges calling her cocky and what she would have done with a $40,000 bracelet!

RealityNewsOnline: Hey Felicia! I have to admit that I’m a little shocked to be talking with you so soon!

Felicia: I know! I still don’t know what happened – maybe it was just a bad case of the flu that did me in!

RNO: Had you watched previous seasons of the show and what factored into your decision to apply?

Felicia: I watched a little, yes. My friends and family were the ones that told me I needed to apply though. I was actually supposed to try out for season seven, but never got around to it, so when season eight was casting, I promised everyone I would go for it. I walked into casting and it was totally random, and I got called back!

RNO: The judges said that you were beginning to come across as cocky. Do you think they were confusing confidence with cockiness?

Felicia: I have no clue what the judges were thinking with their comment that I was beginning to get cocky. Maybe it was them confusing confidence and cockiness, I’m not sure. It doesn’t make sense though, since I never went into panel trying to be too confident though, or being cocky – at least that I knew of!

RNO: Had you ever felt that you might have been gloating a bit too much in front of the other girls or getting ahead of yourself with your comments about your photo shoot going well?

Felicia: No. Because I remember saying to the other girls that if I got a good review at panel, I was going to rejoice. I thought my photo shoot was much better than they made it out to be and to be honest, I think they chose the worst photo I’ve ever taken in my life. I just hope the whole thing isn’t predetermined. I thought about that, but I really hope that’s not the case.

RNO: What about your makeover, what did you think of it? Personally, I liked your older look better and thought it made you stand out more!

Felicia: Really? You liked that brown hair? You’re the only one! I like the darker hair, and I think it helped play down the whole comparison to Tyra thing. I’m sticking with it right now.

RNO: Speaking of which, we saw a lot of comparisons between you and Tyra. Was this originally brought up by you, the judges or the other contestants and do you ever feel it was used against you?

Felicia: During the semi-finals, one of the girls made the comparison. However, once other girls heard it, they agreed and all started calling me “Baby Tyra.” So I thought it would be funny to tell Tyra about it when I first met with the judges, and I’m not sure if she took it seriously or as a joke. I mean, I doubt she was jealous and used it against me. She’s Tyra Banks – there’s no reason for her to hold a grudge over that.

RNO: You had commented that with Renee, you never know which personality you are going to get. Did anyone ever talk to her about the whole bi-polar personality?

Felicia: I don’t think anyone ever brought it up to her. At least, I haven’t heard of anyone bringing it up to her and I didn’t either. I think that girl has five people living in her head. It was just weird the way she would click, and be nice and sweet one minute, then be bitchy and sarcastic the next. It was so strange!

RNO: What was the time span between Jael’s friend dying and the most recent photo shoot? Do you feel like she was given a proper time period to mourn before being thrown into something so deep?

Felicia: They didn’t give Jael any time to do anything – they didn’t give ANY of us time to do anything! I think Jael handled the whole thing very well, and better than I thought she would, especially having to depict someone in her photo shoot that died of a drug overdose. Jael is very strong.

RNO: Previews for next week show Renee telling Whitney that a plus-sized girl could never win the competition. Do you think it’s possible for a plus sized girl to ever win?

Felicia: I do think a plus sized girl can win. I mean, why not? Whitney has the potential and won the challenge this week! I don’t understand how Renee can tell Whitney that she doesn’t have a chance to win while she was the only girl that didn’t get her key at the last challenge. Not only that, but she’s trying to lecture the winner of the challenge? She’s out of her mind.