ANTM Interview: Hannah White

Yesterday, I sat in on a conference call with Alaskan small-town girl Hannah White. She talked about all the controversy surrounding her, what it was like to be on the show, and, yes, being from Alaska!

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Full Q&A is below the jump! Remember to stop by tomorrow and check out Isis’s interview!

Miss the episode? Read the full recap here!

How did you get involved in Top Model?

I got involved when a couple of my friends wanted to try out. It seemed like a lot of fun, but nothing I would ever do. It was so not me. But in the end, my friends bailed on me and I went anyway. I tried out and ended up on the show and now, here I am.

You seemed really excited by all the new experiences you had on the show. What were some of your favorites?

Oh my gosh, the whole show was super-exciting. So much of it was a new experience. It was so much fun to be on the show and to meet Tyra and the Jays. I enjoyed every single minute of it. It was such a blast. There were so many new things for me. The hot air balloon freaked me out. It was so high up and I was so scared, but it ended up being really, really fun.

Have you been working on your walk since you’ve been eliminated?

Oh my gosh, my walk. What a riot! At least all my friends and everyone who watched the show enjoyed it! I really want to call Isis and get her to help me out. Her walk kicks ass. She’s got skills.

How did you feel about being eliminated mid-episode?

You know, once we heard that, I just thought “gosh, I need to try my best” and do whatever I could to impress the judges and not be eliminated. I figured if I tried my best, I’d see how it went. I was disappointed, but what can you do? It happened.

Tell us about the controversy you were involved in.

I think the whole thing was a misunderstanding based on miscommunication. I didn’t mean to come across as racist and I think the girls in the house took my comments the wrong way. That was not the way I intended them. I guess I need to get smarter with my words. With maturity, I’ll get better at it. Things did get cleared up between everyone. The show only showed a small part of it. I wrote letters to my family calling them “the White family” and to my brother, calling him ”the little White person.” White’s my last name, so I didn’t think anything of it. But I guess the girls took that the wrong way. Gosh, this is such a hard question. I wish, however, that the girls had approached me in a different manner. If they had come to me in private and just asked questions, I’d be happy to talk about what I said and what I meant and what I could do to speak better. But they didn’t approach it in the best way. But it was all cleared up and it’s in the past and what happens, happens.

How did you feel about Isis being a competitor on the show?

Isis is such a sweet girl. She deserved to be there as much as I did! She even lasted longer than me! She went through the same audition process as me and had every right to be there. She’s awesome. She’s very sweet and treated me with so much respect and kindness, I was fortunate to have Isis with me on the show.

You talked about being from Alaska a lot on the show. What were you trying to say?

I think what you’re referring to is that I was edited speaking a lot about Alaska. I didn’t talk about Alaska that much, only as much as the other girls talked about their homes. But the producers asked me about Alaska a lot! We were interviewed for several hours each day and they kept asking “so, being from Alaska…” and all those questions made it on the show! I was so embarrassed and upset. Everyone from Alaska is different, just like everyone from everywhere else. I definitely lived an atypical lifestyle in Alaska and I certainly don’t represent Alaska as a whole. I love Alaska and being from there is great. I love the people there and where I live and everything. But I was so annoyed by how often the showed me mentioning it. But I can’t be upset about that, it was the editor’s choice in how they wanted to portray me.

Which photo shoot was your favorite?

It as definitely the swimsuit shoot. Russell James is so talented and has worked with so many great people, it was an honor to work with him.

Are you going to continue modeling?

Modeling is something I never thought I would do. But now that the door is open, it’s really exciting. So we’ll wait and see what happens.

Did you keep your makeover?

I did keep my makeover. But it made me look like I was twelve! When I saw myself, I was like “wow, I look really young!” But I’ve grown to like it and it’s kinda fun!

Thanks for speaking with us today, Hannah!

Oh, thank you!