Josh Clinton: Hey Veronica
Veronica Portillo: Hey.
JC: How are you?
VP: Good.
JC: So what’s your status on Road Rules right now. You’re not on the RV.
VP: I’m in “The Pit Crew”.
JC: Right, but do you want to get back on the RV? We haven’t seen your name on top of the list recently, when it comes to who the viewers are voting for.
VP: I’m open to it, since it’s nearing the middle. At first, I didn’t really care to go back. It wasn’t something that I was excited about. I was over it. But then I thought that when you play this game it would be hard to stay in there the entire time. So I was better off leaving at the beginning than fighting and fighting from the beginning and have nothing left to fight at the end. Strategically, if you’re playing a game where there is going to be leaving and then coming back, I would rather leave at the beginning and have all of the strong contestants get weeded out until the end.
JC: That make sense. Why did you decide to come back and do this second season of Road Rules, though?
VP: I took two years off. I also thought it would be an interesting experiment, and obviously it’s been that. I just thought it would be a cool thing to be a part of. And also I have a clothing company, so I thought it be a good way to get the word out.
JC: I see. So what do you think about the interactive element of this season?
VP: I think that it’s obviously what the new generation wants and is going to with MySpace and YouTube and all of the online websites. It would have been better, however, if the website for the show would have been a little bit easier to navigate, and also if the rules were easier to understand. I think we lost some viewers because the rules were so confusing at the beginning.
JC: Right. The first time you were on Road Rules you weren’t on a RV at all, you were on a boat. Do you think you missed out on the original Road Rules experience because of that?
VP: Yeah, my experience was different than everyone else’s. We were on a boat with 700 other students to form relationships with. There were a lot more distractions. We weren’t forced to live together the entire time. I’m not going to say that I missed out on anything, I will just say that my experience was different than most.
JC: On these shows, you’ve gotten a reputation as being a “mean girl” or “bad girl”? Do you think that is accurate in your real life or is the show edited to make you look that way?
VP: It’s definitely edited. I think that in our society if you are an assertive, independent, strong woman, you are perceived to be a bitch. What would be a positive thing is turned to be negative. I think that I am outspoked and strong and opinionated. So on the television screen that translates into being mean. Now do I think I’m mean in real life? Absolutely not. But I can see how it’s made to look that way.
JC: Do you have a favorite show that you have been on so far, since you have been on a lot of these challenges and such?
VP: Um, my favorites would probably be the Real World/Road Rules: Challenge: The Guantlet 1 and the Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno 2.
JC: Is there a mission that you have done that sticks out as like the hardest thing you have ever done?
VP: The final mission from The Guantlet 1. It was the most difficult thing I have EVER done. It was like a four and half mile obstactle course at 10,000 feet altitude. So it was really hard just trying to keep our breath.
JC: Do you think the shows are being cast differently now? Do you think the people being cast for these new challenges are just looking to become famous and win some money than actually going through the experience?
VP: I think they are casting a bunch of fans of the shows. These people are like die-hards. They definitely know what we do in our spare time and how we make our money. They have been following these shows for a long time, and they know that they can spin it into some kind of career. So yeah, the people getting cast know exactly what they want to do on the show since they followed it. So I think some people have some motivation for starting a relationship or fighting with people, since usually the people that get into fights the most gets to be asked back. I haven’t really been on this show, so I haven’t really met these new people. I’ve met most of these people in person, but obviously the way they are portrayed on television is different from the way they are in person. But from the people that I have met, I feel like they know too much about me. Which makes me think that they do a lot of research online.
JC: Right. So what do you think about the newcomers on this show? Especially Tori, since you had a few battles with her in “The Pit”.
VP: They’re cool. I don’t have a feud with Tori at all. We’ve met twice in “The Pit”. I didn’t have a problem with her, though. I mean I don’t really know her, but I think she’s a sweet person.
JC: Alright, cool. So would say that your best friends from these shows are Shane and Rachel from Road Rules: Campus Crawl?
VP: Um, yeah. Those are people I keep in contact the most frequently, but I also have other closer friends.
JC: Who else do you keep in touch with from these shows?
VP: Tina, Coral, Mike, Wes, Darrell, Melissa Howard. I mean I have friends, it’s just a matter of how big of a role they play in my life.
JC: Right. You have been involved in the most “infamous” moments in MTV Challenge history. Who could forget the threesome in the shower between you, Rachel, and Abram. And, of course, the topless screaming match with Katie. Is there a moment on the show that you remember the most or is like your favorite from the shows you have been on?
VP: My favorite moments don’t have much to do with the “biggest moments of Real World/Road Rules Challenge history”. They are definitely not the fights. They are not really that fun. My favorite moments are the ones that aren’t usually captured on camera. Especially if you are doing them with people you get along with, you can really have a good time while doing these challenges.
JC: So do you have any lasting resentment towards Katie?
VP: Not at all. I’m sure she does for me, but I feel like it was such a long time ago. I would hope that if we went back to do a show together, we wouldn’t be instant enemies. I would hope that we weren’t instand enemies, but I think she holds a lot more resentment to me than I do for her. I don’t really care, though, it’s like whatever. Since then, I’ve had many other people that I don’t really like.
JC: Would would that be exactly?
VP: Like Tonya from The Real World: Chicago and Julie from The Real World: New Orleans.
JC: So are you ever concerned about the way that women are portrayed on these MTV reality shows as far as the catfights and stuff like that?
VP: Um, yeah, it’s not very good, right?
JC: Yeah.
VP: But I’m not really concerned about that. I hope to not be involved with that anymore. I know that there will always be girls that do fight with each other, but that’s just the nature of the game.
JC: Do you think you would want to compete on future challenges after this show is over with?
VP: I don’t know, to be honest. I think The Challenge format is better for me than Road Rules: Viewer’s Revenge. Let me explain it to you. On Viewer’s Revenge, when you’re on the RV you film the show in a certain amount of days. Then, our “off days” are in Los Angeles. I live in L.A. So my “off” days aren’t spent in a hotel room, they are spent in my apartment. So it’s really hard to get my head in the game, because I’m constantly leaving it to go back to my real life and my reality. Whereas, if I was on a Challenge I would be gone five weeks and we would shoot the entire season during that time, since we taped 4 episodes each week. You’re also living in a hotel and you’re breathing the air. You are constantly surrounded by it. It’s very intense and fast-paced. This doesn’t really seem “real” to me. So I’m kinda at a disadvantage, since so much of this game is so political and so social. Most of the game goes on when you are not competing in missions. Most of the game goes on when your having conversations with others and I’m not really a part of that this time. I’m not there for that. As soon as they say “okay you are off camera”, it’s immediately back to my real life.
JC: I can see how that c So how is the clothing line, College Dropout, going?
VP: It’s going good. Yeah, it’s going really well. We have recently added some new products and have gotten some good press like Paris Hilton wearing some of our stuff. So things are going good.
JC: Good. When you are all done with MTV, what do you want to do with your life? What do you want to do when you “grow up”?
VP: I want to be a Toys-R-Us kid! No, I don’t know. I’m doing it. I enjoy what I’m doing. I also go around to schools and speak about issues like eating disorders. So I keep myself pretty busy. I don’t see any of what I’m doing changing in the next couple of years. I hope that my company grows, but I don’t see any of what I’m doing right now changing anytime soon.
JC: Well thanks for your time and good luck with everything.
VP: Yeah, thank you.
Coming up tomorrow on “Road Rules Week” is my exclusive interview with probably the undisputed “leader” of the RV, Adam Larson. Stay tuned…
For the first time ever, the audience is in control of the game. With a real-time shoot schedule, viewers rule this new season as they call the shots to determine which of the Road Rulers will end up in the Pit Battle elimination round at the end of each episode and who from the Pit Crew will replace the loser. It all happens at http://roadrules.mtv.com where Road Ruler hopefuls can enter to win a chance to become part of the Pit Crew. Fans can also browse Road Ruler blogs, watch online-only previews and find other exclusive Road Rules content. – Road Rules: Viewer’s Revenge airs on MTV on Wednesday nights at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT time.
