Tila Tequila Gives Love a Shot, MTV-Style

• Nov 27, 2007 03:00 AM ET
• by Joseph Hudak

With more than two million "friends" on her MySpace page, model-singer Tila Tequila is a do-it-yourself kind of celebrity, ascending to fame by crafting and maintaining a sultry, social-networking Web presence. This year she parlayed that notoriety into A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila (Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET on MTV), a hit dating show with a twist — the pool of paramours includes both men and women.

TV Guide: Have you always dated both guys and girls?
Tila Tequila: I only dated girls. I didn’t experience a guy until I was in high school. I was a very late bloomer toward guys, because I thought I was a boy! [Laughs] Guys were like my homeboys, my homies.

TV Guide: Do you truly hope to find love on the show?
Tequila: We finished wrapping, and I definitely found love. But we can’t be seen out together, so we only talk on the phone. It’s pretty hard.

TV Guide: How do you explain your surreal celebrity?
Tequila: I knew that working hard would pay off. But it’s mostly my fans helping me get there. They’ve known me for so long, it’s like seeing their best friend succeed. My fans and people who know of my character want to see me become more successful.

TV Guide: Do you ever feel like you’re playing a character?
Tequila: Ummm… not really. Well, yeah, because otherwise I’d be a little more feisty [on the show]! Sometimes I just want to scream at everybody and say, "Shut the f--k up." But I’m not [I Love New York’s] New York. I have a little more class than that. So I let the contestants speak their piece.

TV Guide: You have said that you’re not looking to be famous.
Tequila: I don’t care about fame. I turn down a lot, like record deals and TV shows. But the media twists it into "Tila Tequila’s fired because she’s talentless!" But it’s like, I’m the one who quit!

TV Guide: That said, can you talk about reports that Shot at Love will return for a second season without you?
Tequila: I’m not sure I can comment on that, but I feel like I found love and right now don’t feel like doing another season. If this relationship doesn’t work out, then I’ll definitely go back and look for love again. But right now I’m happy where I am, sitting in my sweatpants and looking at the sun outside.

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