Top Model's Sarah Weighs In on Her Ouster

By the time America's Next Top Model eliminated Sarah Hartshorne last week, I hoped the poor kid had saved the straitjacket Ms. J dressed her in for that early runway tutorial. First she was told she was plus-size, meaning her chances of winning were slim. Then she was told she'd slimmed down, meaning her chances of winning were even worse. It made me crazy just watching, so I had to assume it did a heck of a number on her as well. But when TVGuide.com called the 20-year-old co-ed, she proved to be as levelheaded as she is good-humored, giving off the kind of beauty no scale has any business measuring.

TVGuide.com: If I had gone through what they put you through on the show, I would've gone home and eaten, like, 207 doughnuts.
Sarah Hartshorne: [Laughs] Don't get me wrong, [getting cut] was a disappointment, absolutely, but I was just so tired! You know when you're really tired and things just seem so much worse than they are? I'd gotten maybe three hours of sleep, and it was sort of, "Oh, my god! It's over!" It seemed so bad [on air] because I was exhausted. But I'm not heartbroken. [Laughs] I'll move on.
TVGuide.com: Don't you think Chantal should have gone instead of you? She doesn't seem nearly as brilliant a model as she thinks she is.
Sarah: Well, I saw her in person and she is absolutely stunning, and I understand why they didn't send her home. It was very strange to be in that position, because I love Chantal. She is just the sweetest girl. She believes that everything happens for a reason, and she is absolutely someone that I'd want around in a crisis. So it was weird for me to be in a position to sort of want her to go home. You get so close to these girls, but then you have to realize that it is a competition, which is hard for me. But then it didn't matter, because I went home in the end! [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: Let's talk about the video shoot. Since the whole arc of your storyline was "She's a plus-size model.... Oh, wait, she's not a plus-size model anymore," do you think they gave you that fishnet costume just to challenge you?
Sarah: Taken out of context, I think my comments made me seem a lot more uncomfortable than I was. I did feel hot! And I did feel comfortable. It took some getting used to, but I think it did for all of us. I wasn't as uncomfortable as it maybe came across. And I want to make it clear that it is OK for someone my size to be dressed like that! I don't want girls to see that and say, "Oh, gee, she's uncomfortable, so I should be uncomfortable, too." I felt gorgeous! It was really fun and kind of a great role to get into, this dominatrix vampire. I don't know if they dressed me like that on purpose. I'd gotten naked in front of the cameras before, and it wasn't really that different. I'm not upset that people saw me being insecure, but I am upset that they didn't get to see my more secure moments.
TVGuide.com: Did you come away from the show with your head twisted around because you went on as sort of a borderline plus-size model and then got told "You're losing weight — what are you thinking?!"
Sarah: [Laughs] I'm more aware of my place in the fashion industry, and I'm aware of how difficult it is and maybe uncertain. But I feel as if I was given this opportunity for a reason, and that is to go forward and be myself and do what I can with the body and the face that I was given, which I appreciate, and I think the fashion world can appreciate. Fashion is always changing, and I hope that it can change to my advantage.
TVGuide.com: Do you feel like you have to put a label on yourself for the fashion industry? "I'm a plus," or "I'm a multiplication sign" or whatever?
Sarah: No, I don't think that the sizes should matter so much. There shouldn't be such a divide between plus-size and normal-size. I mean, anyone who has a well-proportioned and beautiful body and face who can make clothes look fashionable and interesting to other people should be able to model. Someone like me, who some people consider too small to be a plus-size model and whom everyone considers too big to be a regular model, should be able to, with ease, get into the fashion industry. I use this example all the time: When Twiggy became a model, it was revolutionary that she was so thin. Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, they all started out as models who were really curvy, beautiful women.
TVGuide.com: So you're ready for the next revolution, basically.
Sarah: Absolutely! Toccara [from Cycle 3] is one of the most beautiful women in the world. She is just stunning. She shouldn't have to be so strictly categorized as different from me, and I shouldn't be so strictly categorized as different from someone like, say, Jenah, who is very thin and so gorgeous. There should be a place for all of us.
TVGuide.com: Since at the moment that doesn't seem to be true, do you think a plus-size model could ever conceivably win a show like this?
Sarah: The fact is that size is an issue on a large scale, no pun intended, in American consciousness. We have an obesity problem, but then at the same time, we have a problem with eating disorders among young girls. So I think it's an issue within the modeling industry, because we have plus-size girls and then we also have girls fainting on the runway. We have Spain saying the BMI of models has to be healthy if they're going to walk the runway. It sort of trickles down, and Top Model really represents what's going on in the fashion world, so I would say yes, it is possible for someone who isn't stick-thin to win, provided things change in the fashion world, which they inevitably will.
TVGuide.com: I don't think I'll ever get the image of you pulling tissue from your nose out of my head.
Sarah: [Laughs] I never will, either! I will never, ever forget the moment I realized I had just pulled paper out of my nose on national television and in front of my childhood idol, Tyra Banks!
TVGuide.com: You do know that every time they do a Top Model retrospective, that will inevitably be one of the clips they show forevermore, right?
Sarah: You know, it hasn't really sunk in yet. But I'm so excited! It is incredibly embarrassing, but my great-grandmother taught me that trick, and she is one of the most upright, proper women I know. She's very well-mannered and she speaks very well and has perfect posture, and she said, "Sarah, it's an amazing party trick." So I'm excited that I could use that on national television. I hope she's excited as well, but she's probably mortified.
TVGuide.com: You may have introduced it to a whole new generation of kids!
Sarah: That's the kind of person I am! I embarrass myself, but I think that in the end, it's worth it. Fifth-grade humor stays funny for life. I hope!

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