Serious Aubrey makes no apologies for fun Aubrey.
“I have as many haters as I have fans because I make a lot of people uncomfortable,” Irvine’s Aubrey O’Day explained over lunch at an Irvine Spectrum sushi restaurant. “There are perceptions of me out there, and I want to change those perceptions.
“I’m not nearly the hot mess people think I am. Do I love to stand on a table in a nightclub and have people watch me dance? Do I like to act sexy and flirt with boys, and kiss a girl? Sure. But I’m still young. I don’t know what forever is. I don’t want to act according to someone else’s plan. I want to look back on this time and remember that I was so hot when I was young.”
Welcome to Aubrey’s world.
And, being Aubrey’s world, you can rest assured it will be televised.
The University of California, Irvine graduate is about to embark on the next chapter of her televised show business career.
The first chapter, for those of you who don’t watch MTV, was a reality show called “Making the Band,” which led to the Orange County woman being named the lead singer in a new all-woman band called Danity Kane. The band, which was managed by the show’s creator, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, had two platinum albums and was going strong when Diddy abruptly fired O’Day on the air. The rap producer said he thought the young singer was detrimental to the band, essentially because she was becoming more famous than her band-mates.
After a six-month stint on Broadway and a Playboy cover and photo spread, O’Day is attempting a comeback in her music career, and it is being documented on another reality series called “All About Aubrey,” which debuts Monday at 10 p.m. on Oxygen. Six one-hour episodes have been filmed.
O’Day, 27, talks about her new series, tries to put to rest rumors that her voluptuous figure has been enhanced by plastic surgery and explains how devastating it was to be fired publicly by the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy.
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: What’s it like to be fired on national television?
AUBREY O’DAY: People always ask me when I’ll get over it, and my standard answer is: “Any day now.”
Q. Seriously, what were you thinking when it happened?
A. So many things were going wrong internally and externally, and it was becoming such an unhappy situation that the words coming out of his mouth were almost a relief.
Q. What had been going wrong with the band that being fired was a relief?
A. We had been in the group almost five years, and were making no money.
Q. Really?
A. We had two platinum albums and were still living with our parents.
Q. Let me get this straight; you weren’t making any money from being in the band?
A. That’s right.
Q. Somebody must have been making money?
A. It wasn’t us. When you’re working that hard, and you’re not seeing the quality of your life getting better, it makes things seem darker. A lot of things were eating away at us. And we weren’t on the same page as to whether we could take a break from non-stop working. Unfortunately, in a group, everybody has to be on the same page.
Q. What were your emotions when you left the band?
A. It was sad. The hardest part was forgiving the people involved. But that still didn’t help. And then I realized that I hadn’t forgiven myself for the things I could have done better. As for being fired on national television, I don’t care. I’m an outrageous person, and I have a strong voice. I don’t speak out of ignorance, or to hear myself talk. I believed that I was speaking up for myself, and what I thought was fair. That was the lesson I learned from all this – that life isn’t fair, and the entertainment business is particularly not fair. My wanting things to be fair was my downfall.
Q. So getting fired was the least of your problems?
A. A lot of people got fired in 2008, and I was just the poster child for something that everyone was going through.
Q. In the aftermath of the firing, you went to Broadway for six months, did “Peep Show” in Las Vegas for six months and then appeared in Playboy. Any regrets about any of those moves?
A. Not at all.
Q. If Broadway was your dream, why didn’t you stay there?
A. Broadway is suffering from the same downturn as the rest of the country, and the first casualties are the musicals. There just wasn’t work. But it was a wonderful experience. It forced me to be the most disciplined I’ve ever been in my whole life. There are no smoke and mirrors on stage. It’s just you.
Q. Why did you pose for Playboy?
A. It’s something I could never imagine doing. I never felt pretty in my life. I was never popular. I didn’t even lose my virginity until my junior year in college. I wasn’t the girl that anybody wanted. So, when Playboy called, it gave me an opportunity to be that girl for the first time in my life.
Q. So, you’re one of those sexy women who claim to have blossomed late?
A. I was made fun of when I was a girl. I was bullied all the time. I was performing in shows, but I felt as if nobody liked me at school. That’s all you think about when you’re young. I used to stuff my bra because I was under-developed. I was so insecure, but my mother kept saying that she developed late, and I would, too. I never believed her, and then I started getting voluptuous.
Q. Did people’s taunts end?
A. No. Then they started accusing me of having tons of plastic surgery. It drove me crazy.
Q. You’ve never had plastic surgery?
A. Never. I’m not against it. If I were looking in the mirror and was unhappy with what I saw, I’d do it. But I haven’t even had Botox yet. But I am getting to a scary age (27).
Q. The end-result of this period was that you decided to get back into the recording business?
A. What I realized was that what I loved most was being a pop star. And I wanted to be back on TV.
Q. Why?
A. So many negative things were being said about me.
Q. Like what?
A. I was blamed for the demise of the group, and there is no way one person can bring down a multi-million-dollar operation like that.
Q. But I don’t understand why you want to be on a reality show again?
A. The person I am was being so distorted by the media, and I wasn’t able to affect change. By going back on TV, I could show that I am not this evil, selfish person who is breaking up groups. The reality of me is very different, and you can see that on the show. I am insecure, vulnerable and sensitive. I am very passionate about my friends. I’m just a nerd.
Q. Speaking of nerds, why do you live in Irvine?
A. (laughs) I’m the biggest Orange County supporter of all time. I lived in L.A. when I was recording and working in the band. It was more convenient.
Q. When did you first move to Irvine?
A. I moved here from Palm Springs when I started UC Irvine. After I graduated, I moved to New York. But I missed Orange County so much. All my friends are here. It’s so beautiful. It feels like Toon Town. I bring my friends from New York and L.A. here, and they all want to live here. When I drive back from working in L.A., seeing that Alton Parkway exit is the greatest sight in the world. I know I’m home.
Q. What are doing up in L.A. every day?
A. Dancing, recording, all the stuff you see on the show. I also have a T-shirt line, and I work with two charities.
Q. Has all the work paid off with a recording contract?
A. You’ll see on the show. I can’t tell you. That’s the big finale of the show.
Q. I have seen the first show, and I don’t understand why you put yourself in a situation where these professionals were criticizing your weight. Wasn’t that hurtful?
A. Celebrities will do reality shows these days just to brand themselves. It’s usually scripted and phony. I definitely didn’t want to create a show like that. I didn’t do it just to get my career back, or to be on TV. I felt it could be therapy for me, as well as being therapy for the viewers. But, in order to affect change, I have to show how change happens – the good and the bad.
Q. That’s very generous of you, but it can’t be easy to have someone call you heavy on camera?
A. It was hard to hear at first. I was embarrassed because I didn’t know it was so obvious. I cried the first time I watched. By the third time, I thought that it would help other people dealing with the same issues. And it gets tougher. I think those guys were holding back the first week.
Q. Is the goal to rejuvenate the singing career, and put television behind you?
A. The way I feel right now, I would continue doing the show, not only with my career but with my personal life as well. My early career was documented, and now this return is being documented. How amazing would it be to document falling in love, or getting married?
Q. You show biz people are really different than regular folks.
A. (laughs) We’re all self-obsessed and neurotic. We love to be watched. But, on the other hand, we’re so hard on ourselves about what other people think of us. It’s a double-edged sword.
Q. Are you self-obsessed and neurotic?
A. You have to be a little of both to think your story is worth watching on TV (laughs).
Contact the writer: 714-796-5051, ext. 1110, or bkoltnow@ocregister.com
