Project Runway is coming under some fire, for allegedly taking an anti-HIV stance with one of the contestants. Jack Mackenroth is HIV+ and also was a contestant on the 4th season of the hit Bravo show.
Mackenroth was eliminated 5th on the show, and at first claimed it was because he is HIV+ and that he had suffered a staph infection that made "his face blow up like the kid from Mask."
Now threatened with a violation of his confidentiality agreement, Mackenroth is saying he didn't say anything to anyone and that he has no idea how someone found out he was eliminated fifth.
It is also rumored that Jack won at least one week. The week was when the cast had to design an outfit for Sarah Jessica Parker and her film Sex and The City. The prize was not only seeing the winning design in the movie, but also a walk on role in the film. Jack Mackenroth is seen in the film.
Another person the contestants had to design for was Jon Bon Jovi.
I personally think that the producers of the show may have aided in removing Mackenroth simply because the staph infection can be contagious and not treatable by medicine. There are several high schools and middle schools that have had to completely drop all sports because of the rise in untreatable staph infections.
It is made very clear in Project Runway that the three judges give their opinions on who should be eliminated, but that the producers have the final say on who is in and who is out. If you are a producer and you have that power, are you going to take a chance that someone is going to get infected; a contestant, a staffer, a model, a crew member, etc. or just remove the contestant. I don;t think it has anything to do with HIV at all. None, sip, nada, zilch. There is just an increasing paranoia about staph infections and I think the same thing would have occurred if the designer had been straight.
Staph scares me a hell of a lot more than AIDS.
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ReplyDeleteWith all the pins, needles, and scissors used on this show, I don't blame TPTB for getting rid of this guy. The contestants usually live or are sequestered in a very small space. I wouldn't want to use the bathroom after someone infected. Staph infections are too scarey.
ReplyDeleteIt sucks that this news came out, but I'll be watching no matter what.
This is probably going to effect his chance for a sugar daddy.
ReplyDeletelol underscore-person.
ReplyDeleteThe question is: where and how did he get infected in the first place if they're all sequestered?
Staph is everywhere, sometimes when it finds a host it just goes out of control. Then it is very contagious. The most common place to get it is in hospitals.
ReplyDeleteand let the FAKE publicity begin
ReplyDeleteThe homo will die of salmonella - bad meat in the can.
ReplyDelete