This show has an interesting, Big Brother-esque quality to it that I wasn’t quite expecting . . .
It is very unexpected. I think people are going to think that it’s one thing because it’s got the title of Botched Presents, but really it’s got nothing to do with Botched — except Dr. Dubrow is there. But at the end of the day, this show is a little bit of Big Brother meets . . . I don’t even know what it meets! It’s its own thing. It’s got a lot of heart and comedy . . . and the fly-on-the-wall thing. It’s really, really interesting to see all these different people from different walks of life — even though they’re all celebrities in their own right — come together and live under the same roof.
You mention “heart.” Is it tough to maintain a balance between trashy reality thrills and also having empathy for these people, many of whom are going through a real existential crisis?
Somehow, I think we’ve successfully been able to strike that balance. You have to show the catty, snarky, snipey stuff that you expect from reality television — especially with celebrities living in the same house. You have to have that. Otherwise, it’s just really deep, and you don’t want to get too deep all the time. But the beautiful part about it is you see them grow together as friends — supporting, becoming each other’s hype man or hype woman. And it’s really fun to watch them get involved in everybody else’s storyline. They’re there for one another. It’s great to watch — along with the snarky, fun, laughter side of it. It’s a difficult thing to do, but I think we’ve managed to walk the line.
The celebs are shepherded on this journey not only by Dr. Dubrow, but by “body image expert” Dr. Spirit. What makes the two of them remarkable?
Listen, we all know Dr. Dubrow. We’ve seen him on how many years of Botched? He’s a brilliant leader in his field because he’s good. And you know what else he does? He turns down a lot of cases. If he doesn’t think [a surgery is] good for the person, he won’t do it. You don’t get that a lot from surgeons. I absolutely respect that.
And Dr. Spirit is just an incredible woman with a ton of experience. She is so comforting and soothing. She doesn’t force her opinions as some therapists can do — putting those thoughts in your mind. She allows the housemates to come to conclusions on their own and she gently guides them through. She’s just wonderful at what she does.
Were you surprised by anything that happened this year?
From episode two on, you really get to dive deep with these celebrities, and get involved in not only why they had the surgery that they had and why they want to reverse the surgery potentially, but also how they ended up here — some things that happened in their personal life that maybe you didn’t know. So, you go on a journey. Did I see anything that I didn’t expect? Yeah, I didn’t expect most, if not all, of these people to allow themselves to be as vulnerable as they’re allowing themselves to be. Because these are people that are known for the stuff on the outside that they carefully comb through and allow the things that they want to be seen. On this show, they’re allowing us into their lives in a much more impactful and vulnerable way.
Michelle Visage – Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind airs Sunday, August 7, on Hayu
MEMORABLE ROLES:
This New Jersey native first hit it big as a singer and dancer in ’80s and ’90s groups Seduction and The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. But over the past decade or so, the multitalented Michelle Visage has reinvented herself via reality TV — most notably as a longtime judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race and several of its international spinoffs.
CURRENT GIG:
Visage emcees this new series in which she and Botched plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow invite nine celebs who have gone a tad overboard with the lifts and tucks (including singer Aubrey O’Day, Real Housewife Kim Zolciak and ex-Playboy model Kathy Brown) to live together in a luxury villa and mull over reversing their surgeries in favour of a more natural look.