Dear Diary, Rachel Zoe, "I still to this day don't understand why I am such a victim of the press."

Posted at 4:00 PM Oct 03, 2008

By Sharon Steel

The Rachel Zoe Project premiered on Bravo a few weeks ago, and it's basically my favorite new fashion program this season. What's not to love? Rachel Zoe clutching Starbucks and barking at her minions to "figure it out," jet-setting to New York to preview exclusive collections, telling stories about her specially-made designer wedding gown, and being hyper-sensitive about everyone's criticisms!

You see, the Times's television scribe Ginia Bellafante penned a particularly scathing review of the Hollywood stylist's latest project, calling her a "pox on humanity." And on last week's episode, Zoe was brought to tears (tears!) in her make-up chair over a post on New York Magazine's The Cut, which called her out for missing Marc Jacobs' show because she was tardy! Fans wanted answers, and on her Bravo blog last week, Zoe provided some answers:

In this episode, we see the effect the gossip blogs have on you. How do you feel about that part of your life? Why do you think people target you?

You know, if I could answer that it would be the million-dollar question with the million-dollar answer. I never quite understood, nor does anyone in my life understand, why I am such a moving target. It's a very surreal thing for me - it's extremely hurtful, and I'm extremely sensitive. All I've done with my life in the last fifteen years is work and I've made tremendous sacrifices in my personal life for my work. I still to this day don't understand why I am such a victim of the press.

Hmmm, yes, I remember the rumors that you were feeding illegal pills to Mischa Barton and Nicole Richie and telling them to stop eating. But you were not out of work by any means! It happens when you're in the public eye, lady, and a reality show will only amplify that publicity. Which you wanted, did you not?

That's not to say the press hasn't been very kind at times, but unfortunately what sticks in people's minds is the negative press. It hurts. A lot of what people write is the absolute opposite of what actually happened. I don't understand why journalists don't fact check, why they just have the freedom to just write whatever they want. I could just sit there and lie, you know?

Well! That's one way of earning the sympathy of journalists and bloggers: telling us that we basically get paid to lie! It's not as dumb as saying you're more influential than Anna Wintour, although, perhaps, not the best tactic.

At the end of the day, over the last two years, I've really managed to develop a much thicker skin, but on the inside it still really hurts. There are certain things that really upset me more than others. I think the same ones you hear over and over, it's sort of like, "Okay, broken record. I'm over it. Shut up and go away." Then there's one that will come at you from a very credible publication writing two pages of lies that you just can't believe. I'm constantly blindsided. I think when I'm really tired and really overworked I'm really more sensitive to it. When I'm sleep deprived and at my wit's end, I just cave in and come undone.

Whoa whoa whoa -- we're talking about Bellafante here, are we not? Two pages of LIES, indeed! Okay, so, if someone blamed the world's excesses on me and me alone, I'd probably be more than a little weepy. But what about that thick skin, Zoe? Let it wrap around you like one of your crazy-fabulous vintage coats. Because the truth is, I like watching you do your job, buzzing around like a busy little sartorial bee. I have always been fascinated by you, and now, listening to you talk about fashion as if it were a demigod affords me a brief escape from the reality of our fiscal apocalypse. I have no doubt many Bravo devotees feel similarly, and I have a feeling you'll be renewed for several more seasons now that Project Runway is in the shitter. All is not lost! Just don't say any more mean things about Vogue.