It wouldn't be a season of Oxygen's hit reality TV series Bad Girls Club without someone leaving the show prematurely, and in the current third go-round, it was self-described "born hustler" Kayla Carter who exited early in typically dramatic fashion, following a violent dust-up with housemate Amber M. at the end of the fifth episode. During her relatively brief stay in the house, viewers saw Kayla hunched over a strip-club's toilet, naked in the back of a limo and screaming bleeped-out invectives at her co-stars. But when we talked to her, several months removed from her experience, we discovered another side to the on-screen story, along with plenty of surprises about her relationships with the other bad girls and why she ultimately chose to leave.
TWoP: Kayla, why did you want to be on Bad Girls Club in the first place?
KC: I watched it the first two seasons and I didn't really think anybody was that bad on the show, and it is the Bad Girls Club, so...
TWoP: So you wanted to bring the badness to the Bad Girls Club?
KC: I was shooting for it. I just really was a big fan of the show and I thought it was something that I could do. I might as well audition -- the chances are they'll say yeah or they'll say no.
TWoP: What makes you so bad?
KC: Everyone [saw] loud Kayla, always cussing somebody out, throwing a drink or something like that. But really the stuff that made me bad -- and I guess you could say helped me get through the auditions, which isn't a good thing -- is my criminal record. Getting in trouble with the law.
TWoP: And are you past all that now, or is Dog the Bounty Hunter looking for you?
KC: You know what, not anymore. I did have a criminal case that was cleared up right as the audition process was happening. And I guess right before I knew I was going to be on the show, I found out that case was cleared.
TWoP: When you watched the seasons, were there any girls that you particularly related to?
KC: Tanisha was definitely my favorite Bad Girl ever.
TWoP: And you also popped off a few times while you were in the house, didn't you?
KC: [laughs] Yeah, I did. I popped off a lot.
TWoP: But it wasn't like the other people in the house weren't involved in getting you to pop off. There was some friction between the other girls and you, right?
KC: Oh yeah, there definitely was some friction on both ends. Of course, you know things are edited so everyone just sees me going crazy most of the time and they really don't understand where it's all coming from. But there definitely were a lot of underlying issues that weren't seen.
TWoP: Why couldn't you guys stay at any club or restaurant for more than five minutes before getting kicked out? Did the presence of the camera crews attract people who wanted to start trouble out of jealousy or something?
KC: Yeah, definitely the jealousy issue with the cameras. And that was a lot of the reason why I got into arguments with people while we were out because people will say nasty things and dirty things, and I'd feel like, hey, this is my crew; we're all together, so if someone has a problem with one of us, then they have a problem with all of us. That's how I felt. I remember Sarah saying in the first episode, "if one goes to jail, we all go to jail." But that was some bullshit...
TWoP: We saw you getting into arguments with pretty much everyone in the house. Was there anyone that you liked, or felt close to?
KC: Actually, my two favorites were the Ambers. At first, me and Ailea were close, but I think they put a little extra [emphasis] on how close we were. [laughs] But me and the Ambers were definitely the closest because we would kind of seclude ourselves sometimes. At first it was the two Ambers secluding themselves and I became part of the little Amber crew.
TWoP: What was more annoying: Whitney's incessant references to Boston or Tiffany's references to "Chi-Town"? Why did they feel the need to constantly remind people where they're from?
KC: I really don't know. You would have to ask them that question. I know a few times I threw out "I'm from L.A.; I'm from Compton." We all represented where we came from. And I think because we were the three city girls, it was more important to us to represent where we're from. It was a big deal for me because I was the L.A. girl and it was based in L.A. and I do know a lot of people out here.
TWoP: Yeah, but you weren't throwing Compton in people's faces every two seconds, like Whitney was doing with Boston.
KC: That is so true. And it's so funny because my little brothers and sisters and all my friends were watching and they're like, "I cannot stand that fucking Boston chick; dude, can she shut up about Boston for one second?"
TWoP: She opens her mouth and we know she's from Boston. She doesn't need to tell us.
KC: Yeah, you don't even need to say anything. We hear the accent, honey. [laughs]
TWoP: Why did Ailea feel the need to drag all of you to her dates with that old man she was seeing? Was she afraid to be alone with him or something?
KC: You know, I never really looked at it like she was dragging us with her. We all did stuff collectively. Like if I invited guys over, I invited enough guys for not just myself. So, with Ailea and him... I liked him. I didn't see anything wrong with him. If she wants to date a guy that's 50 years older than her, then that's her. To each his own. I don't judge anybody and that's how I expected everyone in the house to treat me. But I was cool with it. He paid for stuff.
TWoP: Well, there you go!
KC: [laughs] He's a nice guy, though. He was a very nice guy.
TWoP: How quickly did you get comfortable with having cameras follow you around, especially when you might have been, shall we say, less than dressed?
KC: At first, I wasn't really that comfortable. It took me only a week because it's 24 hours/seven days a week that you have these people monitoring you. And they actually didn't show it, but we did spray-tanning and I was so scared because some of the girls kept their underwear on, but I was like, "Dude, I've never gotten a spray-tan, so if I'm going to do a spray-tan, I'm going to go all the way." So I was naked standing in front of the camera and that was the point where I was like, "Okay, I can do this now." It's pretty much like being in your house and you just have to act like those people aren't there.
TWoP: It's like you have to think of them as doctors or something -- they've seen it all before.
KC: Pretty much. They do this all the time; they see this all the time; so it's not a big deal. I got used to everybody. Everybody was professional and nice.
TWoP: What happened that night you guys went to the strip club and Sarah had to perform in your place? Was it nerves or the drinking that kept you from getting up there, or something else?
KC: You know, that day me and the Ambers were together, ripping and running, and we didn't have time to eat. So I started drinking and didn't remember that I hadn't eaten -- I was too busy to even think about it. So I'm like, okay, let me just drink this up and get a little loose so I won't be so nervous to get on stage and try to win the money. But I actually did dance, but it wasn't for the competition.
TWoP: Was that the sickest night that you had in the house?
KC: Yes, that was. I threw up, but the hospital and that whole ordeal was a little overrated. I didn't need to go to the hospital. Dude, you don't eat, you drink too much, you're gonna throw up.
TWoP: How would you describe your relationship with Tiffany? It looked like you might've been looking to her for support that she wasn't ready to give.
TWoP: I'm glad you said it that way. Yes, definitely. I feel like me and her should've automatically clicked because we were the two black girls -- and it doesn't necessarily even have to be about color, but that was one of the factors. I just expected us to be the two black girls on this season to get along and to not argue like Tanisha and Lyric [last season]. I'm sure there was some underlying stuff going on there that we all didn't see, but I just thought that it was so stupid and I didn't want that to be me and Tiffany. And I guess Tiffany... I don't know... she had her own agenda. But I really didn't want us to feud or argue or anything; I wanted us to be cool the whole time. But, that wasn't her plan.
TWoP: You've referenced the fact that what we see on a show like this isn't necessarily the full reality. What did we not see that might've changed people's perceptions about you or the other girls?
KC: Me and the Ambers are very close and I talk to Amber B. a lot. And we had just sent a message to each other a week ago and I told her, "I've been setting people straight about you." Because Amber's so not racist. I don't agree with that at all. And I was just upset with the whole thing -- I used to sleep in this girl's bed! I know she's not racist... And then me with the yelling and cursing all the time. I don't just yell and curse all the time for no reason. Overall, I was upset about a few things, but no biggie. It is what it is.
TWoP: I'm surprised to hear that you're so down with both of the Ambers in light of your last episode. What happened with you and Amber M.?
KC: We got into an argument; it was the stupidest argument ever -- I didn't want to talk about it anymore. And Amber M. is the type of person [who] likes to get under your skin and press the issue even if it doesn't need to be pressed. It can be the littlest thing and she'll turn it into something completely big and try and explain her point of view. Amber's really smart -- I mean, she has a college education and everything -- so she's gonna argue with you if she sees logic that you don't see. And we just got into an argument about a whole tipping situation and it was very stupid because I had ordered the biggest thing on the menu and I was putting down the most money for the whole night, so while you're complaining about how the girl should've gotten a bigger tip, you should've tipped her -- that's how I felt about the situation. It was just a stupid argument and she kept talking and kept talking and it escalated. And I didn't want to fight her -- I love her; I didn't want to fight her. But it was like the only thing [to stop it] was to slap her a few times. We both said that we didn't want to fight, but we were drunk so, you know, things happen when you're under the influence of liquor that you don't necessarily want to happen when you're not.
TWoP: It sounds like you have a pretty philosophical attitude about that incident, even though it looked like Amber M. was not exactly an innocent bystander in the whole thing. It doesn't sound like you hold a grudge.
KC: Not at all. I'm not holding a grudge against anyone in the house -- and I said that before I left. I was completely honest with all of the girls: if I didn't like you, I told you. If I was upset with you about something, I told you right then and there. I never talked about anyone behind their back, and if I did say something behind your back, I would definitely say it to your face. One of the things that I said to all of the girls one day was, "You know that we're going to probably watch this and some things may be said, but I'm just gonna leave it where it was." That was months ago. And what happened in the past is still in the past to me. Watching it sometimes brings up emotions from how I felt that day, but then in the back of my head, I remember to let bygones be bygones. It is what it is. If someone wants to hold a grudge against me, then they're wasting their time and their energy being upset with me when they could be doing something else with that.
TWoP: So if the incident with Amber M. wasn't that big a deal to you, why exactly did you end up leaving the house?
KC: I left the house because it was just too much. I was the most outspoken in the house and it was okay when I went off on someone for them [the other girls] outside of the house, like if we got into it with someone at a club, it was okay for Kayla to be the bulldog and jump out and do whatever she does. But then when it came to the girls inside of the house, they didn't like that. So it's okay for me to check someone else, but when it came time to check you, you don't want me say anything about what you're doing.... So, I was just tired of that and, they don't show that a lot, but I feel pretty much every day they were calling a house meeting on me and I was just tired of everybody ganging up on me, having something to say. And not only that, but there [in the house] I couldn't drive; I had to depend on someone else to drive me places. It was just a hassle to still do my things that I needed to do as far as court and everything else... And the house was real negative; it was just to the point that it was so negative I could not take it.
TWoP: Thanks to this show, you're now a reality TV personality. What's the step for you? Did this experience transform your life or career goals?
KC: You know, I don't really feel any transformation right now. I'm still the same Kayla. My brothers and sisters -- the teenagers -- they're all excited about it. But I'm still at my regular receptionist job. I still have to get on the bus -- I just got into an accident last week and I had to humble myself and say, okay, I know I'm on TV but how else are you going to get to work? I literally had to get on the bus the other day and I was upset about it... So hopefully some good things will come out of this -- modeling, I don't know, maybe somebody will pick me up. I do love to write; I write poetry, songs, pretty much everything. So I have other creative talents besides just cussing people out and throwing bottles at someone's head. Hopefully, someone will be interested in seeing the other side and the other things that I can do and will like to work with me.
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