Keith Michael just posted an "Open Letter" on the main Project Runway Blog (bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com) and Lord is it a doozie. He basically berates the majority of the people who watch the show and further digs himself a deeper hole. He even went so far as to post links to the official contracts and agreements from Bravo which is hilarious since it's illegal for him to do so...ooops! LOL.

If his intent was to further alienate himself and show how histrionic letters are written then, job well done.

Here ya go:



Seems like everyone is bitter that I might be actually telling the truth. Look- here’s how it goes- we were NOT told in contract or letter that we could NOT bring books. SO- I BROUGHT BOOKS! IS THIS SUCH A FOREIGN CONCEPT- HAVE WE GONE SO FAR BACK IN TIME THAT BOOK BURNINGS ARE BACK IN FASHION???? When we arrived we were all quarantined, and our bags went through a “customs” check. Unlike the way you see on TV- all of us arriving with our bags to happy Atlas House- we were all held in “cell” apartments though-out the city. There, ALL of our clothes, bags- everything was thoroughly searched, inspected and checked within the first few minutes of our arrival. I was told IMMEDIATELY that I would NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THOSE BOOKS AND THEY WERE REMOVED FROM MY POSSESION THAT INSTANT!

The contract clearly stated that the producers had the right to remove anything they deemed inappropriate- and they did. Those books were returned to my room later the following week. I informed the production team immediately of the return and was told that the matter would be looked into. Nothing was ever done about it. I discussed this with my roommate Jeffery. His thoughts on the matter were that when I won the first challenge and Heidi said to me “ I would find that there are special advantages to winning the first challenge” that this might have meant that the return of some of our personal belongings might be a bonus of some sort. You know- at this point I recalled seeing one of the first project runways where I thought Austin was sitting at a sewing machine with headphones on- all our ipods and music equipment were confiscated when we arrived, so I thought- maybe that’s it- over time if you're “good” you get your stuff back. Listen there’s no excuse either way- if you say I’m not telling the truth about the books being taken immediately- then according to the RULES, I was not in violation, because anything deemed inappropriate would have been taken- ergo- not taken- NOT A VIOLATION- YOU FOLLOW?!

And if anyone is fool enough to think that they didn’t go over every square inch of our existence when we arrived- then you’re crazy- the only thing they didn’t go through was my pants- or maybe I was hiding five pounds of books in there? And as for going AWOL - when it became clear that I was being set up- I asked to speak to the producers immediately- I was told I couldn’t. My response was to walk hours uptown to my friends house- who by the way was not home- I used a spare key, let myself in and emailed the producers- then I scrounged up some change, found an old email with the producers # and used a payphone to call him direct- they confiscate your cell phones and wallets too. I am not a sociopath- I’m what they indeed were correct in assuming- GREAT TV. The episode in which I was booted was the highest rated cable TV show in history- they knew exactly what they were doing. I have been a victim of grave carelessness.

The show and all involved in the events which led to my dismissal, have unjustifiably and unconscionably made me suffer another’s willful negligence. I will continue to remain steadfast in my recollection of the events, which led to my dismissal. My character has been irrevocably maligned, and I’ve been publicly accused of dishonesty. This is clearly a case of libel- and I will fight it in a court of law if need be. And by the way- the reunion episode was edited to shreds- and contrary to what you saw- Heidi seemed both oblivious to all this when it was brought out in the open- and indeed saddened. In fact by the end of our discussion she encouraged me to pursue this further- so here I am. IT MADE ME SICK ALL THESE MONTHS TO SEE TIM AND HEIDI PUBLICLY ACCUSING ME OF BREAKING RULES THAT DIDN’T EXIST-AND THEN WHEN THEY CLAIMED THEY NEVER HEARD ABOUT ANY OF THIS, I THOUGHT “THEN HOW CAN YOU KICK SOMEONE OUT OF A GAME- TELL THEM THEY BROKE THE RULES- (IMPLYING OF COUSE THAT IT HAD TO DO WITH CONTRABAND BOOKS) AND DEFAME THEIR CHARACTER WITHOUT DOING ANY RESEARCH? WHERE WAS THEIR INTEGRITY? It seems though, that when new evidence comes to light people keep thinking of new scenarios for how I can still be wrong or lying. Who’s really making the excuses here? The hateful comments on this website do not go unnoticed by my family- and me and as I was not legally allowed to respond to this spew of venom it was even harder to swallow. I was threatened by Bravo after I first wrote in to BPR. I am not a sore loser- I’m quite confident in my skills- what I’m sore about is that I went into this thinking it would be a contest of skill- not a reality TV farce. And there are laws directly pertaining to this sort of fraud- back in the 1960’s game shows were fixed- when the truth came out, laws were instated to protect contestants- laws I intend to use now to protect me now.

Bravo and its PR machine have hyped my dismissal and fraud from the beginning in an attempt- I can only speculate- to earn ratings and possibly an Emmy. But I tell you the most disappointing thing of all is seeing all the short sighted, small minded, nasty, base, cruel speculation without knowing any facts- about something people saw on TV!!!!! TV. Umm common- it’s 2006- I know that television with all its pretty colors is at the zenith of It’s craft but really- do none of you know the meaning of scripting and editing? And, oh by the way- Kayne never found those books- that was all acted- Kayne not only knew of the books but we sat down one starry evening at the top of Atlas House reading those books over a glass of vodka. Guys- leave me alone and get a clue………..You’ve been duped- and if you don’t believe it, good luck in life. Weak minded people will always be manipulated- and I for one will not remain silent any longer- they say “fool me once shame on you- fool me twice shame on me” I’ve learned a lesson- Hollywood’s a bitch- but I won’t be theirs anymore. And one last thing- I dare any of you readers to write a letter to Bravo- ask if I’m telling the truth- they can either confirm or deny- but if they deny- there are serious penalties for perjury- so bring it on!

Keith Michael Rizza

P.S. Todd Magill and I Lived and worked together romantically and professionally for a year- not that it’s really anyone’s business. We had a beautiful papillon dog named Henry and lived in a lovely house in Siverlake CA- very happily for a while. I helped him renegotiate his first real contract w/ Velvet- the parent company of Wyeth and we reviewed his work and his collection every night over dinner. We spent countless hours discussing color and shopping for inspiration- as all great designers do. Todd gave me my first real working studio and it is with him that I developed my first real clothing line. Todd has put his heart and soul into his line and his work- and he should rightly claim it as his own- but I helped him for a time on his way and this remains proudly on my resume- and I’m sure he’ll will give me a glowing recommendation.

PPS to all you numbskulls- pattern books are not patterns. The pattern book I had was a book explaining how to draft a pattern- the diagrams showed measurements a to b, b to c and so on. To me it was obvious why we were asked not to bring patterns- they’re actually real garments deconstructed on paper. All good professionals worth their salt have books to reference- and only a professional could decipher such books- my training enables me to use a tool like this. Regardless- they were removed from my person immediately- but my intention in bringing them was two-fold A) some light reading before bed- like some of you might do a crossword puzzle, B) I was still in the processes of designing my own line- A MENS LINE OF SUITS NOT DRESSES! I was not looking for a loophole- and since when are loopholes a bad thing anyway-
that’s why smart people hire accountants and lawyers- so stop fronting! And oh yeh- the day before I was kicked out Jeffery asked to see that book- he told me he was worried about making pants- HE DIDN”T KNOW HOW TO MAKE A ZIP FLY. I felt bad for him-after bragging about making all these fantastic jeans for Marilyn Manson and so forth- and there he was, basically telling me he’s a fraud- it was sad. He studied that book all night-



[Edited 10/9/06 14:30pm]

i'm surprised that they let it post.

oh gawd, is he ever digging a hole for himself with this..."highest rated show in cable history"? in his wettest dreams, maybe.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Right??

wow. i thought he was straight.

wow, he is an idiot and full of shit too.

he says they are not allowed cellphones, but we saw jeffrey on one two weeks ago, jay on one repeatedly during season one when his models weren't showing up on time, etc.

I've never seen this show. Does that make me like, a guy?

Wow... I didn't know he knew 9'sy and he doesnt like him either!

Whoa. HIGH drama.

I'm sorry I missed this season.

Lammastide said:

it hasn't been the most fun season (season 2 wins that), but this season has been heavy and tense with drama.

The finale hasn't aired yet, has it?

Lammastide said:

no. this wednesday is the build up to the finale, next week is the finale

"Bravo and its PR machine have hyped my dismissal and fraud from the beginning in an attempt- I can only speculate- to earn ratings and possibly an Emmy."

!!

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

oh, I sure hope you aren't referring to the eye roll at the end of what I posted. That was meant as an expression (ya know, as in give me a muthafuggin break to the nines, Keith!), not intended as a reference to any orgers.

cborgman said:

Exactamundo! And Laura was even on one recently watching a video from her kids!

JustErin said:

OMG, that is funny!

part of the reason i think it's bullshit is because he didnt say anything abot the books being taken away and then mysteriously reappearing when tim confronted him about it at the time. he admitted to bringing them, admitted to having them, and didn't fight it.

suddenly, months later...

I don't mean 2 get all 7th grade about him, but seriously:

What a douchebag.

cborgman said:

are you referring to what they show in their edited, manipulated reality program as a reference point? NOT WISE - says Yoda.

They cut everything like it's a fictional movie! That's a fact. You can tell when they're cutting together stuff that's miles apart too!

Legally?? Well then how is it he is now suddenly able to respond?
[Edited 10/9/06 14:41pm]

eleven said:

Work with me here!

Wow that's some deep shit and at the rate he's going, he'll be in some deep shit too behind this letter. If he doesn't stop, he'll get himself blacklisted from the Fashion Industry.

The plot thickens...

This season's sprinkling of DRAMA has kinda tainted my PR experience.

The whole show has been more bout someones preggie, someones former drug addiction, outsourcing their sewing, Keith getting booted.

I knew it jumped the shark the moment the mommies appeared on the runway.

I know last season you had Santino but at least it was always bout the fashions and his views on the fashions.

This year was just made to create and promote "issues".