PLP Exclusive Interview With Alicia Jacobs - Holly Madison & The "Feud"

Here's footage of the infamous interview between Alicia Jacobs and Holly Madison, the one that started it all. I, for the record, think Alicia is wearing a beautiful dress and that my intrepid reporter looks gorgeous. You can see for yourself how awkward things got - and you can read Alicia's account below. This is the one we've all been waiting for - read on for the juicy details! Thanks again to Alicia for taking the time and being such a wonderful subject. I can't say enough great things about this woman; she's a really special lady. You can follow Alicia on her blog here and on Twitter here. If you're just tuning in, you can click here for an introduction to Alicia and KVBC in Las Vegas here. 

Jenna Zine: Do you mind talking about Holly Madison? 

Alicia Jacobs: No, not at all! I'm actually doing a story on her tomorrow. [Regarding Peepshow, which is discussed in a separate post.]

JZ: To me, and again it's just my assumption, but I did watch The Girls Next Door. I always thought she had mean eyes and the not-genuine laugh. She's very good at what she does, but I always thought it was calculated. I always felt a little bad for Hef. He seems like such a sweet guy.

AJ: He's a nice man! The first day I met him was that day at the pool party. He's very charming.

JZ: He's an icon and he seems like a sweetheart.

AJ: Yeah!

JZ: He lives life the way he wants it and, if anything, he's inspiring for that reason. He has a vision. He's taken chances in his life and lives in a way most people never dream. He's really made a whole lifestyle for himself.

AJ: His new girlfriends are great. They're very pretty.

JZ: Are they? [I've heard they're not great, but I haven't met them in person and Alicia has!]

AJ: Yes. They're very pretty. They're quiet, but they're very nice. Hef told me he's happier in these relationships than he's ever been in his life.

JZ: Really? That's nice to hear.

AJ: It was nice to hear. I hope that's the case; he deserves that.

JZ: I hope so. I know Holly, for some reason, was one of the loves of his life. The whole time I was watching the show I felt like she wasn't fully there. She seemed manipulative.

AJ: Let me put it this way, I think he's much happier person. He seems much happier now and that's what he told me so I have to go with what he told me personally. That's big, for someone to say they're happier than they've ever been. I think he said a lot when he said that. Holly was maybe ten feet away from him when he said that, so...

JZ: What happened that day? I read one account, on Perez [Hilton] and then did my own take on the story.

AJ: Thanks, Perez! [laughter]

JZ: I thought you guys were friends.

AJ: I know! I guess not so much. That's okay; I get it. I understand; we all have a job to do. It was the weirdest thing - it started out as no big deal. I got offered to go do the story at the Palms [a Maloof Brothers Casino] on a Saturday. I don't usually work Saturdays, but I thought, "You know what? Hugh Hefner is one of the few celebrities I've never interviewed. Sure, I think I'll go." There was definitely some curiosity there, so I thought I'd go in on a Saturday. What the heck? I had my little Star with me, a Cavalier King Charles puppy. My friend, Robert Aganza, also came along because he wanted to hang out. We had dinner plans later that night, so I came dressed for dinner. It was a very chilly, windy day and it was out by the pool. I was wearing a very nice, printed Cavalli dress - not that I'm throwing names around, but it was a very nice dress. We go to start the interview and get introduced and Holly looks at me and says, "Oh, nice dress. Interesting choice for a pool party." It took me by surprise and it gave me a pause. I thought, "She didn't just insult me, did she? Because that would be really weird. I'm about to do an interview and I'm going to have a camera in her face." [laughter] I thought, "Why would somebody do that?"  I thought it might have something to do with the issue with Criss [Angel], but I thought I really couldn't matter to her. That's ancient history for me and not a big deal. I thought nothing of it. Then I started the interview and I don't know if this has every happened for you but have you ever started an interview and felt like you're pulling teeth to get the answers? I was getting one to three word answers. Wow! So, I cut the interview short. I thought, "Okay. That's fine. I'll go talk to Kendra, Bridget and Hef." I'll have more than enough to package this and it will be fine. Well, next day I get a call from our local columnist, Norm Clarke from the R.J. [Las Vegas Review Journal] He said, "Hey, I've gotten some calls from people that said Holly made some disparaging remarks about your dress at the pool. What do you think about that?" I said, "Really? What did they say?" And he repeated it as it was said. I concurred that she did say that and agreed that it was not so nice. But, what was I going to say? He said, "Well, she's speaking about it and she's made a few comments. Do you want to say anything?" I said, "Well, what did she say?" He revealed she said, "Well, I'm really going to hold my tongue. I didn't mean that I didn't think the dress wasn't nice. I don't know why she took it as an insult." It was an insult. You don't say that to someone - 'interesting choice of dress' - if you mean it otherwise.

JZ: No. You know when something is an insult!

AJ: If you like something you say, "Pretty dress!" or "Hey, I like your dress."

JZ: No, she knew what she was doing!

AJ: I'm not an idiot, Holly. Then she went on to say, "Well, I'm really going to hold my tongue; but I really wouldn't have thought she was Criss's type. Okay." And I thought, "Wow. What is that supposed to mean?"  Oh, I had also Twittered after the event. I wrote that I'd interviewed Holly Madison and that she was difficult to interview and that she wasn't very nice to me. I also wrote that she had these odd pink hair extensions. I did say that her body looked better, or good - something like that. Well, apparently Holly didn't like that. So I my answer to the columnist was, "I wish Holly luck in her future and I wish her well with her new T.V. show." She told me at the time [of the interview at the pool party] that she was trying for a new T.V. show, but she wouldn't tell me the name of it and wouldn't tell me any details. All I know was that it was about her and a stuffed pug. The pug was called "Party Pug."

JZ: No! [laughter]

AJ: That's all she would say. If you go online, you can see the interview. It's like crickets chirping in the background. Then she went on her website and wrote a scathing blog about me, which was really unfair. She claimed that I was trying to get publicity off her fame. She called me every name in the book and called me desperate. Then she sent it all off to Perez Hilton! The next day I realized I had to stand up for myself, so I wrote a response on my blog. I wrote back. Then, thank you to Perez, he posted about my blog as well so it kind of evened things out. Cut to two weeks later and I'm helping judge the Miss USA Pageant, which I had been booked for a month and a half in advance. A judge, who knew someone in the pageant, had to step out the day before in the interest of being fair. I guess Holly had been trying to get the gig for months. They kept telling her no. She doesn't exactly fit the mold of a judge. They were eleven hours before going on air and they needed someone so they finally said okay [to Holly]. So the president of the pageant, Paula Shugart, was very kind. She let me know what was going on and put us at opposite ends of the table. She said, "I've let her know that she's on your turf now. She needs to behave and there can be no issues. You're family and you're one of us. You're from the pageant system. I've been assured that she doesn't want any problems. She wants to bury the hatchet." I said it was okay. Of course, we get on the red carpet - well, it was the green carpet that night because it was eco-friendly - and she came up to me, on camera of course, and said, "Oh, I want you to know I didn't mean anything about your dress." I turned to her and asked, "Well, what do you think about what I'm wearing tonight?" I had on a beautiful evening gown. "Are you okay with this? Are you sure you approve? Because I would die if you didn't like what I was wearing tonight!" [laughter] She said, "I think it's beautiful." Of course, Perez was there egging me on. So, that's the whole story.

JZ: Wow! Oh my god. She's awful.

AJ: She's different. It will be very interesting to see what happens with Peepshow.

JZ: Especially without Mel B...

AJ: There's a story there, and I'm sure I'll have all those details by tomorrow.

JZ: Let me know! [laughter]

AJ: Totally! I'm very surprised about Mel B. You know, Holly follows me on Twitter.

JZ: Wow! She wants to keep an eye on you...

AJ: She wants to know what I have to say.

JZ: You know, it's so interesting. I really would have thought she'd be nicer to you. She's so interested in publicity. I can't believe she didn't try to form an alliance with you.

AJ: I don't know why. I don't understand that. I was there to promote her and her former boyfriend. It's very strange.

JZ: You'd think that would be right up her alley. I don't know what happened. I have my conspiracy theories! [laughter]

AJ: I hear you!