'Project Runway' exit interview: 'Don't ever listen to Tim Gunn and never second-guess yourself'

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen last night’s episode of Project Runway and do not want to know who got kicked off, then do not stop here. There are plenty of other great reads on PopWatch. But do join back here us later, after you’ve watched the episode. Cheers!

It’s bad enough that we had to say goodbye to him once. But last night, following his triumphant return in the previous episode, Anthony Williams earned his second Auf’ing from Heidi Klum. We were sad. But when we chatted with Anthony earlier today, not only was he not upset, he was in high spirits indeed. For today is his 29th birthday. With his usual fervor, he discussed his future in television, shared some surprising words about Tim Gunn, and explained exactly which Sugarbaker sister he most resembles.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I hear it’s your birthday, Anthony. Happy birthday.
ANTHONY WILLIAMS: Yes, I’m so excited! 29 is a brand-new year and I couldn’t be happier.

How did it feel getting eliminated the second time? You seemed very much at peace with it. Relieved, even.
Oh yeah. I don’t even think I really cared, to be honest, Missy. [Laughs] Warning comes before destruction: I knew what it was like to be eliminated, so it made it real soft for the second blow. I’m just good. Who gives a damn about [being] eliminated when I get a brand-new birthday? Who cares? A girlfriend who I went to college with called me last night. She was crying. I mean, bawling, crying! And I was like, “You jackass! You sit on this phone crying after I walked away with grace and I’m still able to smile about it and you’re crying because I didn’t win! Don’t cry for me!” Think about it. Not only did I win the two greatest challenges in Project Runway history, but I made history on Project Runway. I did show at Bryant Park, and my collection probably got the most press out of anyone who showed. So the only thing I didn’t get out of this experience was $100,000. And let’s face it, you can’t miss what you never had. So there you have it.

You’ll get it someday.
Oh, I’m not worried about it. I’m very proud of myself. Some loudmouth queen from the South — I hope I’m making it a whole lot easier for them to come on Project Runway and turn the party out.

The judges made a big deal about your choice of polyester. I was surprised too. Why did you go for polyester?
It was not my exact choice. The original fabric that I selected was a cobalt taffeta blue, which was the color this fall. But when I was in Mood, I remembered Tim Gunn walking in and saying, “Taste, Anthony, taste.” He kept questioning my taste. I think back and Tim Gunn [hated] everything I did, but the people that he loved all got eliminated before me. So if I can tell anybody anything going on Project Runway: Don’t ever listen to Tim Gunn and never second-guess yourself.

Really? Don’t listen to Tim Gunn?
Don’t listen to Tim Gunn. I’ll give you a great example. Jonathan, when we did the second Heidi Klum challenge, the one that I won, ohhh Tim was just worshipping him, [saying] “Oh my god, this is so amazing, she’s gonna love it.” Fifteen minutes later, she walks in and says, “Oh my god, what would ever make you think [I'd like] this?” And Tim stood his ass there and didn’t even open his mouth. He didn’t say a word! No, honey. Any contestant trying to go on Project Runway, know who you are, and pay these blogs no attention because they’re just the people that nobody likes because they have bad attitudes. I’m really at the point where I’m sick of these blogs. I’m like, honey, get a life. It’s just television.

What blogs?
I don’t read blogs. But people are telling me things. Even other contestants are telling me things that people are saying about them on blogs. I was just talking to [fellow season 7 contestant] Jesus the other day and Jesus was telling me people were being so mean to him. And I was like, “Jesus, don’t pay any attention. Because at the end of the day, they’re taking notes and writing about your experience and it’s better to be blogged about than to be sitting at home blogging.” These are people who have no accountability for the things they say and they hide behind a mask. Little dogs have always barked at moving cars. [Suddenly switching gears] Missy, have you ordered your “Stacked, Packed and Ready to Attack” tote for $25? I need you to invest in the dream that is Anthony L. Williams. And you can do it by going to my website. Go ahead.

I’m very obedient. I’ll check out your page after our interview. But back to last night. What did you think of Michael and Heidi getting out of their seats to touch your dress?
I haven’t seen Michael Kors’ ass stand up and do [anything] since I’ve been watching Project Runway. The season could use the help, so I hope it did boost the ratings. [Laughs] I just thought that it was just crazy.

I can’t tell you how many readers on EW.com say that you should have your own TV show.
The only way I would do a show is if it helped women or helped people in general. I would not do a reality show exploiting my friends and family for a couple hundred thousand dollars and everybody watched the rise and fall of my company and it was all mere entertainment. I can’t neglect the fact that, in the end, this is still my dream.

How would your show help women?
Well, I think fashion sometimes abuses women. You’d be amazed how many women don’t know what size bra they wear or what size bra they should be wearing. Many women don’t know where their waistline is so they can’t figure out why they look wider than the average women. I think women should also know about trends. Honey, some of us don’t have body types that follow the trends. When the skinny legs came out, honey, if your legs were not skinny, possibly you should have not followed the trend of the skinny-leg pant. So I have this wisdom and knowledge from getting to know real women. Obviously, you’d have to do [the show] in a clever and entertaining way to gain an audience. But a reality show? I will not exploit my family for that. I refuse.

So, you’d like to do Anthony’s version of What Not to Wear?
Yeah! That’s what we should start. That should be the name of the show: Anthony’s What Not to Wear. No, we don’t want to rob their show.

You have all these catchphrases and you like to philosophize. So maybe that’s what your show should be: Fashion philosophy.
We’ve come up with a name of my show! Fashion philosophy! [Squeals] I love it! Fashion Philosophy with Anthony — I love it.

How are you celebrating your birthday?
I have this amazing cake done by Sugarplum Visions in Marietta, Georgia. And Jamie, the owner, is designing this beautiful cake to look like my Marie Claire [challenge] dress. [The party] is supposed to be 50 of my closest friends. However, it’s spilling over into way more, so everybody might not get a slice of cake and I’m not gonna pay for anymore food. It’s gonna be in my showroom, ’cause where I live is like Designing Women: I design and live in the same place.

Funny you should mention Designing Women. One of those blogs out there calls you Suzanne Sugarbaker.
Suzanne Sugarbaker! Gawker, they call me Suzanne Sugarbaker. But if they really got to know me, they would find out I’m very Julia Sugarbaker. There are few things Anthony won’t deal with. You won’t be mean to other people, you won’t be disrespectful to other people. More importantly, I like things to be in place and that was very much the character of Julia Sugarbaker. Suzanne Sugarbaker was a bit pretentious. I’m not pretentious. She was overly concerned about what people thought about her. I’m Julia because I will make you aware of when the lights did go out in Georgia. And it damn sure wasn’t when I got eliminated on Project Runway! It’s gonna take something a whole lot more powerful to make that happen!