Russian model Andre Birleanu made a name for himself as the fiery breakout star of VH1’s America’s Most Smartest Model. Though he finished as the runner-up, his hot-headed temper and intense devotion to his Soviet homeland made him an instant star. However, that name was tarnished when, nearly a year ago, allegations of sexual assault were brought up, leading to a lengthy court battle.
Recently, all charges were dropped, and Andre Birleanu spoke to BuddyTV about the case and his career. Andre was quite candid, explaining in great detail the circumstances surrounding the dropped charges, setting the record straight once and for all about what really happened. In part 1 of our two-part exclusive interview, Andre talks about the case and the impact it had on his career. Continue reading to listen to the interview and to read the highlights, and check back tomorrow for part 2.
-Andre Birleanu got right into it, describing the events leading up to the charge of sexual assault. He was seeing this woman for a while until she left for Canada to be with her boyfriend. She returned and called up Andre who invited her to a dinner with several of his model friends, thinking it wasn’t a problem that the new girl Andre was with would also be in attendance. According to Andre, the two girls spoke about how they knew him, and when the truth was exposed, Andre claims the jealousy led to the eventual false charges.
Furthermore, Andre expresses his anger over the whole incident because there was ample proof of his innocence and he believes people simply wanted to think he was that angry, misogynistic Russian they saw on TV. He’s also upset at most media outlets that extensively covered the allegations but which have largely ignored the fact that those charges were dropped.
-Though VH1 was initially excited for a second season of America’s Most Smartest Model, Andre says that his controversy was one of several reasons why a second season never happened. Andre still works as a model, but he says he lost a lot of television opportunities to capitalize on the show’s success because of this incident, among them being a chance to be a coach on MTV’s MADE. However, Andre does thank VH1 for standing by him and says they still hope to work together on future TV projects now that this is behind him.
Check back tomorrow for part 2 of our interview where Andre opens up about his thoughts on actors taking over modeling jobs and a possible new reality show in his future.
-Interview conducted by John Kubicek
(Image courtesy of Andre-Birleanu.com)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
