by Gina Scarpa

 

In order to be a contestant on Bravo's Shear Genius this season, you better have some thick skin when Jonathan Antin is sitting on the judging panel. Bravo fans watched him for three seasons on Blow Out, but Antin made a name for himself in the world of beauty long before as one of the top celebrity stylists in the world. Never afraid to speak his mind, he lets people know exactly how he feels and never sugarcoats anything. Today, the outspoken judge talked to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about coming back to Bravo and who he credits with the success of Shear Genius (himself)!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Let's start off with the journey from Blow Out to Shear Genius. What brought you back to reality tv on Bravo?
A. Jonathan: With Blow Out, I had the cameras around me so much, 24/7, and I just got to the point where I had had enough. I had my son obviously on Blow Out and I had a daughter. Jonathan Product, my line of hair care, was booming and exploding worldwide. I needed some time. I needed a break to hang out with the family and work. I took a break and Bravo came to me and said that we want you to do Shear Genius. I thought, "Yeah, why not? I'll get back in the ring."

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How do you and Kim Vo differ in what you bring to the table as judges?
A. Jonathan: Kim's a nice guy.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I knew you were going to say that! You always tell it like it is. Do you ever think you are too harsh when critiquing the contestants?
A. Jonathan: I don't. When you tell it like it is, that's the price you gotta pay sometimes. That's what I do. I tell it like it is and I bring it. I come strong with it. That's my job. That's what they pay me for. It's not easy to be on the receiving end. There's $100,000 on the line and hundreds of thousands of people that wanted to be on the show. It's my job to weed out the bad apples. I don't think it hurts to hear the harsh truth. I think that's what the show is about. I'm not so sure it helps someone be better. It really depends on where you're at and what you take out of it and what you make out

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What separates a good hairstylist from a great one?
A. Jonathan: I see myself as good a stylist as there is. I don't think there's anyone better in the world than me. I think there might be someone as good as me but not better and that's because I do everything perfectly. I make sure that you're not leaving until every single hair is where I want it to be. That's my belief system. That's it. It starts and stop right there.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Were there any contestants early on that stood out to you?
A. Jonathan: I think that if you watch the show, you'll share the same feelings with me in that Janine and Jon and Matthew are all really great stylists but what's happening is that as the season gets deeper into its episodes, some of the people I considered to be the bottom tier are starting to replace those top tier, top shelf hairstylists. It's pretty crazy in the way that things will start to unravel from tonight's episode on.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Shear Genius is doing very well in its third season. What do you think it is about the show that attracts so many people to it?
A. Jonathan: The premiere was the highest rated Shear Genius episode ever. I'm not saying it has everything in the world to do with me. I'm not not saying that. I don't know. I thin I potentially could've lent some draw to the show. I think it's a good show. I think it's an easy show to relate to. People like watching shows about beauty and hair because it's important to us. I think that has a lot to do with why there are so many viewers.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Anything exciting coming up for you?
A. Jonathan: Every week, there's something going on. I'm getting ready to go on The Today Show. I've been on 4 times in the last 6 weeks, which is unheard of. I have the Oscars coming up. I'm doing George Clooney and his girlfriend for that. There's a lot going on. It's great.

 

Shear Genius airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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