The Confessions of a Video Vixen Interview
Karrine Steffans Interviewed by Kam Williams
Published: Saturday, January 1, 2005
The Confessions of a Video Vixen Interview by Kam Williams
When I first interviewed her a couple of years ago, Karrine Steffans was making the transition from Hip-Hop ho to legitimate Hollywood actress. She was then enjoying her big screen debut as Larenz Tate’s wife in A Man Apart, an action-adventure flick starring Vin Diesel. During that tame tete-a-tete, she never let on about the sordid, suicidal, sexually-depraved, alcohol and drug-addicted life she had been leading, despite being a single-mom. Nor did she discuss bottoming-out after an overdose which left her broke, blacklisted and living in a car with her little boy.
Because Karrine was such a shameless name-dropper, I distinctly remember repeatedly asking her about all of her famous friends. But every inquiry led to a very dull dead-end. Now, she has just published a tell-all autobiography, Confessions of a Video Vixen, which sits high atop most best seller lists. In it, she admits to sleeping with Puff Daddy, DMX, Xzibit, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Doctor Dre, Ice-T, Bobby Brown, Usher, Shaquille O’Neal and Vin Diesel, to name a few.
So, I figured it was high time I track Karrine down again to find out why she lied to me the first go-round. Furthermore, I needed to get the lowdown on what life in the fast lane had been like for this naughty girl affectionately referred to as "Superhead" by the gangsta rappers and the rest of the long list of famous lovers who shared her bed.
KW: Why were you so very tight-lipped about the nature of your relationships with all the celebrities you knew the first time we spoke?
| On DVD: Jul 14, 2009
Publisher: Steffans Publishing ’Drink Fuck Sleep’ is a collection of essays depicting regrettable sexual experiences wherein alcohol was involved either before, during, or after. With gripping, personal accounts of tragic, heart-wrenching, sexually boundless, ultra-erotic, emotionally numbing, mind thrilling, and scintillating experiences, the featured writers narrow the divide between what people project and what they protect. It serves as a series of precautionary tales, as well as proof of life and the parallels of the human condition, regardless of our socioeconomic stations.
by Karrine Steffans Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Since she exploded on the scene with her two juicy and impossible-to-put-down tell-alls, readers have wanted to know even more about what makes Karrine Steffans tick. How was she able to meet all the high profile politicians, movie stars, and other celebrities that are her close acquaintances? What skills does she possess to keep men wanting more? Finally, Karrine lays it all out and explains exactly what a woman must do to win over the man of her dreams. With chapters like
Publisher: Grand Central The New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of a Video Vixen is back to shock the world with more gossip, juice, and drama in her much anticipated sequel. Pub. Date: June 2005 Glass vases filled with marbles crashed all around us as he began tossing linens from the bed. As the marbles scattered, we laughed in unison … I remember the exact moment that I first laid on my back for him … My legs were wrapped around his waist and just before his body was to merge with mine, I noticed his upper right chest. On it was a tattoo with the words "Pain is Love." Confessions of a Video Vixen is the widely anticipated memoir of Karrine Steffans, the once sought-after sexy siren who appeared in the music videos of multiplatinum hip-hop artists such as Jay-Z, R. Kelly, and LL Cool J. A top-paid video dancer, Karrine transitioned to film when acclaimed director F. Gary Gray picked her to costar in his film A Man Apart, starring Vin Diesel. But the movie and music video sets, swanky Miami and New York restaurants, and trysts with the celebrities featured in the pages of People and In Touch magazines only skims the surface of Karrine’s life. This memoir — part tell-all, part cautionary tale — shows how Karrinne came to be the confidante of so many, why she kept their secrets, and how she found herself in Hollywood after a life marked by physical abuse, rape, and drugs — all before she was twenty-six. By sharing her emotionally charged story, she hopes to shed light on an otherwise romanticized industry. |
KW: Yeah, like in the book, you hid the identity of a very famous lover of yours you called Papa. Care to share his name now?
KS: I’m still not going to tell you.
KW: Why not, when you’ve confessed to sleeping with so many others?
KS: At this point it’s inappropriate, because of a promise I made to him that he would remain anonymous.
KW: How about a hint?
KS: What I will say for my readers is that Confessions has a really big clue about who he is.
KW: What has been the reaction of the lovers you did name to the book?
KS: There’s been no reaction. The celebrities named in the book are fine.
It’s kind of surprised me that people find what I said so amazing, because people who are inside of the industry know all the stuff that I could’ve said.
KW: But let’s take someone like Ja Rule, who has a wife and kids. I would imagine that he might be very upset.
KS: I’m sure it’s uncomfortable. But, no, he’s not upset. This is not news to him, or his wife, or his family. It’s not like his wife just found out.
She knows her husband and that I was not the only girl. He had hundreds at that time, and I’m sure thousands over the years as he traveled the world.
So, it’s not like anyone’s surprised, even if it’s uncomfortable.
KW: Do you have any misgivings about tarnishing the image of so many icons?
KS: I’m surprised that people think they’re important. To me they’re not.
They’re just people you run across. The names I gave away in Vixen are throwaway names. They’re nobodies compared to who else I have in my phone book.
KW: Like who?
KS: There are some people who are very powerful who I will never name, because I want to be able to work in this town when I’m done. That’s why it’s easy to give you throwaway names like Jay-Z. I’m not in the music business. I don't work for Def Jam.
KW: So, you see Jay-Z as a nobody?
KS: Not that he’s a nobody, just nobody special.
KW: Did you mean to imply that Puff Daddy, I mean, Diddy and Xzibit are gay when you mentioned their taking you to a gay nightclub?
KS: I’m not implying anything. That was an experience of mine. I’m just saying what happened and what was said. Any conclusions would have to be drawn by the readers.
KW: Did you really sleep with Vin Diesel? I’ve interviewed him several times, and he’s always sounded like such a gentleman. He even told me he wasn't a womanizer, but that he was saving himself for the right woman.
KS: [laughs] Really? That’s a load of [expletive]. He wasn't saving himself when I was with him. It bothers me that people find it necessary to paint pictures. Truth and honesty is my thing.
KW: I’m gonna ask him about you the next time I speak to him. Why did you put so many sexy photos of yourself scantily-clad in the book, if you’ve put that lifestyle behind you?
KS: I’m not uncomfortable about anything I’ve put in the book. It’s just the truth. Those pictures are fine. They’re pictures from my past, of things that I have done with people I have known. They’re from stages of my life, and all of that is relevant to this book.
KW: The nicest picture is the one of you and your son, Naiim. Was he scarred by all the two of you went through? How is he doing?
KS: All these things happened a long time ago. My son is seven, and he doesn't remember any of that stuff. For the last four years, he’s spent every day with me. Thankfully, I got my wild ways over with while he was still basically a newborn. He was two and three years-old.
KW: Is there any truth to the rumor that you're now dating Bill Maher of Politically Incorrect?
KS: Absolutely.
KW: How is that relationship?
KS: Wonderful! It’s the best I’ve ever had?
KW: Does he have a good relationship with your son, too?
KS: Nope. They don't have one. They don't need one. It’s unnecessary. Why would I introduce my son to a man I’ve only known for four months, no matter how great the relationship is. If Bill and I are together half a year, maybe I'll consider it. But even then, it’s still dating. There’s no need for them to meet each other.
KW: So, does your son then have a relationship with that rapper who’s his biological father?
KS: They don't have a relationship. They don't know each other. They never have.
KW: Do you consider yourself totally through with that self-destructive lifestyle?
KS: I haven't spoken to any of those people, for the most part, for over four years. There are some I’m still cool with. We’ll see each other and speak, say, ’How you doin’?’ and keep going.
KW: What enabled you to move on from playing the party girl?
KS: Most people grow. The person you're reading about in that book is 21.
I’m 27 now. You would hope that I would grow and expand and change just from the natural progression of life. And that’s what I’ve done.
KW: Why kiss and tell?
KS: It was easy for me to write about it, because I’m so far removed from that character. The person I was in that book was a character. She’s not even who I am today. People who know me, recognize a definite difference in my poise and in my personality, because I’ve grown.
KW: I agree you don’t sound like the same person, but maybe you had drug problems when I spoke to you.
KS: At that time, no. I was already out of that lifestyle by the time I talked to you.
KW: Have you burned too many bridges to return to acting?
KS: No, I have no interest in it at all. It doesn't move me whatsoever.
KW: Why not?
KS: Because I’m a power fanatic. I like to own things, and have them be mine. Acting doesn't belong to you, if you're not the writer or the director.
KW: So, what will you work on next, then?
KS: The movie version of this book. They’re bidding on the rights to it right now.
KW: You recently had a tiff with Tyra Banks during the taping of her new talk show. Do you care to share your side of it?
KS: There are a few things that tend to infuriate me. One is ignorance, because I have become accustomed to speaking to very intelligent people like Gore Vidal and Al Franken on a regular basis, since dating Bill Maher.
Therefore, when I’m in an interview with someone who is not intelligent, but flat-out ignorant, idiotic and stupid, or just an ass, it really gives me a headache.
KW: So, how do you deal with jerks like that?
KS: I’ve walked out on interviews, when they’re so beneath me and what I’m trying to say. And then there are people like Tyra who are hypocrites. Women especially, who have slept their way through their whole careers. And it’s not a secret within the Hollywood circle.
KW: So, Tyra’s been around the block.
KS: I’ve always heard about it from men we’ve both slept with.
KW: I'd think that the two of you should have had a great conversation in that case, swapping stories.
KS: No, not 15 years later, now that she has her own talk show where she’s well-groomed, all made up, and has on a $5,000 wig. don't get me wrong, Tyra’s done well for herself. You have to applaud her for all that she’s achieved, coming from that model world, and expanding, which is wonderful.
But let’s not pretend that you haven't done some of the people and things that I’ve done.
KW: So, Tyra didn't want to ’fess up?
KS: Anyone in that position, in an interviewer’s position, to do it well, should always remain objective. That’s part of the job.
KW: So, you feel that she attacked you instead of interviewing you?
KS: When someone talks to me, and they’re personally attacking me, because there’s someone in my book that she’s been with, because of the people that she’s slept with that we have in common. When you're making me seem like the bad one, like only I’ve slept around, like only I’ve dated famous people, then I find it necessary to say what you’ve done. We should just be honest.
KW: So, she made it personal?
KS: Yeah, and then I felt the need to get personal back.
KW: So, are you saying Tyra slept her way to the top?
KS: I have a list of names of people that she’s been with, including women.
Let’s not go there, because I am the truth-teller. And I'll tell it all. So, hopefully, she realizes that now, and she’ll stay clear out of my way.
| Another AALBC.com Film Review |
KS: Yes, that’s what’s happening. Girls are getting it. They’re understanding that the life they thought existed in Hollywood doesn't really exist. It just doesn't. I’m not just saying that because my past is a little skewed and I had a hard time. Even now that my life is great, and I’m way better off physically, financially and emotionally, I can still look at it and say, this place is such bull-[expletive]! And it is.
KW: Where do you go from here, professionally?
KS: I’m just going to continue what I’ve been doing, which is writing. The next book is the paperback version of Confessions, which will have more information. Then, I’m writing a novel for next summer, I believe. And I'll continue to write. I already started a book on relationships, on being a woman, and how we mess up our relationships trying to be too independent. I am a writer. Video Vixen was not a fluke. This is what I do, and it’s my job now.
Karrine, is interviewed by Troy Johnson founder of AALBC.com on October 3rd 2007
Related Links
Karrine Steffans AALBC.com Author Profile and Video Interview
http://authors.aalbc.com/karrine_steffans.htm
The Vixen Diaries (2007) - Interview with Kam Williams
http://reviews.aalbc.com/karrine_steffans_2007.htm
The Vixen Diaries by Karrine Steffans - Book Review by Kam Williams
http://reviews.aalbc.com/the_vixen_diaries.htm
Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans - Book Review by Kam Williams
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/confessions_of_a_video_vixen.htm
Vivid Entertainment To Release ’Superhead’ Porn Film
Monday - April 10, 2006
http://videovixenmovie.com/
Vivid Entertainment To Release ’Superhead’ Porn Film
Monday - April 10, 2006
Porn giant Vivid Entertainment is gearing up to release a new adult film that features Karrine Steffans — known by the hip-hop world as "Superhead" — who dropped a tell-all book called Confessions Of A Video Vixen, where she exposes her experiences as a music video model.
The forthcoming adult film, appropriately titled "Superhead," features the video vixen alongside adult film star, Mr. Marcus, in her one and only scene in the porn industry.
"She wrote [Confessions Of A Video Vixen] to expose on Jay-Z, Ja Rule, P Diddy and all these other guys in hip-hop, and now we can see her just before she joined those guys," Howard Levine, national sales manager of Vivid, told AVN.com. "Before she blew the lid off the hip-hop world, she blew Mr. Marcus."
Mr. Marcus narrates the intro to the video and also serves as Steffan’s co-star, who she performs her legendary oral skills on. Marcus remembers the video model’s attributes quite well.
"The thing that stood about her was that she gave incredible head," he told AVN.com. "She created something off that one act that people are still talking about today."
-Ronnie Gamble (http://www.ballerstatus.net/news/read/id/59783061) Read more at http://www.ballerstatus.net