Gunnar Does Louisville Proud on Project Runway

We recently lost Wil Heuser from BIG BROTHER. Despite not having watched BB since the first episode, I oddly managed to tune into the show RIGHT as Wil was being voted out of the house a couple of weeks ago. He made a graceful exit, and from what I've heard, he was a pretty good guy for the whole run.

But now Louisville Reality TV fans should shift their loyalties from #TEAMWIL to #TEAMGUNNAR.

This might be my least favorite season of PROJECT RUNWAY ever. I think I saw less drama in 13 years of teaching high school than I've seen in this season thus far.

Last week's episode was the worst ever as designer Ven Budhu verbally and emotionally abused his "normal-sized" model, Terry Herlihy and somehow didn't get "Auffed." Even though he was horrid to her! Even though he's more than a "normal-sized" man himself! Even though he made her look like a sad piece of hard candy. Dreadful.

I sure hope my boyfriend Tim Gunn doesn't hug him when he's eventually booted off the show.

Anyway... there's a Louisville connection. I was super glad to read this article where Terry says that Louisville designer, 22 year-old Gunnar Deatherage, defended her and looked after her. According to MSNBC:

"Gunnar actually stuck up for me, and he spoke to hair and makeup that day and explained to them what was going on," Herlihy revealed. Part of the challenge includes the designers telling the hair and makeup folks how they'd like their models to look. "(I understand that) they didn't really take Ven's directions of what he wanted my hair and makeup to be. So I'm very thankful for Gunnar. And that wasn't aired on the show, and I wish it was."

Gunnar was first cast on Season 9 of PROJECT RUNWAY, but was "auffed" in episode 1. He was brought back to Season 10 and is hanging tough this time around.

Thanks, Gunnar for making Louisville look good. We are some of the nicest people on earth, and I'm so happy to see that kindness on a national stage.

Good luck, Gunnar! I'm now #TeamGunnar all the way.

Guest Post: BIG BROTHER Keeps Louisville Weird

Wil Heuser NOT Alex Porter...
though they both have good hair

Every once in a while I stumble across some Louisville news that I want to share but know that I can't do justice to. This time it was the inclusion of a Louisville comedian on this season of BIG BROTHER. 


The good news is this time I knew exactly who to ask for help. My friend, Alex Porter, is a BIG BROTHER junkie! Enjoy Alex's guest post and tune in to BIG BROTHER's premiere on Thursday!! 

We are in the thick of the Summer television season, when the broadcast networks replace their quality programming with the cheaply produced guilty pleasures of shows such as Hell’s Kitchen, The Bachelorette, and Wipeout!

Since 2000, one of the biggest Summer hits has been the trashtastic BIG BROTHER on CBS. Each season a group of “HouseGuests” are chosen to live together in a camera filled house and avoid “eviction” to be the last guest standing to win $500,000 dollars. We the viewers get to indulge in our voyeuristic side and watch all of the crazy action and competition each week.

I make no excuses, I love this show. It is my guilty pleasure and I’m not the only one. Last season, it was one of the top five most watched TV shows in Louisville during August.

I respect the CBS executives for having no shame in producing the trashiest reality show on TV, but this year we have an additional reason to tune in.

The latest season premieres on Thursday, July 12th at 9 p.m. This past week CBS gave us details on the house guests (Which you can see here) and one of them is a Louisville resident who happens to be quite the character.

Wil Heuser is a marketing consultant from Louisville but more importantly, he has appeared briefly on American Idol and has released several music videos including one where he dresses up in catholic school girl clothing similar to classic Britney Spears. See here. 

He has also produced several skit comedy videos on YouTube that are extremely over the top, brash and ridiculous.

So being the BIG BROTHER fan that I am, I watched a couple of Wil’s videos and as expected, they are pretty far out and crazy. My first reaction was “Oh my God, this guy is crazy. Why does he have to be from Louisville?”

But after thinking about it for a while, that is a pathetic reaction.

I think it’s awesome that he is from Louisville!

Here is somebody who is out there doing exactly what he wants to do and doesn’t give a crap about what anybody else thinks. We should all support that kind of attitude, even if we don’t necessarily care for the performance or product.

One one Louisville’s slogans that has really gained traction is “Keep Louisville Weird” and that’s something we should be proud of. I think Wil helps us stay weird. Even if it is somewhat of a back handed compliment.

Of course once BIG BROTHER gets underway Wil could end up being one of the biggest jerks to ever be on the show, but I doubt that happens.

So when this season gets started, I urge everybody to put their reservations aside, join me and watch BIG BROTHER in all its trashy glory to follow Wil’s progress.

I’ll be watching.

Side Note: This season also includes Joe Arvin, a chef from Lexington KY. So maybe we can make this a good natured Louisville versus Lexington competition?


Alex Porter is a Media Research Analyst in the Louisville area. A pop culture junkie, he is always keeping up with the latest trends in TV and media. He also enjoys spending time with his wife Kayla, their shih tzu Kyle, and endless cups of coffee. You can follow Alex on Twitter at @alexporter82 and read his blog at alexinlouisville.wordpress.com.