What's really real with reality TV stars?

The Sun Always Shines
By CHHUN SUN

In the June 2005 issue of King Magazine, Veronica Portillo is showing off her natural Cuban-American — umm — assets, to put it nicely.

In the two-page pictorial, Portillo, best known for stints on “Road Rules: Semester at Sea” in 1999 and those “Real World/Road Rules” challenges, lives up to the reputation that King, an urban version of Maxim Magazine, always showcases minority women in their sexiest form. It worked.

But it’s a contradiction.

A little more than a week ago, Veronica and fellow “Inferno 2” cast member Rachel came to Fresno State and preached about how women are portrayed negatively in the media. That didn’t work so well. The ambience became volatile when it came to the question-and-answer portion of the so-called informative lecture.

Tempers flared. The discussion became contentious. The Campus Peace and Civil Liberties Union people opined about the women, saying it was ironic to see two very attractive females lecturing to the audience about loving themselves regardless of their shape or size.

Veronica’s and Rachel’s words seemed legit at the moment, although their presentation was disorganized and not educational enough. They were two public figures with positive things to say, and some people, especially fans, will listen. If they can get across to someone with their words, they have used their images positively.

But why don’t they practice what they preach, especially Veronica?

They used their lecture as a promotion tool, letting the audience know that they have a clothing line called College Dropout, a satirical name used to grab attention. But how can they advocate loving ourselves regardless when they’re promoting a clothing line?

And how can Veronica tell us to love our body exactly the way it is while she poses in King with only her arms covering her breasts? Then explain why a couple of years ago, she posed in Playboy.

Their message was positive, but their character wasn’t.

Now, that’s real talk.