Top Model alum, MTV correspondent, and out lesbian Kim Stolz sat down with me recently to discuss her future plans, how she got to where she is now, and her opinions on things such as the Obama administration.

I went to Wesleyan University and studied government and foreign policy…and wrote a thesis my senior year on the impact of exit strategies on United States intervention abroad in the Post-Cold War Era. I was sitting around with my friends one day and they told me ‘you have to do something crazy before you go to law school!’

I had never wanted to be a model. My mom was a model, and I always thought was cool, but not for me. My friends saw an ad for Top Model and told me I had to audition. I went basically because of a bet. My friends and I made a bet; I lost it and went to the audition.

Kim Stolz

What was the experience like? They had you pegged from the beginning as the “out” and “androgynous” one.

I wasn’t born yesterday….At that time in my life I was exploring my sexuality; it was an experimental time. I’m very proud of it, though. I wanted to go on the show. I wanted to make some kid in a small town in South Dakota know that it’s ok to be gay.

What happened after the show?

After the show I signed with Elite and was with them for a couple years. Recently I’ve been working part-time with MTV News and have been doing political and investigative journalism.

Are you currently signed with an agency?

I was recently approached by Ford about signing with them. It’s going to be different this time around; I’m not going to be going to thousands of castings a week fighting for jobs with a bunch of Eastern European girls. I’m going for bigger campaigns, like hosting and spokesmodel jobs. I’m actually under three of their categories: image, celebrity, and music.

How did you get your job with MTV?

I had spoken with Mike Powers about working at MTV. Music has always been very important to me, but I wasn’t thinking of doing anything on air. Mike told me about an audition to be on a show and told me to give it a shot. I worked on the Freshman for a while and then slowly transitioned into more newsy stuff.

Are you still planning on staying with MTV in the future or transitioning more into other forms of journalism?

I love MTV. They have given me such a great skill set. I have been able to do everything from cover the Michael Jackson memorial to an upcoming music festival for MTVU. I’m slowly taking myself out of the daily coverage but am still doing special events. Right now I’m just looking to expand my interests.

What is your ideal job?

My ideal job? Depends on whether you mean my ideal job now or five to ten years in the future. I would love to produce and host my own political talk show. I would have on guests and political pundits and we would discuss the top news of the day. I would also like to go out in the field a lot for the show. I have always wanted to be a war correspondent, so that’s something I’d still like to do. And I’m still interested in working on long foreign pieces.

Do you think you’ll still go to law school?

I’m actually taking the LSAT in September.

What other journalism work have you done?

I’ve been writing for the Huffington Post and True/Slant, a political website. I’m going to continue to write in the future. I hope there will be a writing component to anything I do in the future.

What are your opinions of the Obama administration? He’s been receiving a lot of criticism from gay rights groups.

Look, it would be political suicide for a first term president to support equal rights for the LGBT community. I’m actually not radical in my political views and am a moderate, though most people don’t know that. The thing I have the biggest issue with is DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act). Obama has stated in the past that he doesn’t believe [same sex marriage] is a federal issue but a state issue. Then you need to repeal DOMA because it’s contradictory and is a federal law!

How else have you used the platform you’ve gotten from TV to help gay rights?

I’ve spoken at several rallys and events, doing things like speaking out against Proposition 8. I spoke at city hall last year against Prop 8. I also just hope that through just being out and not being afraid to express my sexuality I’ll make an impact. I still get Facebook and Myspace messages telling me “thanks for coming out, you’ve been a great inspiration.”

I’ve also spoken at GLAAD and HRC events to just try and involve myself. I don’t hide who I am or sway from my sexuality.

What have you fans been like since the show? Any crazies?

*laughs* I use Twitter, and I have it set where it shows my location, but thankfully it’s broad enough so you don’t get the exact location. Once in a while I’ll get a crazy email or a package in my MTV mailbox and will have to get security involved. I do have to say, though, that I’m lucky to have such a world-wide audience and I’m grateful to the LGBT community for being so supportive.

Have you ever received any flack?

Being on everything from MTV to Fox News I’ve reached a large number of people. My fans are very diverse. I’ll see the comments saying, “Kim is ugly, Kim is fat, Kim is obnoxious.” I certainly get that.  Luckily I’ve never been called stupid. But I realize not everyone is going to like me.

Do you get any hateful messages?

You know, I’ve been called fat and obnoxious, but I’ve never received any homophobic remarks.

Tell me about your style. It seems to have changed from days in Top Model.

It has and it hasn’t. While modeling and at MTV I’ve tapped into a different side of myself. While on ANTM, I was a college student exploring my sexuality. Yesterday I was wearing low rise jeans and a plaid shirt and today I’m wearing heels and a plaid mini dress. I don’t think about what that means. I’m definitely not betraying who I am. I have to say, that MTV, Ford, and Elite have never asked me to change what I wear. I’ve never felt pressured to dress a certain way. It has always been my choice.

Thank you so much for the interview!

It was my pleasure.