Brian Fritz of Sporting News has a new interview up with Tough Enough finalist Hank Avery talking about his elimination from the show this week.
Hank on being eliminated:
“Well, I’m a little shocked still but at the end of the day, it’s not about what I think but it’s about what the judges thought and America. That’s why I’m not there. The show is called “Tough Enough” and I thought I proved myself in those challenges so I was very surprised. I kind of got labeled as a bad guy. I’m sure Paige probably thinks I’m a sexist now (laughs). That’s not who I am. I think every show needs a bad guy. I’m from the South. I grew up ‘Yes ma’am; No ma’am’ and always looked up to my mother and my grandmother, and my wife and daughter are so supportive. So to be kind of taken in that direction on the show left me flabbergasted, so to speak. I’m disappointed. I think to not be disappointed would be disappointing in yourself. I don’t think I should have been in the bottom three but life doesn’t always roll the way you want it to. You just have to learn to take the punches on the chin and keep going.”
Hank on who he thought would be eliminated:
“I thought Dianna was going to be eliminated, if I’m going to be honest with you. I figured she would be a shoe-in for the bottom three. The producers showed the clip of her stating, “I don’t want to be here. It’s horrible. I just want to go home.” And I’m like, “Can’t we just put you in that situation, in the bottom three?”, and that was my fault going into it. After saying that, if you don’t want to be here, then don’t be here. Don’t take up someone else’s time when there’s people here who have dreams, who have grown up with the aspiration of becoming somebody great. For somebody to say I don’t want to be here, or to constantly, for a lack of a better term, lying about being away from home. I’m married, I have a daughter. Mada is married and has a son and Josh is engaged and has three little daughters. For us to leave our family and to make the time and commitment to be here, at the end of the day we’re here because we want to be substantial providers for our family. I miss my family just like Mada did and Josh did. Amanda missed her boyfriend and so on. It was kind of a violin playing in the background all the time and she played the card. And she played it well. You have to give her that. But for someone to say they didn’t want to be here, I thought she had already eliminated herself. But I’m talking to you today and not Dianna. I was surprised while watching the show that she had the freedom to see her fiance while she was there. What are the rules when it comes to 9:40?”