No Nonsense

Oh where shall I start?! Haha let’s begin with the Ocean Drive shoot. I was told for months I’d be shooting my third cover for Ocean Drive, and when I arrived, I wasn't aware that I was shooting a special swimwear editorial until my gorgeous sister, Marta, overheard the crew talking. Of course as a loving sister she passed on what she heard. I was shocked. I felt betrayed and lied to, so of course I am not going to smile and be OK with it. I am a business person, and whatever project I sign up for, I always  give 110%. They manipulated a situation, so of course I am going to stand up and fight for what is right. I treat everyone with respect, and I demand respect and honesty back. I agreed to the shoot, because I was told it was a cover. If I was offered an editorial, I probably still would have agreed to do it (as I have done numerous editorials over the years and have nothing against them), but the fact that I was tricked into it made it unacceptable, and I wasn't going to just sit there and go on with the shoot pretending everything is great and dandy.

That being said, I love Ocean Drive, and both the covers I did with them are some of my favorites. I am very grateful to Ocean Drive, because if it wasn't for my first cover, I might have never met my fiancé, Romain Zago, as he is the one that organized my cover party at Mynt, and that was the night we fell in love.

I don't put up with B.S. from anyone; life is tough as it is, and I work darn hard for my money. I don't rely on a man to take care of me, and I have always been independent (I’ve worked since I was 15 as a telemarketer) and taken care of myself. That is why I have such thick skin and don't deal with nonsense, because I don’t have the time for it. I have made many mistakes in my life -- including buying rental properties before the market crashed -- and I have lost a fortune, but you live and learn and that has made me even stronger. I know not to deal with nonsense and things that are not important. I fight for what I believe in, and this was one of my fights to stand up for myself as I would for my loved ones and animals. For those that haven't followed my career over the last 10 years and are meeting me for the first time on the show, I am a huge animal lover/activist. I am always rooting for the underdog, especially when they are defenseless and voiceless. Animals need humans to protect them, since they can't fend for themselves. I’ve done a third PETA shoot and also my protested against the Kardashian Store Dash for selling fur and lying to the media that they don't sell it when I had the proof in my hands with the Dash receipt. I am happy to say the store as of today in Calabasas is closed. As I said in the protest, I will fight for animals until the day I die and for all those that are defenseless like children. My dream is to have my own animal sanctuary together with a therapy center for underprivileged and sick kids, where the kids and animals can heal each other and be away from reality for a few hours every day and be happy.

I have been coming to Miami for years and have been bicoastal between LA and Miami for the past six years. It’s been very hard to find good friends that you can trust in Miami, and I was really looking forward to meeting Lisa’s new group of girls at Smith and Wollensky…so far so good!

Always remember: treat others as you want to be treated…

Joanna

Everything Goes on in Miami