The women say they were pitted against each other in season 5.
“Producers can be devils, and they set these competition matches up.
But I signed up for it.
‘Dark Side of Reality TV’ focuses on ‘The Surreal Life’ feud between Janice Dickinson and Omarosa.Vice (2)
I knew what I was getting myself sort of into.”
That was certainly the case with Dickinson and Manigault Newman, who’s known simply as Omarosa.
And she got plenty.
Omarosa photographed at a 2005 party.Brad Washburn/FilmMagic
As journalist Lyndsey Parker remarked, “it just became the Omarosa and Janice show.
And it wasnt fun.”
“Let me tell you how I know: She was my roommate.
Omarosa poses with some of ‘The Surreal Life’ cast and the VH1 president in 2005.Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic
Dickinson said that, if Omarosa found anything, it wasn’t hers.
“I was probably still drinking alcohol back in those days,” Dickinson said.
“But a drug addiction was part of my past.
Janice Dickinson appeared on ‘The Surreal Life’ in 2005.Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage
I was over that.”
Still, they clashed in high-profile incidents caught on camera.
“Why would you hand a knife to a woman who’s clearly under the influence of whatever?
A very sharp, very real knife,” Omarosa said.
She asked in vintage footage why the production would let “a crackhead play with a knife.”
“And it worked.”
“Janice waving the knife in front of my face was a trigger,” Omarosa said.
A much more dangerous outcome than if I was just able to kinda pull myself together.”
“They ran that promo of Janice with that knife over and over again,” Omarosa said.
“The posters for the show was that scene.
The billboards were that scene.
You know, they got exactly what they wanted.”
When Omarosa heard Dickinson say her name, the two had an explosive argument.
“Why was I sent out there at that moment?
Why did they have me walk into the backyard at that exact moment?
Just look how perfectly it was timed.
you could’t even make this up.”
All I heard was her talking about me at that moment," Omarosa said.
That’s too bad."
Dickinson was incensed that Omarosa had called her a bad mother in the moments that ensued.
Still, it didn’t flatter her either.
“Shows that I can be nasty.
That’s a nasty side of me,” Dickinson said.
“She really did pull, pull that out of me.”
The Surreal Liferan for one more season before it was canceled in 2006, although it was later revived.
The latest season, featuring Chet Hanks and Macy Gray, wrapped up this month.
Dark Side of Reality TVairs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Vice.
Future episodes focus on shows includingSurvivor,Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and more.
