Your bag is empty.
I will try not to cry as I say this to you all, but it’s crazy. It was only a year and a half ago that I was standing in this room at the open call to be a Playboy Bunny. My grandmother had just passed away at the same time I discovered the person I was dating had a girlfriend of four years that I knew nothing about.
“Surprise!”
So it was a very difficult time for me in terms of my self-esteem. Especially when the girlfriend of my ex confronted me. But instead of it being an argument— which could have resulted in her bashing me or fighting with me—we got to know each other, and we became friends. That friend is my friend Kristina, who brought me here to the Playboy Bunny casting. She basically dragged me by my hair because I was so scared I was going to get rejected. Kristina was a Playboy Bunny too and without her, I don’t know that I would be here.
Ironically at the time, I also wondered why the universe had brought that trash guy into my life. Why did I endure all of the hurt that I felt back then? But honestly, had I known it would have ultimately resulted with me becoming Playmate of the Year, I would have called up all of my ex-boyfriends to ask them what they had to offer for wasting my time.
We are witty women. We are smart women. We are driven women and we are bold. I want to thank Playboy for giving us the opportunity to show our versatility.
I am the first Black Playboy Bunny turned Playmate turned Playmate of the Year.
I don’t know how to quite articulate what this honor means to me. Especially because I’ve been in circumstances where my articulation, intelligence, dating choices and more have been questioned. Words can’t fully explain how grateful I am to have this title. But I want to thank all those who helped me on this journey. I want to thank Kristina—Bunny Kristina for being woman enough to get to know me, befriend me and helping to put me in a position where I’m at this podium today.
I want to thank my dad for always believing in me especially during the times I didn’t believe in myself. Sometimes I didn’t always know if I was doing the right thing. But my dad was always there to listen to me cry, scream and do everything else. A special thanks goes to my friend and manager Cloe Luv for accepting me as a true extension of herself and for supporting my path and aspirations. I also thank Cloe for fighting for me when I didn’t have the fight to fight for myself. She is a source that uplifts me and brings joy into my life.
Lastly, I would like to thank Playboy for always embracing and displaying that women are more than meets the eye. Obviously, you’ve all seen the pages of Playboy, and it’s eye-catching, to say the least. But those pages have always represented the versatility that women have. We are witty women. We are smart women. We are driven women, and we are bold.
I also want to thank Playboy for giving us the opportunity to show our versatility. It’s such an honor to be Playboy’s brand ambassador as Playmate of The Year. I’m going to work endlessly to serve this title justice. Thank you so much.