Like father, like daughter

Brooke Hogan

Interview by ChauncŽ Hayden

Strikingly gorgeous with piercing green eyes and long blond hair, Brooke Hogan, 17, has dreamed of being a pop star her entire life. That dream has finally come true.

The only daughter of wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, Brooke along with her younger brother, dad and mom is currently starring in the hit VH1 reality series, Hogan Knows Best and is in the studio working on her debut album alongside some of the industry's hottest producers.

Raised in Tampa, Florida, but often traveling the country with her mother to see dad Hulk in action, Brooke was fueled by the intensity of her father's drive for success. So, when Brooke was ten years old, she stopped waiting for fate to hand her a record deal, and started flipping through the yellow pages and calling talent agents.

Brooke threw herself into her dream of reaching pop stardom, taking piano lessons, dance lessons, voice lessons, cheerleading and more. Her parents recognized her drive and arranged a meeting for Brooke with legendary music entrepreneur Lou Pearlman, who helped her get her start. Now, with performances under her belt like opening up for Hilary Duff and singing at Radio Disney's Jingle Jam and countless other events, Brooke is preparing herself for a shot at pop stardom...Not to mention the gossip pages!

I recently had the oppertunity to sit down with Brooke and chat about her music career, TV stardom, her peers, Jessica Simpson and how she really feels about Nick Lachey!

Chaunce Hayden: The last time we spoke, you told me that doing a reality show was the best way to create interest in your music. Did it work?

Brooke Hogan: Actually it did. I get so many positive responses from little girls and parents about the show, and that's helped the whole music thing. Now everybody knows what I'm about and that I'm not a fake. I think the reality show lets people see how hard I've worked.

Is there any part of the reality show that you don't like?

The only thing I can say about it that I didn't like is that sometimes I'm a bit of a smartass. People are going to think I'm so spoiled!

Are we seeing the real you on television?

Um ... yeah. I'm a teenager and I fight with my parents. I'll tell my mom that she doesn't know what she's talking about. Normal teenage stuff.

You're 17 years old. When you become legal, what do you think will change?

I'm so excited about that! Hopefully everything! I really don't want to be away from my parents. I love them so much. But I think I'm going to start paying for stuff on my own. I'm thinking about paying for college and for my own credit cards. I've already been checking into that with our bookkeeper. I'm going to try to venture out on my own financial-wise. I'm also hoping for a little bit more freedom.

The Hulkster is very protective of you. How do you think he'll handle you turning 18?

He is very protective of me. I think he's kind of scared that I'll just take off when I turn 18.

I don't think he'll be able to handle it.

I don't think he will either. That's why I'm not going to do that to him. Of course I'm going to go out with my friends more and spread my wings a little bit. But I'm not going to leave my dad or my mom. I love them too much.

It's not uncommon for underage celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff to be hanging out in trendy nightclubs. Any interest in following the same path?

I think that those girls are doing that just for attention, and probably just because they're sick of being criticized for every single move that they make and being treated like little Disney girls. I understand why they do that. But I have no need, and I'm not even curious about it. I already know that it's just bad news.

Are you sure you're only 17?

(Laughs)

Is there a downside to being young, famous, and rich?

Actually, there's not. There's no downside at all. People who say that it's hard and that they hate being followed around by paparazzi are full of it! Poor me, I'm a movie star! It's freaking awesome!

Anything that you regret in your life?

I don't have any regrets. The reason why I don't have any regrets is because I hate having regrets. So I think everything through to the point where I'm anal about it. Because when I make a move, I really have to think it through because I can't live with regrets.

Let's talk about your singing career. You made an album called This Voice that was never released. Why not?

We didn't release it to the public. But a few songs did leak out on the Internet. I just decided to go in a different direction musically. I didn't want to give the fans something fake. I was with working with Lou Perlman, and he put me through his musical boot camp and it's the best experience that I ever could have had. But I felt like I was getting pushed into a corner and into a direction that I didn't want to go. I just had to stop it. The songs were great and people who love pop rock would love these songs. They're amazing and I wrote them. I might even release them later in my career. But for now, I just wanted to change my direction. The pop rock thing just wasn't in my heart. I'm more interested in R&B pop.

Is there a particular singer whose footsteps you would like to follow?

I know people will really frown upon this, but I have to say Britney Spears is one of the biggest people I look up to. She's an amazing performer! Her music is just amazing! She's sold millions of copies of her music and I just love her.

Don't you think Britney self-destructed her own career?

You know what? And you should print this. Anybody who thinks Britney Spears is going to just fade away and die doesn't know Britney Spears. I guarantee you that that girl can lose 45 pounds in a month and come back stronger than ever. Knowing Britney, she's just that kind of person. She's just driven. Anybody who thinks she can't do it is dead wrong. Trust me, she's got it made. She's happy. She's got a new baby and I hear she's got another one on the way. So congratulations to her. Everything in her life may not be perfect, but trust me, that girl has got it together. She could whip it into shape in a month.

What do you think the Hulkster would do if Britney was his daughter and came home with a guy like Kevin Federline?

(Laughs) I know what you're saying! I don't agree with every decision that she's made. But you know what, you don't know why people make the decisions that they make. She might just really be happy with Kevin Federline, or maybe she just really wanted kids. If they do break up after she has the second baby, at least she has two beautiful babies.

True or false: your father once threw Aaron Carter out of your house for being disrespectful.

That's completely true!

I know that Playboy has shown some early interest in you. Once you turn 18, that decision will be yours to make. Have you given it any thought?

I'm not going to pose nude just because I want to seem sexy to the world. If I was going to do something like that ... (Pause). I don't even know if I would do something like that. But I'm not going to rule it out. When I get older and have kids and a husband, I might want to do it. But I'm not a slut and I don't want to do it now.

What about Stuff or Maxim?

I could totally see myself doing those magazines. In fact, Stuff and Maxim already called me.

And?

We're talking to them about doing it. But you have to be 18 for them to shoot you. So I have to wait. But the thing is about Maxim and Stuff is that, yes, they're racy. But I'm going to be an 18-year-old girl and I want to be sexy. Any 18-year-old girl wants to be sexy. I also want to be taken seriously. This is the body that I worked for and had so much pressure on me to get. But now you can hear my music and see that I'm serious about my career.

Obviously, at 5'10", you're not a petite girl. How hard is it to keep and maintain the kind of body that showbiz requires that you have?

Oh honey, I'm Italian! I struggle with it every day! I have those Italian sausage thighs and a little fat on the back of my arms and belly and stuff. It's so hard to keep it under control. My body just naturally wants to stay at a heavier weight.

A lot of actresses like Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Lindsay Lohan developed eating disorders to keep their bodies fat-free. Are you concerned you might also develop an eating disorder?

No, because I have my head screwed on straight. But I can't blame what happens to a lot of those actresses. If you don't have anybody else in your family who's famous, or if you didn't grow up with it, it's hard to jump right into it. It's hard to become a star on your own without knowing what it's like beforehand. I've seen my dad go through it, so I'm ready for it. I know what's fake and what's not. I know the pressure that Hollywood puts on you and it's completely artificial and stupid. They make it seem like being skinny and beautiful is the only thing your career relies on. But the thing that really carries you through is talent. Those that have longevity in this business are truly talented. The others who are just skinny, waify things that pretend to sing ... I'm not naming any names ...

Let me guess. The same two girls we discussed earlier, Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff?

All right, all right. I'm not going to say anything bad about Lindsay Lohan because she works very hard. I met that girl and she was very sweet. The same with Hilary Duff. They got the acting thing down, but I wish they would get healthy. Now they want to try and be a triple threat by singing. That's cool. But I can't really bash them because they are talented actors. I just wish they would all eat a cheeseburger!

Would you agree that most of the members of hot, young Hollywood are screwed up?

It's funny, a lot of people think that celebrities are fake, and a couple of them are. Like that one who just went though a major break-up. I don't want to mention her name, but ...

So I guess you didn't hit it off with Jessica Simpson.

No, I didn't hit it off with her. Although Nick [Lachey] is a very real guy. He's very real. And then there's her sister ... ugh. They're both fake. But not all celebrities are like them. Some have good hearts and are real. Lindsay Lohan came up to me at an event and was so nice. She said, "Oh my God, Brooke! I was watching your show and I can't believe your dad didn't let you go out on that date!" She was just so sweet! She was really genuine. I feel so bad for Lindsay. She's been though a lot and she's still a very sweet, sweet girl.

Let's get back to Jessica Simpson for a moment. What makes her fake?

There's a whole list. Somebody is fake when they act nice to your face but then talk behind your back. I'm not saying Jessica did that to me, but there's just a pompous way about her. I hate it when people make things all about them. When people are insecure, they need that. But I'm not an insecure person. I can look at people like Jessica Simpson and Lindsay and Hilary and Britney and I can tell them to their face that they're so beautiful! But some of them won't say it back. I'm just used to being sweet. I grew up in the South. I like to reach out and shake somebody's hand and hug them. But some people in Hollywood act like they're really stuck up and that's what I hate.

Do you think some young actresses consider you a threat?

I really hope that's not the case. Because that's not what I am. I'm my own person and I have my own life. I wish them all the best in everything that they do. By the way, you really talk about the stuff I like to get at! This is a real interview!

Consider me your psychologist.

It's good, though. So many people are afraid to speak out. Look at Pink's new video. She is like my idol! You can't play it down the middle and kind of speak your mind. You have to either be full-blown out there or totally fake. I'm choosing to go down the same road that Pink did. Just tell it like it is. In her new video, she tells how all these girls are doing unhealthy things to get skinny and how they're not the nicest people. They're all full of plastic surgery. But I think Pink is a beautiful girl who has a great body. She works out and she eats well. If you ever met Pink, she's the sweetest person you could ever meet.

Why do you think it's so important to be skinny?

Actually, who said skinny is beautiful? Where did that even start? I see all these little girls in short miniskirts and they all look so unhealthy! One of my best friends from grade school started becoming bulimic because there was so much pressure on her from school to be skinny. I saw this girl go from my size to Calista Flockhart size. I told her she had to get a grip. Her parents don't even know what to do with her. She's so unhealthy. We're all afraid something is going to happen to her health. It's just terrible. It's even harder for her being in school than it is for celebrities in Hollywood. Girls in school will pick on you if they think you're too fat.

If you weren't famous, do you think girls would pick on you at school?

I'm not a plus size model, but I'm not skinny either.

Yet you're considered a sex symbol to a lot of your peers.

Thank you!

Who's the hottest guy in Hollywood?

Oh my God, I've met so many of them. I would have to say Nick Lachey! Not just because of his looks. But if you met him, his personality is so beautiful. He's got a beautiful heart and he's so genuine.

Do you think he got a raw deal from Jessica?

Yeah.

So now that he's single, would you go out with him if he called?

(Laughs) I'd probably want to be friends with him first. He's still young, but maybe a little bit too old for me. But if he ever does ask me out, of course I'd be interested. But I would definitely want to be friends with him first. Because once you get your heart broken, it's hard to move on to somebody else.

In other words, you don't want to be the rebound girl.

Exactly!

Who's the hottest woman in Hollywood?

Jeez! This is so hard! Let me see ... The hottest girl in Hollywood right now would have to be Lindsay Lohan. Despite everything she's been through, she still has a beautiful heart and a beautiful soul. She's been through a lot, and I feel for her. Plus, she's gorgeous. But don't forget to write that she needs a cheeseburger!

I see you have your own Myspace.com account. Do you actually read all the messages you get?

All my friends are addicted to Myspace. I would be if I could go on it more. But once I do go on it, I'm on it for five hours! So I don't really go on anymore. Plus, I haven't been on a computer in so long that my email account actually shut down and closed out. So I can't even log on to Myspace! So if anyone on Myspace is wondering why I'm not answering them, that's why!

Do you read the comments people make about you on the 'net?

I do.

That's very dangerous to do.

People on Myspace are pretty sweet because they're fans. But I have googled myself and I have found a lot of things that bash me. One night I actually broke down crying. I told one of my friends about it and she said, "What, are you kidding me? You're actually reading that stuff?" I was crying so hard but my friend just said, "That's not who you are, Brooke. Don't listen to what other people say about you."

What was said about you that upset you so much?

That Brooke Hogan has man shoulders and she's growing whiskers.

They just wanted to get your attention. Being mean is the only way they think you'll pay attention. Take it from someone who knows. Never take that stuff personally.

I don't anymore. I know that those people are just crazy. So I stopped googling myself.

What would you do if a guy insulted you to your face?

Men need to be very, very careful what they say to me. One time a guy said something very rude about my size and that I was a big girl. So I was like, "Oh my God, you are so going down!" So I got him.

You got him?

I shoved him and I scared him. I said, "Don't talk to me that way." I'm not a bully, but it's hard when someone is talking trash to your face. This happened before the show came out. I hate to say this, but I am a very sweet girl. But once people start throwing out verbal stabs at me, I can throw them right back and it can get very ugly.

Finally, is it true blondes have more fun?

Yep! Yes, yes, and yes! I actually put on a brown wig one night to go out to dinner and nobody looked at me. Nobody wanted to even talk to me. I did not get half as much attention as I do when I'm blonde. When I'm blonde I get whistles and hoots and "Hey, baby!"

Why do you think that is?

I don't know. I guess it's one of those preconceived things, like skinny being beautiful. I think Marilyn Monroe made people think blondes are hot and it just stuck. Although I really do think brunettes are sexy. In fact, I think they're sexier than blondes.

They just don't have as much fun.

Exactly!

You can e-mail comments to Chaunce Hayden at [email protected]  

Write Chauncé...