Former superagent Betty Rocawaji, remembered as the tough judge on the Israeli reality show "The Models," said in a Walla Personal podcast interview with Maor Ben Harush that she regrets how she behaved on the program. Rocawaji said she was cast to be the serious, hard-edged figure and recalled that by the third season she refused to continue in that role. She also said the backlash was intense, claiming people threw tomatoes at her and spat on her in the street.
Rocawaji argued that many of the contestants would not have been signed by her agency anyway, so the show gave them an opportunity to succeed. She added that if she is ever asked about it, she says she would not do it again and is happy that there is now more diversity in the industry.
Karin Cohen, who appeared on the show's third season in 2007 and finished eighth, responded on Instagram. Addressing Rocawaji by name, she wrote that Rocawaji does not really need to apologize, because anyone who joins such a show usually understands both the opportunities and the consequences. Cohen rejected the claim that the contestants were not good enough for agencies, saying she had already been signed with Roberto and with Ofer Rafaeli's Karin Models before the show.
Cohen said she joined "The Models" to gain exposure and become a known personality, not just a model. She added that staying visible for more than a decade, doing campaigns and appearing in plays, television and radio, and becoming part of the Israeli entertainment industry, was success in her eyes. She said that after more than 10 years in the business and after "Bollywood" in prime time, she chose to build a life abroad, but while she wanted to stay in the industry, she was fully part of it, and that, in her view, is what success means.
