In its 5th season, Bravo’s Tabatha Takes Over and its charismatic, no nonsense star hope to change the lives of some Tenn. Salon owners including one right in Nashville’s backyard: celebrity stylist Tanzy Clark Wright’s salon Mogulz in East Nashville.
O&AN talked with Coffey about the upcoming season, her GLBT fanbase and how exactly she’ll remember Nashville.
A good bit of this season is focused on Tennessee—how would you sum up your experience in Tennessee?
I became a fan of the Goo Goo Cluster! Nashville is a unique place and even though I was working all the time, I enjoyed exploring the city.
This season marks a departure from salon and features you working with GLBT club owners—what was the experience like?
I started taking over other businesses in addition to salons in Season 4 and had a tremendously positive response to giving all kinds of businesses advice. As a member of the LGBT community, I love being able to help one of our businesses succeed. It’s part of my vision and commitment to being a professional.
Business can be brutal and you have no problem laying down the law- what has been your most difficult challenge either in the upcoming season or previous seasons?
Every business is different, even when you think the problem is the same, the people and their dynamics and different. The challenge is to be able to tap into what makes people tick and do the things they do so that I can push them toward change in a short amount of time.
You’ve said that although you know it’s television you get emotionally invested in these shows and in your book you spend time encouraging people to chronicle their stories in order find their true selves—how are the two related for you?
I don’t do anything I don’t believe in, sometimes to my own detriment. But that is who I am. Even when I am frustrated with a business owner, I am always trying to find the way through to help them because otherwise, it will be failure. Unfortunately, people can sometimes be their own worst enemies. If you tell your own story sometimes it can help you find your own way through.
You’ve say that you’ve been told that you “dress too fabulously to be a lesbian”- do you find those judgments come from the GLBT community?
They come from all over the place. Prejudice isn’t exclusively for straight people.
Tabatha Takes Over_has a large GLBT fan base- any message to those who watch the show?
I truly appreciate all of my fans and the show’s devoted viewers. I think we tell stories that are real and multi-faceted and I know Season 5 won’t disappoint!
Now that season 5 is getting ready to air- what is next for Tabatha?
Sleep! And then on to my next take over
You can catch the season premiere of Tabatha Takes Over on Bravo Thursday April 4 at 9 p,m, CT. You can catch more of Tabatha at BravoTV.com or follow Tabatha on Twitter @tabathacoffey or Facebook.