My interview with James Cashman
For Olivia Black, the last 12 months have been a whirlwind of hirings, firings, controversy, all the while collecting thousands of fans and keeping her name more than relevant. At one point she was arguably the biggest attraction on the History Channel’s #1 rated show; Pawn Stars. Everything seemed to be going her way until a series of nude photographs from a 2008 photo shoot reemerged on the internet. The “discovery” of these photos coincidentally (?) came out just before Olivia was unceremoniously fired from the show and the shop altogether
Most people would get sea sick from all the ups and downs, but then again, Olivia has thrived under pressure, refusing to give up, and making one thing clear: She plays by her rules and she won’t stop until she reaches the top.
Its half past 7 pm, and Las Vegas; the city of all things sin, begins to settle into a fiery sunset. The air begins to cool as tiny waves of invisible but, very real heat radiates from the sidewalk and reaches my face. I arrive (With my friend Robbie in tow) at The Beat Café on Fremont St. 15 minutes early only to find Miss Olivia Black, as beautiful as ever, comfortably seated outside mulling over, what initially appears to be, paperwork. Before I can say anything, she stands and greets me with an excited “Hullo!” and a genuine hug. Robbie grabs two chairs from a vacant table and sets them down as Olivia proceeds to offer me the opportunity to look over some photos from a recent shoot. “Which one do you like best?” She asks with an amused expression. The pictures are sprawled across the laminate topped table and we begin the task of finding which photos we like best. The photos are tastefully done. No hints or suggestions of her controversial past. One image is Black and white, with Olivia dressed to the nines holding a small dog. Another is a bit more revealing but, still classy. I point my finger over a photo of Olivia wearing a green dress and she breaks into a smile. The sun announces its departure with a soft coat of orange that paints the glass of a distant building. Fremont St. is starting to cool as the young Vegas night begins to thaw.
As I flip through the rest of the photos, I mention to Olivia that she seems to have been born to stand in front of a camera, she laughs and replies “When I was a kid, my Step Mom would get so mad at me because she could never get (candid photos) of me for family photos. As soon as I saw a camera pointed in my direction I would just pop a pose (laughs). Even though Olivia has a strict “I don’t give a shit what you think of me” policy towards anyone critical of her or her professional endeavors, she projects genuine warmth, one that is best demonstrated when speaking of her childhood. “I would always be doing cartwheels and dumb shit and telling everyone to ‘watch me’… Like, look what I can do!” Olivia was born in Los Angeles but, her family moved to Maryland, her parents divorced around the same time. She mentions her biological mother in just a short, dry statement, though she doesn’t seem to harbor any anger. However, I decline to go further into the subject. Olivia, was instead, raised by her Father and his second wife whom Olivia speaks very fondly of. “My Stepmom was basically my feminine influence” she says. She knew early on that I was going to do something big”.
When it comes to the town where she grew up in, Olivia speaks of her hometown in Maryland as if she was a big fish in a little pond. “I just didn’t fit in” She says as she swirls a spoon in her tea cup. “I was like, to stay here, there’s no way that I would just graduate high school, marry a boy I went to school with and then have babies that would only end up doing the exact same thing”. She interrupts herself, squints through her black rimmed glasses, as if in deep thought. She fidgets with her tea cup for a moment before adding, “I just felt like, inside of me, there was something that I was meant to do. Like, in a big city, doing something big”.
Olivia, 28, is wearing a sleeveless black dress, cut just above the knee. A green overcoat is draped over the back of her chair. Her hair, slightly wavy is tied back, her face, beautiful in a distinctive way, holds a striking, mile wide smile that has become a trademark of some sorts. Black rimmed glasses frame her eyes that twinkle when she smiles. When Olivia is comfortable she begins to emphasize what she is saying with her hands, at times leaning closer as if she’s telling you a deeply rooted secret.
On the outside, Olivia shows no trace of a woman who is self conscious but, when an exposed leg becomes noticeable she promptly places it under the table in a slightly cross position. She smoothes her flawless lipstick in a near involuntary motion as years of thoughtfully placed tattoos grace her left arm in precise patterns. I glance at the stack of photographs and in the back of my mind I’m trying to muster the courage to ask her about the infamous nude photo shoot that has, in a way, become a help and a hindrance to her career.
I ask her if she could go back and do the shoot again, would she? She smiles and takes a short sip of tea before saying with a smile “of course”. The photos, taken back in 2008, clearly exhibits a nude Olivia Black and have become somewhat of an internet sensation. It seems to most that the photos, led to her firing from “Pawn Stars”, yet Olivia still remains silent on the subject. “I’m still not sure why they fired me”. We talk about her time on the show, each answer coming in the form of carefully guarded snippets. I can tell that Olivia treads lightly whenever asked about the subject, so I do my best to ease the tension. A question about Richard “Old Man” Harrison brings about a smile. She explains how she was initially intimidated by the patriarch of the Harrison family, but he soon warmed up to her. “After a while he would talk to me about his vacations and stuff like that. After that I felt more comfortable around him. He was actually really nice to me”. I then ask her if Rick Harrison (The shops raspy voiced owner) knew of the scandalous photos prior to hiring her. She bristles for a moment, then with a mischievous smile answers “No comment”. That’s all she says about the subject as she picks up a napkin that seemed destined to blow free from the table.
The sun has now settled beyond the horizon, as the sky becomes a dark bluish, smoke-like haze. Night has finally fallen all around us as the street scene begins to liven. A group of teenagers walk past as a young girl says “Hi, Olivia!” Throughout the interview people walk past and notice her quite frequently. Most of the fans are polite and we never feel interrupted. I ask Robbie to grab two menus from inside The Beat. Olivia politely corrects me and tells Robbie she doesn’t need one. She has the menu basically memorized and already knows what she wants. “They have such great vegan choices here” she says. Being a carnivore, I carefully ask her what it’s like to have such a strict diet, especially while having to travel and doing appearances. “I’ve been a practicing vegetarian for the past six or seven years” She tells me. “But, just recently in the past year I’ve committed myself to veganism. I really was being such a hypocrite saying that ‘I could still use animal products in my life as long as I don’t put them in my body. Like, I can’t eat this cow but I can wear this bag that was made from its leather’”. She struggled for a while with the vegan lifestyle. “To kick all animal products out of my life was difficult. You’re taking all animal based products out of your home life, fashion products… Everything”.
Olivia places her order while I just play it safe and ask for another coffee. She then explains that she tries to make her life seem laid back and calm. “But, it’s really not how it is. I’m just in denial, I guess”. A stressed smirk appears on Olivia’s face as a phantom laugh, barely audible, seems more like a guarded sigh.# I reach into the inner pocket of my leather jackets and pull out a pack of cigarettes and begin to search for my lighter. I realize my gaffe as I drop the pack of Dunhills as if they were made of molten lava. “I don’t mind” says Olivia as she chuckles at my gesture. “Go ahead, we’re outside.” She then slides her hand across the table and checks out the pack of smokes and confides in me that she’s never had a Dunhill cigarette before. I sarcastically offer her one and to my astonishment she slips a cigarette between her lips as I hand her my lighter. Taking a long drag she exhales. With a trail of blue smoke rising into the air she tells me “Some know I used to smoke, but not too many know I started again. I'm embarrassed that I needed to depend on a crutch again. I was once an alcoholic and drug addict. After all of the firings, feeling like I have been taken advantage of, feeling like I could end up homeless again, and having to swallow my pride and go back to stripping right before my 9 year anniversary; I broke down and bought a pack of cigarettes on my way to work. I also ended up getting ridiculously drunk. I spent the entire next day sick in bed, thinking about all of the things I was supposed to be doing and how disappointed I was in my self for drinking. I realized I need something to lean on and cigarettes are my lesser of all evils. Tapping the cigarette to relieve it from the mountain of ash that’s accumulated on the tip Olivia finishes what seems like a revelation. Never before has she been this candid and even though I feel honored to have earned her trust I’m still shell shocked by what she has just told me. Olivia shrugs, takes a drag of her cigarette and an exhale brings a sigh of relief, as if she had just lifted a large weight from her shoulders. We stay silent for a few moments as we finish smoking. I look through a stack of papers as I think of a way to break the silence. Finally, I muster the courage and the brainpower to come up with a legitimate topic. “Tell me about the book you’re writing” The smile reappears. Success.
As Olivia begins to tell me about her upcoming novel, a couple approaches our table and politely asks if they could take a photo with her. She obliges and they hand me their camera which I then pass over to Robbie who quickly snaps a photo of the trio. He then hands the camera back to the couple who apologize for interrupting. I nod my head while not making eye contact as I’m looking over my papers. Olivia seems energized by the photo opportunity as if she would take 1,000 photos if asked.
“So, the book?” I ask again. We both laugh as she replies “Well, all the time, people are just blown away by stories of all the things I go through and now I’m writing this book (Where the idea) came out of nowhere”. Retrieving the cigarette the cigarette she had put down to take the photo continues to tell me that she’s already been contacted by a publisher. I reply with “You have a potential publisher before the book? Talk about the cart before the horse”. Olivia knows I’m teasing. She playfully glares at me and counters “Well, I’ve been working on the book and now it’s going to be a series.” Olivia is very humble about the subject and admits that getting a publishing deal before even finishing the first book is odd. “It’s not how that usually works” She says. “And then being a person who’s never considered themselves a writer…” But, Olivia believes she’s more than capable of meeting the task. “I’ve been through so much shit throughout my life”. She then pauses for a moment and stares into the night sky. “I put myself through it (the problems) and it’s no one’s fault but, my own”.
Despite losing her TV gig, people still flock to Olivia (She has over 21,000 followers on Facebook alone), as she continues to model and do appearances. “I’d like to have my own TV show someday” She admits. I ask her what it would be about. “Essentially, just a day to day account of all the trials and tribulations in my life”. At first, the thought of giving a TV show to someone who played a supporting role on a reality show (albeit briefly) seems absurd. However, the impact Olivia made in her limited role on Pawn Stars endeared her to many. Aside from Chumlee (The portly gentleman who basically provides the comic relief and much of the entertainment on the show), Olivia was arguably the most popular and exciting person from an otherwise, dry at times, cast. (Don’t get me wrong, the Harrisons are there to run a business and I’m not bashing the show at all, I actually rather enjoy watching it at times).
Her firing from Pawn Stars caused quite a stir among viewers (There was a petition at one point to get her back on the show, though it didn’t work out) that few expected to happen. Unfortunately, no one has an answer as to why she was canned. It seems that too many people still live in the past where a woman still has to seek permission to do anything. Olivia certainly doesn’t go for that shit as she expresses herself the way she wants, on her terms and anyone who disagrees would most likely get a middle finger salute. Aside from losing her role on the show, Olivia has faced scrutiny online. “I’m so unbelievably fucking pissed right now” She recently posted on her facebook page. “Whoever the fuck it is that keeps flagging all of my (social media) profiles can go fuck themselves”. This came after another suspension from Facebook. To rub salt in the wound, Olivia woke up one morning only to find that her Instagram page was deleted as well. Though she has posed nude before (She still does) her photos on Facebook are censored and quite tame compared to the other things you might see or read. It would seem more likely that someone has it out for her more than Facebook does. “It kills me” She tells me. “Because, obviously my social media (pages) are my main outlet”. Things seem to have become more stressful for her lately, but Olivia barely shows it, doesn’t resemble a girl with a broken spirit, and seems more determined than ever. Pawn Stars is over. She knows it and has dealt with it as if the whole situation was shrinking from view, fading in the rear view mirror.
It’s getting late and our interview comes to an end. We talk for a few minutes before deciding to call it a night. She offers a hug while smiling with an “I got this” like determination. Tomorrow is another day and there’s a good chance her phone will ring. Another job. Another step forward. I thank her for her time and she does the same. Olivia then turns and walks away, a distinct rhythm in her steps clicks upon the pavement, the heat still rising on Fremont St. JC
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