Within the first five minutes of her debut on the Oxygen Network’s “Bad Girls Club” on March 28, Sacramento State senior Joanna Hernandez told the world that she was a self-proclaimed “gold digger” and she didn’t care what anybody thought about it. “This is me, this is my personality,” Hernandez said in her introduction. “If you don’t like me you can f*** off.”

The reality show, which features seven wild and often outrageous women living together in a Hollywood Hills mansion, is in its first season and is produced by Bunim-Murray, the makers of MTV’s “The Real World.”

Hernandez, who is a Latin beauty that combines a girl-next-door charm with a wild and seductive streak, was brought on to Oxygen’s highest rated series to replace one of two members who were dismissed for physically assaulting other roommates.

The senior social work major holds a 3.5 GPA while moonlighting as a go-go dancer. Jo Jo Go-Go, as she’s nicknamed, said she realizes how controversial the comments were, but editing definitely exaggerated her “gold digger” and “man hater” portrayal.

“We all knew we were going to get a certain roll, or portrayed a certain way, but I never thought that out of all the editing they would (use those lines),” Hernandez said. “That is not me. It is kind of, but overall I wouldn’t say it’s an accurate portrayal.”

Despite the creative editing by producers, Hernandez was not upset.

“The show is called ‘Bad Girls Club,’ so they’re going to pull all the negativity and all the bad things from your background to make you as bad as people would like to view you,” she said.

Still, Hernandez, who was the first runner up in the 2006 Hornet Hotties competition, said that she has aspirations of eventually being in the entertainment industry and does not regret the comments.

“I’m going to do whatever it takes to get that publicity, get the media talking and all the haters because that’s my fan base,” Hernandez said. “You’re not going to pick up a magazine and read about (a positive story), you’re going to pick up slutty Britney Spears with a shaved head or not wearing panties.”

Hernandez’s bold comments on the March 28 episode drew immediate criticism from fans of the show. Viewers hurled a variety of insults at Hernandez from “trash” to “slut” on the official website’s message boards at badgirlsclubonoxygen.com.

Hernandez said she also received hate mail from outraged viewers who felt that her comments were perpetuating sexual exploitation of women.

“The more you talk about me the better, because that’s how much more attention I’m getting,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez had auditioned for the previous two seasons of “The Real World.” Both times she survived the selection process until the final round before being eliminated. “Every time I get to finals, and for some reason I’m not that big of a slut, or I’m not that crazy drunk girl,” Hernandez said. “I guess I wasn’t crazy enough to get picked.”

When producers contacted Hernandez regarding the new all-female derivative of “The Real World” she enthusiastically agreed to test. Again Hernandez came up short at the tail end of the selection process.

She once again felt the frustration of getting very close before being rejected until she received an unexpected phone call mid-way through the fall 2006 semester. It was “Bad Girls Club” producers requesting she be in Hollywood in one week to replace the dismissed members.

“They gave me one week to leave my life behind,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez’s first reaction was to pass on the invitation, since she had just completed her midterms. Leaving would force her to withdraw from school for the rest of the semester.

Because Hernandez was not selected for the original cast, she also felt some animosity toward the show. She felt that she was being treated as “sloppy seconds.”

Immediately after turning down the offer to join the cast in L.A., Hernandez began regretting her decision. After hesitating for a few hours, she called the producer back to tell him that she would go. Since Hernandez’s personality and background was relatively mild in comparison to her competitors, she decided to accentuate her controversial attitude toward relationships.

On her original audition tape to “The Real World,” Hernandez said she was cheating on her boyfriend. By the time the tape got to “Bad Girls Club” producers, her situation had changed, but she did not inform the show.

Hernandez’s profile on badgirlsclubonoxygen.com still reads, inaccurately, “she’s currently cheating on her boyfriend.”

“I kept it going because of the fact that I don’t have felonies like these girls. One’s a stripper, the other one’s a felon, the other’s a loud mouth. Zara’s a drug addict, Ripsi’s a drunk, so it’s like: ‘Fine, I’ll be the man hater and, sure, I’m cheating on my man,'” Hernandez said.

Ripsi, likely the most notorious member of the cast, was one of the roommates who broke her contract by violently attacking two castmates.

Hernandez said Ripsi has since gained national attention as well as offers to star in her own reality show.

“I think I should have maybe done something like that because she’s getting all the publicity,” Hernandez said. “If I would have known I was going to get all that publicity, I would have broken my contract, too.”

Hernandez’s only regret is not being at her best when she was introduced to the world. She said she stayed out late at her going-away party on the eve of her debut and was not able to properly prepare. Upon landing at the airport she was under immediate and constant surveillance.

“I was actually hung over and in the same clothes (and) makeup from the night before,” Hernandez said. “I didn’t expect to just walk in the house and – bam – we’re taping.”

Hernandez is still restricted by her contract and cannot discuss future episodes, but she did provide some hints of the drama that is to come.

“A lot of people will be surprised to find out I’m not the girl they thought I was,” she said.

Hernandez, who is again enrolled as full-time student at Sac State, said she is not done with “Bad Girls Club” just yet. On April 17, she left Sacramento for the East Coast, where she was involved in a spin-off series that is being filmed in the various hometowns of some of the cast members. Whatever happens, Hernandez hopes that the reality show is not her 15 minutes of fame. “I want to stay in the loop, but I don’t want to just be ‘that reality show girl,'” Hernandez said. “I want to be red carpet status. I want to be that girl that everybody recognizes, because that’s what I’ve always wanted.” Mario Martin can be reached at [email protected]