Kate Gosselin sure loves the cameras! The former TLC reality star, 37, made her first-ever appearance at New York Fashion Week when she walked in the "Real Fashion, Real Women" runway show at the Empire Hotel September 12. The event was held on behalf of Bottomless Closet, an organization that helps disadvantaged women become more self-sufficient.
"I love supporting causes that make a huge difference in women's lives!" the single mother-of-eight tweeted prior to strutting her stuff on the catwalk. Looking tanned as ever, the one-time Dancing With the Stars competitor glided down the runway in a draped white dress with silver embellishments. Gosselin's blonde hair was curled and hung loose below her shoulders. Real Housewives of New York City star Aviva Drescher also participated in the fashion show. Despite Gosselin's sometimes polarizing persona, the show's host and organizer, Derek Warburton, told the Huffington Post she was "so nice, sweet and accommodating and cool" when they approached her to model.
Of course, once news of Gosselin's participation was leaked, the organization received strong criticism via Twitter.
"We have all been in Twitter wars about Kate," Warburton said. "They were attacking us for having her in the show. I responded saying, 'Listen, we are not paying her. She is doing this out of the goodness of her heart.' What's remarkable is every time we get a nasty tweet about Kate, she writes and apologizes. She doesn't care about the haters, but she cares about us, the charity. She must have apologized to me five times for what people say about her."
Kate Gosselin Hit (Unsuccessfully) By Twitter Haters Over Daughter In Heels HuffingtonPost.com: Kate Gosselin must have caught the fashion bug last week while walking in a charity runway show. Just a few days later, she posted a picture on Twitter of her 11-year-old daughter Mady in a pair of mom's high heels, for which she's received some harsh criticism. "Kate had no idea the backlash she would get for posting an innocent picture," a friend of Kate's tells me. "Her show hasn't been on TV for a while, and it's amazing how much response she still gets."
That response was evident during New York Fashion Week, Sept. 6-13, when she participated in a show to benefit the charity Bottomless Closet. Shortly after it was announced Gosselin would appear, the hate tweets started. But the show's organizers chose to ignore them.
"I feel so blessed," organizer Derek Warburton told me after the show. "I am going to be able to take this and help so many people on a massive scale because of Kate's involvement. I must have cried 10 times over the last few days."
"I don't pay any attention to it [the haters]," Gosselin told me in New York. "I'm happy to be helping out and just hope I don't fall on my you-know-what."