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Fear Factor Weenie Roast

In certain parts of the world, cooked animal penis is considered a delicacy. Among Fear Factor contestants, however, it's considered just plain disgusting.

FEAR FACTOR: What was going through your mind when you sat around the campfire and Joe Rogan first revealed that you'd have to eat a cooked water buffalo penis?

GINA HUERTA: I just thought, 'Oh, I do not want to put anything vile and disgusting in my mouth.' But I had to block that out because this is a competition and I couldn't be weak. I couldn't be queasy. So I just thought, 'Suck it up and do it.'

FEAR FACTOR: Take us through from your first bite.

GINA HUERTA: When I saw that thing, it was not a little sausage. It was a huge serpent and I felt I was not going to get through it. The smell just hit me and I swear it felt like a punch in the face. And then when I took it in my hand and it felt so gummy and slimy, it was just repulsive. That first bite was nauseating. It had this disgusting taste of crap and urine -- even now it makes my skin crawl going through that. I chewed it and chewed it, and I felt as though I was chewing rubber.

FEAR FACTOR: Did it get any easier after your first couple of bites? Did all the trash-talking from the other contestants make things worse?

GINA HUERTA: It wouldn't go down. And the more I tried to force it down, the more that my throat was fighting it. And then I started gagging and dry heaving. And the time was racing. I just thought, 'You've gone this far; you cannot fail.' My throat was fighting me. The other contestants were fighting me. My own mind was fighting me. Here I am trying to swallow this animal's penis, and they're all laughing and mocking and telling me that I can't do it. And I already felt like I was beaten. So I wasn't asking for pity. I was just demanding they shut up, because I really felt like I was drowning. I had nothing to cling onto. Because here I was gagging and choking on my own vomit. And I just wanted them to shut up because I had to concentrate on this.

FEAR FACTOR: Was there ever a point where you thought this wasn't worth it and that you should give up?

GINA HUERTA: From the first bite to the last bite I thought I could not do this. It was so disgusting. And even though I did not look at it, I could still see it. And, honestly, I felt as if that thing was like a mile long. And with each bite I took, it was just getting bigger and bigger, and never ending. So, yes, I thought there's no way I could do this.

FEAR FACTOR: Was it hard to get the taste out of your mouth afterwards?

GINA HUERTA: I must have brushed my teeth, I am not kidding, eleven times. I gargled, I flossed, I chewed minty gum, I took breath mints, and still I could not get that taste out of my mouth. I put aromatherapy lotion on my hands and under my nose, and still I could not get that smell out of my nose. The next morning, I could not eat anything because every time I belched, I would taste that unit in my mouth again and again. And it would never leave me, and I would brush my teeth again. I was very hungry, I was extremely hungry, but still I had no appetite.

FEAR FACTOR: Do you think your family and friends will give you a hard time for eating that water buffalo penis?

GINA HUERTA: Family, friends and strangers will all give me so much flack. I must not have looked too attractive gagging, dry heaving and choking with my eyes watering. I'm sure that didn't look too sexy. So I could imagine when a guy sees me, even if I enter a room real sexy and confident, all they're going to see is that girl gagging and dry heaving.

FEAR FACTOR: You mentioned in your bio that you're a producer on The Jerry Springer Show. Did that help prepare you to not be afraid of anything?

GINA HUERTA: There's nothing that can shock me, there's nothing that'll make me queasy. I've attended a pimp convention; I've attended a Ku Klux clan wedding. And if I can tape down the penis of a four hundred-pound transsexual, then I can do anything that Fear Factor's going to throw at me.

FEAR FACTOR: Is there any Fear Factor stunt you wouldn't do?

GINA HUERTA: No, there's nothing you could throw at me that's going to knock me for a loop. I honestly have no shame. I'm here to win. Not a roach is going to stand in my way. Not a physical challenge is going to stand in my way. I'm here to be the last person standing.