It looks like Simone Lewis has blocked the criticism she received on “America’s Next Top Model” out of her mind.

At a vampire-themed photo shoot that required her and the other models to pose alongside a male model in a bathtub of fake blood while wearing contacts that rendered them “blind,” Jay Manuel told the 19-year-old contestant the way she was sitting looked like she was about to give birth.

“I don’t think that was for my photo,” Simone replies over the phone, when asked about the unflattering comment.  “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. Jay said that, um…wait, did he?”

Yep, he did.

“It’s possible,” says Simone, who explains she can’t remember everything that was said and that the whole photo shoot was just an awkward situation.

“You’re blind, in a slippery bathtub, wearing five inch heels, so I didn’t really take the criticism to heart as much as I was just focusing on trying to do my best.”

During the panel, the judges thought her photo looked contrived and that there was nothing special about it. Host Tyra Banks told her she wasn’t pushing enough.

“You seem to be stuck inside and can’t portray on the outside what you feel on the inside,” said Tyra, during the episode.

Even though she was eliminated as a result, Simone, who has very little prior modeling experience, says she is just happy to have gone through the experience of being on “ANTM.”

“The modeling industry was new to me so I definitely got some good exposure and the fact (that Tyra) was so optimistic definitely put some pep in my step and made me really happy.”

Winning a challenge at the headquarters of fashion website Bluefly.com in a previous episode also definitely helped her confidence, Simone says. She was chosen by the company’s president and creative director to be featured in their spring campaign after they were impressed with her beautiful face and “sparkle.”

“It really meant a lot to me,” says Simone.

Simone is currently studying International Comparative Studies at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and made frequent comments on “ANTM” that modeling was more difficult than academia.  

And while there are very few modeling opportunities in North Carolina, according to Simone, she hopes she’ll be living somewhere more conducive to the fashion industry this summer so she can continue to pursue her modeling dreams.