Kathy Ireland was inexplicably chosen by ABC to interview stars on the red carpet ahead of the Oscars on Sunday. Sherri Shepherd was also on interview duty and she did a great job. Unlike Kathy, Sherri was fun, personable and laid back with the celebrities and seemed like she was having the time of her life. Kathy was nice enough, but she was obviously reading off a teleprompter and looked stiff and out of her element. It’s unclear why Kathy was chosen for the job. Sherri has obvious experience interviewing celebrities as a panelist on The View while Kathy is known primarily as an ex model and entrepreneur who was on Dancing with The Stars.

Anyway Kathy, 46, has been tweeting about her experience at the Oscars and denies that she was on anything, or that she’s pregnant, as a couple of people wondered on Twitter. Kathy wore an unfortunate Herve Leger-type tight banded dress that emphasized her very slight tummy. (You can’t even see it in these photos, and it was only visible from certain angles.)

Kathy Ireland is firing back at critics who are slamming her appearance on ABC’s pre-Oscar special.

At times, the swimsuit model, 46, appeared stiff and awkward as she interviewed celebs like Zac Efron and Precious’ Gabourey Sidibe.

“No One Reads a Teleprompter Like Kathy,” screamed a TMZ headline. A Gawker editor called her a “travesty.”

But viewers on Twitter were much harsher.

One person called Ireland the best “hot mess” ever and made fun of her “stiff arm” and weird questions. “Best use of medication,” the person added.

Said another: “Kathy Ireland is freakin me out!” She’s a “great model,” one person also Twittered, but a “brutal pre-Oscar interview.”

Via Twitter, Ireland took time out to reply to all of her haters individually. (She even justified to one fan why her right hand looked so stiff: “Child care and gardening can make hands a little rough,” she explained.)

Ireland Twittered that she “cannot please everyone…and frankly I wouldn’t ever want to.”

“Don’t feel embarrassed for me,” she Twittered to another fan. “Had a blast and it was so much FUN!”

She said she thought it was “great for people 2B honest” because it helps her “learn & grow.”

But the mother-of-three was careful to stress that she wasn’t under the influence, as many people on Twitter suggested.

“No meds or alcohol Angel===just J.O.Y.!” she wrote to one fan, telling another: “Never use drugs and that as a Mom is not a cool or funny suggestion.”

She later added: “Some say I looked pregnant.LOL! Not true…others say I was drinking…would LOL if it were not so sad. Just excited 2 be involved. Grateful.”

But don’t expect her to take on regular hosting gigs.

Said Ireland (the CEO of Kathy Ireland World Wide, a $1.4 billion design empire): “I won’t give up my day job of design.”

[From US Weekly]

She’s staying positive and upbeat about the experience and isn’t defensive or upset about the criticism at all. I admire that, but I’ve also followed Kathy’s tweets from time to time and she’s so Pollyanna-ish and over-the-top that it seems like a put on. It’s not, and I guess she’s just that cloyingly sweet.

Despite her minor setback, Kathy isn’t ruling out future gigs interviewing celebrities. She tweets “had fun and am frankly surprised by all the discussion about it. May have to host more often:)!” Oh Kathy, you may chose to see the world through rose-colored glasses, but sometimes it’s best to take them off and stick with what you’re good at. Barring that, there’s no shame in asking for help.

Here’s Kathy interviewing Morgan Freeman and Zac Efron. If the video below is blocked for you, you can view it on YouTube. (sorry Heb!)