GlossMagazineOnline (GMO): Tell us more about the advocacy you do for young girls ages 14-21.
Kai: I’m not a skinny girl; I’m a healthy child. With society nowadays, they make it seem like you have to be skinny, otherwise you’re not pretty. I feel like I can talk to most girls and let them know you can still have the confidence of a supermodel even though you’re not that size. If you have confidence, that will help you succeed in so many different areas of life; it’ll help you in your relationships, it’ll help you in your career, it’ll help you in your life and it just helps you all around.
GMO: Do you think it’s more important for you to be a plus-size or regular size model?
Kai: I don’t because most people don’t realize when you see plus-size models, you see a girl that’s about a size 12 or 14. To me, it’s just thick, it’s not plus-size. I don’t think I’ll ever be skinny; I don’t want to be skinny.
GMO: What kind of work have you done with these girls?
Kai: We’re trying to get seminars together now.
GMO: What are you currently working on?
Kai: Right now the main thing that I’m focusing on is my modeling and maintaining my weight because I’m in between “normal” and plus-size so I’m trying to figure out where I want to go with that. School—that’s my main focus, as well trying to get out of school. [Laughs]. Work--I’m starting to do events, going to parties, and we just got the news today that The Real McCoy aired at 1.6 million viewers.
GMO: Are you with an agency now?
Kai: No, I’m not with an agency right now. I’m trying to focus more on me. I feel like you have to work on yourself first before you can [dedicate] yourself to anything else. I’ve had plenty of offers, I just don’t feel like at this point in time I’m ready or that I need to be signed.
GMO: What do you plan to do once you graduate from college?
Kai: I used to have my whole little five-year plan together, but because so many things have been changing, I feel like my life’s career is on a different path now. So at this point in time, I’m starting back at square one. I don’t really know exactly what I want to do or how I want to do it anymore. I’m just taking it day by day. No matter how major anything gets, I definitely want to finish school.
GMO: Do you feel any pressure because of who your mother is?
Kai: I don’t think there’s a certain amount of pressure because I feel like people think I get [ahead] because of it. I do get connections because of it, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t work for what I get and what I do. You work, I work, and we all have to get our money somehow.
GMO: You studied abroad in London and Switzerland. How was that?
Kai: It was really cool; I went through my last two years of high school in Switzerland. I graduated when I was 17, so being there since I was almost 16 it was crazy being on your own you have to grow up. I’m an only child, so I’ve always been independent, but that’s a whole new level. It was so much fun! At first I didn’t like it, but my reasoning wasn’t right. I missed my friends [but] I came back to realize that most of my friends were doing the same thing that they were doing before.
GMO: How long has it been since you’ve been to Chicago?
Kai: I was born in Chicago. That’s my hometown. I live in L.A. now so I’m back and forth. I go home to Chicago maybe every three months.
GMO: How old were you when you officially moved away from Chicago?
Kai: I was maybe 9. I was 9, but you know I haven’t been in L.A. my whole life. When I was 13, I moved to Houston,and then like I said when I was 15 and a half, I moved to Switzerland so I’ve been everywhere.
GMO: How do you feel having the cameras follow you all the time?
Kai: At first it was kind of awkward but [then] you get used to it. You become like family with your crew members. They’re always there, and it’s like being with your friends all day.
GMO: Are you videotaped every day?
Kai: Three or four days out of a week. It was originally supposed to be a 28-day shoot, but it ended up being three months because it was so spread out.
GMO: How has it been growing up as the daughter of LisaRaye?
Kai: You know what, a lot of people ask me that and it’s crazy, but that’s my mom!
GMO: How is it juggling relationships?
Kai: With friends, it’s a bit hard because you never know what their motive is; you never know what they want. You have to kind of scope people out; it’s a trial and error type of thing. Certain people I can’t take certain places, certain people I can’t do certain things with. It’s just, you never know. In high school, I made my own friends, I’m very sociable, I made my own friends, everything was fine, and then I had a talent show and my mom came up to the talent show and you just noticed how people treated me differently after they realized who she was to me.
GMO: Did you like being the only child?
Kai: I love being the only child because my dad has other kids so it’s like when I want a brother and sister, I can call them up.
GMO: Explain what you mean about not just wanting to be looked at as LisaRaye’s daughter.
Kai: I’ll see someone and they’ll say Kai, Lisa Raye’s daughter. That’s not my name. I have my own identity; I’m doing my own thing. I don’t want to be looked at as just Lisa Raye’s daughter. Yeah, that’s who I am as well, and it shouldn’t be a label on me.
GMO: Do you plan on getting into acting anytime soon?
Kai: Not really because I feel like with acting, I feel like I know everything per say. I feel like I’ve been through it already because I was always on set, I was always there. I was always with her at auditions, and I always helped her with her lines, so I feel like there’s nothing else for me to learn about acting.
GMO: How is your aunt Da Brat?
Kai: It’s actually Da Brat’s birthday today (April 14). We’re praying for her. We talked to her and she’s doing so good.
GMO: Everyone already knows who LisaRaye is. When people say Kai Moroe, what do you want to come to mind?
Kai: I want them to think of someone that is not only a pretty face but is also trying to do things. I want them to understand that I’m not just one dimensional. I want them to understand that [I’m] doing something. Nowadays with some many people being so young minded, a lot of people aren’t doing a lot of things, and I want to let people know that I’m one of those girls that has her head on straight that has beauty and brains and [I’m] going to do something with it.