Supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley caused “huge drama” behind the scenes at “Project Runway All Stars” after negotiating hard for the job of host, then backing out just weeks before the start of filming.
Sources tell us the British beauty suddenly ditched the job — which would have seen her replacing Angela Lindvall in the host role — when she was confirmed at the last minute to appear in “Mad Max: Fury Road” and jetted off to Namibia to shoot with Riley Keough and Zoe Kravitz.
The show’s producers, the Weinstein Co., headed by President of Television Meryl Poster, had to scramble to find a new host and booked the face of Estée Lauder, Carolyn Murphy, just days before the cameras started rolling.
A source told us, “Literally days before filming, the show suddenly had no host. Rosie had been pushing really hard for the job. She’d charmed everyone. But then with less than three weeks to go, Rosie pulled out to do ‘Mad Max,’ creating a huge drama. It put the production in a terrible position, and the Weinstein Co. even threatened to sue Rosie.”
But CAA uber agent Kevin Huvane stepped in and smoothed over the situation — promising to provide talent to guest-star in the new season.
While a source close to Whiteley insisted to Page Six that “she was never fully committed to the project and there was no signed contract,” models, including Karolina Kurkova, Hilary Rhoda and Elaine Irwin /and designer Rachel Roy were hastily auditioned to take over. Murphy was signed after the Weinstein Co. appealed to IMG’s Ivan Bart.
The Lifetime show started filming in early June, with Georgina Chapman and Isaac Mizrahi as judges and Marie Claire’s Joanna Coles as the mentor. Guest stars have included Kylie Minogue, Stacy Keibler and Katie Holmes — who showed up for filming last Monday despite her dramatic divorce news.
The source added, “Everyone expected Katie to cancel, but she didn’t. She’s friendly and professional but didn’t say a word about her divorce.”