'Runway' winner, Jay McCarroll, refuses his prize money

For aspiring fashion designers, Bravo’s “Project Runway� offers a dream opportunity to its winner: $100K towards starting your own label. But could the money come with its fair share of problems? This seems to be the case for season one winner, Jay McCarroll. Just as season two of the hit show begins, McCarroll has confessed that he is refusing his prize money in order to have more creative freedom.

McCarroll was the dark horse of last season. His often wild looks never took home first place in the show’s weekly competitions, but they were never singled out as particularly poor either. Perhaps what allowed McCarroll to win over the competition was his persona. In an industry where colorful personalities rule (e.g., Karl Lagerfeld and Heatherette’s Richie Rich and Traver Rains), Jay fits right in. In fact, his portrayal as the lovable bitch on season one has won him many fans and his own one-hour documentary, “Project Jay,� which will air on Bravo in February. With all this success, he hardly needs the money.

But why give up everything he earned? Technically, Jay’s not allowed to talk about his refusal of the winnings. In an email correspondence with the Washington Post, McCarroll said, “Use your imagination there for I am not allowed to talk about it." The article goes on to say that “[Jay] did not dispute the suggestion that, perhaps, there were too many strings attached to such a windfall.�