In 2005, Santino participated as a contestant on the
second season of the
Bravo reality show Project Runway, producing mixed results on the show. He won two challenges and was among the top three designs three more times. However, Rice was among the bottom two scores for four challenges. Ultimately, he lasted throughout the season and was one of three finalists selected to show at
Olympus Fashion Week in
New York City. He finished in third place, behind
Daniel Vosovic and
Chloe Dao.[3]
Rice became known for the abrasive persona that he presented on Project Runway, and he was often cited as the "villain" of the show.
After Project Runway, Rice was selected to be one of the judges of the
Miss Universe 2006 pageant. He was also asked by
MTV VJ
SuChin Pak to design her dress for the 2006
MTV Movie Awards. The following year, Rice made a guest appearance in the sixth episode of America's Most Smartest Model, in which he taught the contestants about fashion design.[4] As of 2008, he was creating a new cigarette pack design for
Camel, dressing a handful of elite private clients, and working on building his own clothing company.[5]
More recently, Rice has been cast in two main roles in reality television. From 2009 to 2014, he was a judge on the
Logo reality program RuPaul's Drag Race. Rice also starred in the
Lifetime show On the Road with Austin and Santino, alongside fellow Project Runway alumnus
Austin Scarlett.[6] The show premiered in 2010, following Rice and Scarlett as they visited various American small towns, designing clothing for women who have upcoming special occasions. Rice also played a minor role as a homeless man in the 2010 independent
queer cinema thriller L.A. Zombie.[citation needed]
Personal life
Rice has been referred to in the press as bisexual, but has said of his own sexual orientation, "You can just call me gay but I like men and I am attracted to beautiful women. I didn't like the negativity that was attached to being gay growing up so that is why I have problems with the label."
He has posted claims about the
COVID-19 virus and
vaccines on Twitter.[7] Rice has asserted that COVID-19 is a "man-made virus designed by European and American scientists" and that "what they are selling people isn't even a vaccine."[8][better source needed][failed verification] He also tweeted that "there is really no difference between injecting disinfectant or injecting a random vaccine"[9] and that "the virus was designed to kill and its 'v@ccine' is equally deadly."[10][11][12][13]
^
abMoore, Booth (26 July 2006). "Life After Project Runway". Newspapers.com. The Palm Beach Post, and Los Angeles Times. p. 1E, 8E. Retrieved 7 February 2022.