Georgia McCann is Next Gen NYC‘s breakout star. As a fourth-generation New Yorker, the brand and events creative strategist has carved out her place in this world, remaining unapologetically herself in the dramatic group of Gen Z nepo babies. First seen combing her hair with a fork in the premiere episode, McCann went on to turn heads by revealing she’s “pro germ” and does not wash her hands. Like Riley Burruss, Bravo fans had a strong reaction to McCann’s unconventional way of boosting her immune system — however, she doesn’t regret sharing her controversial take on hand-washing.

“My mom was dying laughing when that episode came out,” McCann told Decider in a recent interview. “She was like, ‘You’ve always been like this. You were the healthiest kid. You were a nail-biter, and we lived in New York City. There was no way you weren’t going to have germ exposure and tons of it.’ I’m very healthy, so I stand by it.” 

McCann is so New York City she makes Carrie Bradshaw seem like an out-of-towner — I mean, the girl literally didn’t leave Manhattan Island for “two years” at one point, telling us, “I feel like everyone needs to touch grass once in a while, but I don’t feel that way.” Not only does she rule the downtown scene when she’s out clubbing with a glass of red wine in hand, but also in her professional life. The rookie reality star was the creative mind behind Anna Delvey’s house arrest party, which was thrown at the convicted fraudster’s East Village apartment after she returned home from prison.

“When I came up with the concept, I knew if it was executed well, it would be talked about for years to come in interviews like this,” McCann said. “It’s one of those rare times in life where your vision was like exactly what panned out.”

When McCann stopped by our studio this week, she also spoke about her “brother-sister” relationship with Next Gen NYC “villain” Charlie Zakkour, why she decided to sign onto a reality television show, and the advice she received from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Meredith Marks. Check out the full interview below.

DECIDER: Georgia, I’m so excited to talk to you about Next Gen NYC. Did you ever think you’d be on reality TV? What made you decide to sign on to this? 

GEORGIA MCCANN: Not many people know this, but I went to film school and I thought I’d be behind the camera. I literally have said this a million times: I thought I would be behind the camera and I’m in front of the camera, which is really, really weird. I did not expect that, but life takes you in strange places. This whole thing was coming about last spring, and I didn’t have any travel plans for the summer. I was like, “Why not film a reality TV show?”

Did you ever watch any Bravo shows beforehand? 

I’ve seen a little Summer House and I’ve seen a little Below Deck and I love it. But I haven’t kept up with the new seasons. That’s most of my exposure with Bravo. 

I think you have such an interesting background. Can you talk a bit about what it was like working on Anna Delvey’s house arrest party?

I will give myself this. When I came up with the concept, I knew if it was executed well, it would be talked about for years to come in interviews like this. I had a vision and it’s one of those rare times in life where your vision was exactly what panned out. You know what I mean? You have something in your mind and then it’s exactly what you wanted it to be. Anna and I had some mutual friends and I just came up with this idea over lunch with a friend, like, “What if we turned her apartment into the hottest nightclub in New York for one night only?” Because she was under house arrest in the East Village. My friend loved the idea and he introduced me to Anna and she was super into it. She was like, “Hell yeah, why not? Let’s do it.” And then we just kind of got it together. It was a very low lift. I had a friend sponsor it. We didn’t have a ton of budget. I got a neon sign that said “Club House Arrest,” I had security downstairs, which was chaos. There were like 100 people on the street, including newscasters trying to break into the apartment. It was crazy. And then we had some amazing friends DJ, like Frost Children, Alice Longyu Gao. It was also the funniest mix of people in attendance. It was Cynthia Rowley, with Cat Marnell, with models, with me. It was a really, really fun party. I was about to take my top off, like, dancing on the speaker. 

Are you still in touch with Anna? Did you see her on Dancing with the Stars?

A little bit. I did. We did the party. We stayed in touch, but she did the remainder of her house arrest upstate with Kelly Cutrone. Honestly, I need to reach out. I need to see how that girl’s doing. 

I want to jump into everything going on in the show. The cast is pretty split in terms of reality TV experience. Obviously, the Bravo kids are very used to being in front of cameras. Were they helpful through the process?

That’s a good question. I think it was new for everyone, because although they had been on Bravo before, this was the first time they were doing their own show that they were leading in. So this was definitely a new experience for them as well, where they’re responsible for showing up and filming. It was kind of new for everyone in a sense. I think Brooks’s mom, Meredith – she’s Brooks’ mom to me, she’s Meredith Brooks to everyone else – was giving really good advice just about getting comments after the show came out and how to make the most of the opportunity. She was great to get advice from. But it was genuinely, I think, a new experience for everyone. We were all kind of trial by fire. 

There’s some drama that starts early on between you and Riley when you tell her that you don’t always wash your hands. Do you think she was being a little too hard on you?

First of all, there was a lot of alcohol in my system. No, I think for me, that was literally my first time meeting her, and I was just surprised that someone, even if they were harboring those feelings, would actually call someone out. We were in the bathroom and she was standing in front of me like, “You’re not going to wash your hands?” And I was like, “OK, I just met you.” If someone I knew [or] a friend was telling me that, it would have been funny. But it was just a little weird [that] someone I’d never met said that. Lowkey, I would rather you shit talk me behind my back. I think I was just surprised that someone would say something, honestly. I don’t think anyone really expected for that to create so much discourse. It’s really getting to know people on the internet.

I think it’s like a classic New Yorker thing. You grew up here. You’re used to the germs.

My mom was dying laughing when that episode came out. She was like, “You’ve always been like this. You were the healthiest kid. You were a nail-biter, and we lived in New York City. There was no way you weren’t going to have germ exposure and tons of it.” I’m very healthy, so I stand by it. 

Riley and Charlie have also been feuding the last few episodes. As one of Charlie’s closest friends, do you find it hard to defend him sometimes? 

Yes, absolutely. Charlie’s a tough cookie where it’s very hard to verbally go against him. It’s honestly better that I just don’t say anything. I don’t know. It was stressful, honestly, during the process where he was doing and saying things I didn’t really agree with. I’m [also] getting pushback from him and these really outrageous expectations of unwavering loyalty, even though we’re in this setting and I don’t agree with him. It was a little stressful, honestly. 

Would you consider Charlie to be the show’s villain this season? 

I think so. We were getting asked this before the show aired. Everyone was like, “Who do you think the villain’s gonna be?” And everyone was like, “Charlie,” without a second thought. I get into beef with people later on. It’s highs and lows for everyone, but I’d say consistently, Charlie’s in the hot seat. 

You revealed that one of Charlie’s first girlfriends was Lindsay Lohan. How did he break that news to you? 

God, I don’t remember. To him, it’s so in his past. He doesn’t talk about it that often. He’s not picking up girls saying he dated Lindsay Lohan. He said it, I think, completely in passing. He said, “Oh, well, you know, Lindsay, blah, blah.” And I was like, “Who’s Lindsay?” And my friend was like, “He’s talking about Lindsay Lohan.” It’s not a thing to him.

Right. That was a big name drop there in the first episode. 

I know, it’s really not a thing for him. I don’t know how to describe it better.

I guess if you’re friends with somebody, you don’t get as starstruck. 

Exactly. Charlie’s actually not that clouty. I think he pursues more people with wealth than with fame, I’ve noticed. So I think he doesn’t care about Lindsay Lohan at all. I do.

In a preview for next week’s episode, your friendship with Charlie seems to take a turn when he calls you stupid and delusional and claims you wouldn’t be on the show if it weren’t for him. What can you say about that? 

The argument comes up from the stupidest thing you could possibly imagine. I won’t spoil what it is, but it’s really silly how this whole argument came to fruition. He’s absolutely right. I would not be on the show without him. So what? Who cares? I think when that fight happened, that was my first time ever standing up for myself to Charlie genuinely. I’ve always, in the past, just let so much slide with him. I remember all day I knew I was gonna see him, and I had a feeling we were either gonna not talk about it at all or it was gonna come up. I emotionally prepared myself, like, “OK, if this comes up and he says anything, I’m standing up for myself this time.” And I did. That whole interaction was very, very genuine. I was shaking after that fight. He was crazy … He took it way too far. We both were slinging some really personal insults.

Is your friendship like a brother-sister thing where you say stuff when you’re mad and you don’t mean it and then you get over it? Or did you need a time to forgive him? 

I would say we resemble a brother-sister relationship, for sure. It’s also funny. I have a brother and his name is also Charlie. So there’s at-home Charlie and life Charlie. They both feel like brothers to me. We just have a very brother-sister relationship. But I mean, after that fight, it wasn’t like we were fine the next day. We didn’t speak for, I think, a couple of weeks after that. 

As a fourth-generation New Yorker, you said you’re the most cut-out person for New York that you’ve ever met. What do you base that judgment on? And besides yourself, who in your cast is the most cut-out for the city? 

I don’t know if I’m the most cut-out in New York history. That’s a little [bit of a] bold statement. I consider myself very adaptable, very nine-lives. Also, New York is crazy. It’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s just overwhelming and I love it. That gives me energy. I didn’t leave Manhattan Island for like two years at one point. I didn’t feel like I needed to at all. I feel like everyone needs to touch grass once in a while, but I don’t feel that way, honestly. It’s never bothered me. So I think that’s kind of what I meant. Charlie’s also a New Yorker. I think he handles it well. He’s meant for the city, I would say. I think Ava [Dash] is very much meant for New York, too.

Who do you think had the most trouble integrating? 

It’s hard to say. I don’t know too much about Riley’s transition into New York. I know she went to NYU, so she’s been here for a few years. I’d say Ariana [Biermann] was the freshest person to New York, but I think she handled it really well. Emira [D’Spain] doesn’t walk or take public transport. I think that’s bizarre, honestly. I don’t know. But besides that, I think everyone’s fine.

In the first episode, we saw you comb your hair with a fork. Are there any other life hacks that you can share with us?

I do not condone using a fork to brush your hair. I just was really in a pinch. I was late for an event. My apartment was a mess. I couldn’t find my hairbrush anywhere. So I was like, “Uhhh, fork!” And then I started combing my hair. I didn’t know it’d be in every preview and every trailer and be part of my identity now. I don’t have any other hacks. You shouldn’t take advice from me.

Can I just say that it’s nice to see somebody go out to a club and have red wine? Because I do the same exact thing.

I only drink red wine. I don’t drink liquor. I hate beer. I’m absolutely going to have a glass of red wine in my hand as often as possible. Not many clubs have good wine menus because people don’t want to drink wine at the club, I guess. I’m like, “Why the heck not?” I mean, it is very precocious to totter around with a glass of red wine in the club. 

What else can you tease about what’s to come the rest of this season?

There’s a lot of ups and downs amongst everyone in the show. There’s a lot of real personal problems that come up, which is very interesting and real. I think it’s very interesting watching everyone who seemingly has it together or seemingly has things handed to them just dealing with life. I always say everyone goes through the mud differently. It’s interesting. It’s funny, too. We do a lot of bizarre activities. We’re trapezing at one point. We’re doing all sorts of activities. It’s fun. 

I can’t wait to see the rest of it. I think the show is so good!

It’s so cool that people are watching it and enjoying it. I’m so grateful that I could provide entertainment for people. It’s cool. It’s such a privilege, honestly. If it’s helping people zone out or it’s making people laugh or just forget about their life, it’s such a blessing.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Next Gen NYC airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo. New episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.