The question on everyone's lips is: did Brittany over-exaggerate her short term memory loss on Top Model's recent disastrous photo shoot? Or is she telling the truth?Either way, that girl is gone. Following a major emotional breakdown on the stairs of a modeling agency, Brittany was eliminated from America's Next Top Model this week. Which is sad on the one hand, because she does photograph so amazingly well. But get her in a room and she just falls completely flat on her arse. It didn't help that she was so awkward at the go-sees and couldn't pull herself together enough to walk properly... or to maintain a conversation with the designers. But the stunt she pulled after she failed to return by 4:30 pm was inexcusable. Even if the cab driver had failed to turn up at the discussed location. (BTW, she never did specify that he should meet her.)
Brit had a full blown temper tantrum, complete with thrown items (her portfolio), misdirected anger (at the cab driver and Natasha), and one hell of a potty mouth. I was shocked and appalled that she would behave in such a childish way, especially given the fact that standing less than five feet away from her was this week's guest judge Priscilla Leighton-Clark, attempting to award the top prize this week to Jaslene, who managed to win both the challenge (her first) and the photo shoot.
I'm still not sure what to think about Brit's poor performance in the Cover Girl commercial two weeks ago. She claimed she couldn't remember the lines (despite cue cards), thanks to the short term memory loss she sustained when she was hit by a car at age 17, but--as Dionne pointed out--somehow managed to remember every single line of the acting challenge (sans cue cards, natch). Hmmm, curious. Too many excuses in the end, especially given the fact that not a single designer would have booked her, a first in Top Model history.
I'm a little miffed about Tyra's comment that Renee looks like a "catalogue girl," which I found to be derisive and outright offensive, especially as I thought her two photographs this week were easily the strongest (and by far better than Jaslene's or Natasha's). It looked like editorial work of the highest caliber; her men's magazine shot was sexy and sultry and her women's mag photo was graceful and soft. In the latter, she pulled off a difficult pose that she came up with on her own and managed to make it appear elegant and fluid. To me, she nailed the brief. Plus, she's more than a little canny: upon learning that a designer had just had a baby, she slipped a pic of herself and her son into her portfolio. Clever girl.
Dionne... looked stunning in the photograph with Jaslene that Nigel took up on the Sydney Harbour Bridge but her photos have gotten so boring and lackluster. Plus, I cannot believe that no one at the judging panel even brought up the fact that she asked every single designer if she could keep the clothes she tried on. Um, Dionne, maybe you can ask that AFTER you book the gig and do your job, but not before. Sheesh. I was really hoping this would come back to bite her in the end. Her Grace Jones mean face is just not cutting it in this competition anymore.
As for Natasha, her photographs have gotten better as the competition has moved along, but I just have such a hard time thinking of her as a model. It just doesn't work for me. Plus, her tendency to do (as Tyra and Jay coined it) the turtle, combined with her near-constant model mouth, leave me confused by her. She needs a lot more work with posing and posture in order to do this professionally.
Jaslene's photos were good, but I didn't think they were strong enough to win, but she's regained her strength again. I do think she has a tendency to be a little too drag queen at times, but she's trying to rein in those OTT poses. And she did make a good impression on the designers and with the photographers.
So who do you think should win this competition? Will it be the sultry Russian, the blonde bombshell from Hawaii, the sassy Latina, or the mean automaton?
Next week on America's Next Top Model ("The Girl Who Does Not Want to Dance"), the final four models learn a valuable lesson about self-expression and storytelling from some Aboriginals and, when Natasha gets sick, the other three girls spent a night on the town trashing Nata behind her back.
Comments
I was rooting for Britney, but...
It is curious that she was able to do the acting challenge.
And her tantrum was unacceptable, especially since, as editing CLEARLY showed, she didn't tell her cabbie to meet her. She only told him where she was going.
But why Natasha?
Well, let's go through the rest:
Renee: Hate her.
Jaslene: Not a big fan in general, but specifically she is way too drag queen and way too skinny for my tastes.
Dionne - she had it going on for a while, but she's lost it. It's ridiculous that she keeps coming to panel with that bang in her face. Tyra was pretty clear about that and you don't cross Tyra!
Natasha has really grown on me. I wanted her gone week one. And week two. But somewhere along the way she grew on me. She is always smiling, and she takes beautiful pictures. Plus, she used to be a poor orphan in war-torn Russian, or whatever, so you have to root for her (LOVED her comment to Britney - "Well, in some places there is war."). Also, it will be worth it just to see her "My life as a covergirl" commercials.
In both the Renee hate and Natasha love.