America's Next Top Model 7 - Episode 10 Summary

'Sorry, Sorry, Sorry' By Belinda Trotter-James

This was the “sorry” show.  Caridee was sorry about being disrespectful to Nigel.  Michelle is sorry for herself because she does not know if modeling is the right career move and Tyra is sorry everyone is “sorry”…. Sheesh… read on for the sorry details…

Tyra checks in on her protégées for a pep talk on the harsh reality of the modeling industry.  “It is very difficult to improve on your product”, begins Tyra.  “Actors can take acting classes, singers can get vocal training but, it can be difficult to improve on you.  America’s Next Top Model acts as a coach to make you as strong as you can be.”

Is she kidding?  Being on top model is like throwing a rock into a swimming pool and hoping it will float.  This is the eighth week of the competition and neither Amanda nor Michelle can walk a runway.  The girls have access to Ms. Jay, the number one runway trainer in the world at our fingertips sitting on the judging panel.  Why?  He should be whipping those girls in shape daily.  The girls have no training before the shoot or before the cycle started.  They wait until the actual shoot to try and give them little to no direction to be fair to the other girls.  If you are trying to mold girls into supermodels, they need to have more direction than they are given.  In a radio interview, Ms. Jay said that they do not see the girls until the judging.  Why?  When the girls’ don’t perform well on a shoot, they get criticized to the point of no return. Why are the girls’ responsible for knowing what to do as if they were seasoned models?

Tyra asked the girls which criticisms affected them the most and Caridee replied that one of the judges said she looked drunk. Are the judges trying to be sarcastic comedians? Melrose said the judges thought she photographed old.  I’m sure they took photos of Melrose before she became one of the top 13.  Didn’t they see that she photographs old at that time?  Michelle remembers a judge saying that she looks like a four year old girl in her mother’s shoes.  That’s because no one on Tyra’s team taught the girls to walk in heels. Duh.  Eugena does not like when the judges say they are disappointed in her performance.  She is an armature.  The judges should be very disappointed.  Mr. Jay told Amanda that she should not be in the competition…. Hmmm …. And Jay should not be on the set pretending to be a photo director.  Isn’t he a makeup artist?

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Then Tyra goes on to say that she will sacrifice herself until the girls are groomed as supermodels.  “I’m your mama coach and I don’t care if you hate me for putting you through things”, says Tyra.  “It’s the worst feeling in the world to be critiqued as you go through it, but I don’t care how mad you get at me.”  It’s a sorry show when the girls are left alone to train themselves.  This show is not training…It’s only opportunity.

As a model, go sees are a very important part of daily life.  The girls’ first challenge is to go on as many go sees as possible and get back by 6pm.  The designers will be looking at the girls’ appearance, personality, the way they walk and their portfolio.  Since the girls did not want to travel in a strange place alone Caridee and Eugena paired up and the twins paired up with each other.  Melrose traveled alone and preferred it that way.  “This is a competition and I don’t want the girls tagging along with me”, says Melrose.  The plan worked because Melrose was the only girl to get to the most go sees.  The twins had a horrible time trying to read the foreign signs and follow the map to get them to their destination.  It took them one hour to reach their first go see.  At the showroom it looked as though the girls needed major help in their runway walking techniques.  Melrose looked like a galloping horse.  Everyone came back on time except for the twins.  When they arrived a half hour to forty-five minutes late, they were promptly disqualified from the challenge.  Michelle cried uncontrollably and told Amanda that she does not know if she can do this anymore.  She is a sorry emotional wreck for no real reason.  Apparently Michelle did not get the memo that read she was disqualified from the challenge…not the competition.  Anyway, Melrose won a personal chef for the evening and invited Caridee to join her for dinner.

The next task challenged the girls’ fear of shooting in an arena with a bull…a real live bull!  The girls were told that Nigel, one of the judges, would be the photographer on the set.  While everyone was setting up Caridee says to Nigel, “Did you pull the stick out of your ass after last week’s panel.”  Oh No she didn’t say that to a judge.  Apparently the girls felt Nigel was a bit stiff in his comments last week and Caridee felt comfortable enough with Nigel to joke around with him on the set.  As it turns out, Nigel did not appreciate Caridee’s sense of humor and was highly offended.  Was Nigel offended because the stick was up his ass or that Caridee said on national television that the stick was up his ass?  You be the judge.  Nigel was so offended that he told Tyra, Mr. Jay and probably the entire crew.  After the girls finished with hair and makeup, Mr. Jay announced to Caridee in front of the other girls that her remark was rude and disrespectful.  Now, why would Jay say that before a shoot?  Caridee could not get it together and it affected the outcome of her shoot.  I think they create conflict with the girls on purpose to create drama on the show.  I guess Caridee was trying to build a relationship with Nigel and got too comfortable.  We realize that the judges are the constant component in the girls lives since they are away from home, however, Caridee forgot that she was not talking to a classmate or a friend.  She was talking to someone who can make or break her career.  I guess mamma Tyra did not give her the memo.

As we go into the elimination ceremony, we are treated to a portfolio moment with Tyra when she had to do a bull shoot.  The closest Tyra got to a bull was wearing his horns.  The photo showed Tyra wearing bull horns.  The girls risk their lives by being in the same air space as a bull and all Tyra had to do in her career was wear bull horns.  Give me a break.  When the final photo was shown, we find that the bull was digitally placed next to each contestant.  If this is true, why did they have to risk their life to be in the arena with the bull?

At the judging ceremony the girls were asked to be the judges and reveal who they thought had the most potential and the least potential.  Michelle selected herself as being the weakest because she does not know if she has what it takes.  Tyra told her that she has a talent that comes natural when she is in front of the camera.  If Michelle wants to go home, she did a very good job of putting her foot in her mouth.  When it was Caridee’s turn to speak, she pulled out and read an apology letter for speaking out of line to Nigel.  Tyra said she heard of the incident and felt Caridee was rude, disrespectful and people who do things like that are sent home.  Nigel really blew this way out of proportion and acted like he really did not want to accept Caridee’s apology.  Tyra is quick to tell Caridee that people get sent home, but did not send the male model home last week who disrespected Jadea and black women in general.  On Tyra’s talk show she did a show on racism and said she would try to do what she could through her show to stop racial tension.  I guess she forgets what she says on both shows.  Someone needs to give Tyra a memo.  In the end the twins ended up in the bottom two.  I was looking forward to having the first twin model winners.  Michelle is the ninth girl to loose a chance at becoming America’s Next Top Model.

What do you think Dalia? 

I think that the bull shoot was way too dangerous.  Things happen in a split second and one of the girls could have been badly hurt.  They should have gone to one of the beautiful buildings found in Spain, the park or anywhere… its Spain for goodness sake.  Didn’t they watch the “When Animals Attack” show?  One moment the animal is calm and the next moment he is trying to rip your head off.  We have no real control over an animal’s behavior.  Caridee should have know better not to speak to a judge in that tone no matter how close you think your relationship has developed.  There are certain things I say to my boss and then there are certain things that I say to my friends that I would never say to my boss.  Tyra should stop talking out both sides of her neck and stick to one show.  She says one thing on top model and then totally contradicts herself on her talk show.  She should know that top model fans do look at the talk show as well.  I’m done.

I will be interviewing Michelle and cannot wait to see how she is doing now.  

Who will be the next to be eliminated?  Stay tuned and email me with your questions at modeldigest@aol.com

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