Tatiana becomes the eighth girl eliminated from UPN's 'Top Model 4'

Deemed as lacking poise and dimension, Tatiana, a 18-year-old waitress from Maui, HI, became the eighth girl eliminated from the fourth edition of America's Next Top Model during last night's UPN broadcast.


Top Model 4's eighth episode began with the remaining girls reacting to the previous episode's surprise double elimination of Rebecca and Tiffany and host Tyra Banks' subsequent explosive tirade. Returning to the loft, the girls didn't seem too upset to see Rebecca go, however their feelings were different with regard to Tiffany, the target of Tyra's highly emotional venting. "Tiffany could have won, she could have been the top model," lamented Michelle as the girls sat at a table discussing the events. "Everyone was rooting for her except for herself." added Naima.

Later, Tyra stopped by to try and do some damage control. While not apologizing for her behavior or expressing any regrets for the tone of her speech, she made it clear that she wanted the girls to "understand where I was coming from." The non-apologetic explanation apparently worked, with Tyra and the girls all sharing in a group hug at the conclusion of their conversation.

The next morning, the girls had a training session with Entertainment Tonight correspondent/anchor Jann Carl, during which Jann taught the remaining contestants how to deal with the media. Along the way, the girls discovered that interviewing was harder than they thought, with Jann providing constructive criticism as the girls interviewed each other. Returning to the set the next day, the girls discovered that they'd compete in a challenge in which they'd each get a chance to interview rapper, designer, and fellow UPN star Eve. After the interviews, Tatiana thought she'd win the challenge, however Jann didn't agree, naming Christina the winner and announcing that as her reward, Christina's interview segment would air on an upcoming Entertainment Tonight broadcast.

Upon returning to the loft, Kahlen learned that a high school friend had died -- a situation made even more uncomfortable by the following morning's disclosure that the girls' next photo shoot would take place at a local cemetery. After being transformed into the seven deadly sins, the girls were to be lowered into an open grave for dramatic high fashion photos.


After hearing a "they all look too alive" comment from the unknowning photographer, Kahlen lost it, breaking down in tears. With Kahlen refusing to tell Jay Manuel why she was crying, the task fell to Christina, who explained the situation to Jay. At the shoot, Tatiana had a hard time getting in character as the deadly sin Greed. "I'm kinda finding this sin a little difficult to convert into, because I'm not a greedy person," she explained. Photographer Johann Wolf was not impressed by Tatiana's efforts, commenting after the shoot, "On Tatiana's shoot there wasn't a lot of dimension -- I think she could have pushed it a little further."

During the week's elimination panel, the girls were challenged to keep their cool while acting as spokesmodels at a press conference promoting a fictional America's Next Top Model fashion line. The judges, including guest judge Johann Wolf, bombarded the girls with prying personal questions and outrageous gossip that seemed to make Tatiana nervous and uncomfortable. During judging, Janice remarked to Tatiana, "As a spokesperson, you were showing us a very boring side of you."

After the girls left the room, the judges determined that although Tatiana was beautiful and photogenic, she lacked the poise necessary to become the next America's Next Top Model winner. After her elimination, Tatiana commented, "This competition meant a lot to me -- I just wish I had gone further. I know that I take gorgeous pictures, I just can't really handle myself when I get nervous."