Last night’s episode of America’s Next Top Model confirmed something to me: Tyra Banks has it in for me. She lulls me into a false sense of security last week by chastising (former?) front runner Brittani for her nasty fight with Alexandria and then…she drops the hammer on me by eliminating the last really likable contestant on the show. I see how you roll, Miss Tyra.
Yes, apparently Tyra reads my thoughts on the show, takes a sip of her Evian, and evilly laughs while deciding to come for my throat because last night, she eliminated my favorite southern belle, Jaclyn. Not only did she eliminate somebody with the rare one-two punch of talent and personality, but she eliminated her right before heading off to the international destination of Morocco.
As an aside, can I say how much I simultaneously laughed-rolled my eyes at Tyra holding up a giant white “C” while talking about “SEEing where you go overSEAS”? I’m still a sucker for a sight gag. Judge me.
But I’m not here to talk about Tyra giving me the giggles. I’m here to let you know that eliminating Jaclyn was a bad move for the show. Here’s why.
First of all, I don’t think that Molly’s body of work is sooooooo ahead of Jaclyn’s, which Tyra mentioned at the Final Two Showdown of Doom. I mean, they’re both very good models, but if two people with similar books walk into (a bar) the same agency for the same job and one of them is personable and bubbly while the other is sullen and crabby, who will book the job? Common sense will say the personable one, no? Of course, you have people like Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista who were extremely successful models despite poor reputations, but they seem to be the exception and not the rule. Unless you’re packing some superhuman posing ability (which, of course, would be my ideal superpower, though finding a radioactive model to bite me is hard work), you can’t really rest on the pouty model stereotype and expect to find work. As good as Molly is in front of the camera, her antics behind the camera lead me to believe that she will have trouble booking gigs unless she straightens up.
Going off of that, to paraphrase my favorite biracial butterfly Jade, this is not America’s Next Top Behavioral Therapy Patient. While I understand that Molly’s…personal issues don’t make her a lost cause, per se, I think that the top 6 is a little late to be addressing something that’s been very prevalent since day one on the show and there’s no way she can undo what’s likely been years of bad behavior in a matter of a few weeks. If I were Tyra, I would be petrified to send someone like Molly out into the world and represent my show, at least not right now. These girls need to be mostly ready to get out into the world and Molly's one of the girls this cycle that I think needs some serious work before she attempts a professional modeling career. If she was a little more put together, I think she would be an ideal candidate to win the show because her portfolio is very strong, but as Tyra has informed us countless times, being a model is more than taking good pictures. Molly booked two go-sees, but she didn’t book two go-sees and if the clients from the two she didn’t book talk to two of their friends about this girl they saw today and how pissy she was and so on, a reputation spreads fast and can knock a career out before it really begins. Again, I don’t think Molly is anything close to being a lost cause, but I think that yesterday was her time to go.
Tyra Banks, you win this round. I made the foolish mistake of announcing that I was driver of the Jaclyn bandwagon and for that, I’ll have to pay the price of losing a likable contestant. As to who I’m championing now? I’ll never tell.
America’s Next Top Model is moving to its new timeslot next week. You can now catch yesterday’s episode next week at 8:00 (in case you missed it or want to relive the foolishness) and the brand new episode at 9:00.
We’re now international, Top Model fans. Tell me, who are you rooting for? Was sending home Jaclyn the right move? Was anybody else (almost) rooting for Alexandria at the go-sees?
