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September 25, 2008

'America's Next Top Model': Isis sent home after double elimination

Marylander Isis, the first transgendered contestant, was eliminated from America's Next Top Model after failing the produce a stunning photo during a shoot that required her to pose in the water.

Isis told the judges that she was worried about her man parts falling out of her bathing suit. It distracted her from her mission, which was a photo shoot where the models posed with the top of their heads peaking out of the water.

Isis cried during her confessional and promised to work on all the pointers the judges had given to her throughout the competition.

 

(Photo: Mike Rosenthal/Pottle Productions)

Isis wasn't the only contestants to make an exit. The episode started with the girls strutting their stuff during a fashion show for designer Jeremy Scott. The twist was that the girls were blindfolded for the challenge. Another surprise was that Jay Manuel and J Alexander voted to eliminate the weakest performer, which happened to be Hannah. She had a horrible walk. It was the first time I could recall a contestant getting sent home before panel judging. 

With Miss Alaska going back to Palin land, the models were ready to take on the water photo shoot with the guest photographer, judge Nigel Barker.

Isis appeared to struggle; everyone else, except for Elina, seemed to excel. But Elina had a strong runway showing and was near-perfect during last week's photo shoot, which meant that Samantha was up against Isis in the bottom two. Samantha didn't do herself any favors when she essentially flashed the audience during the fashion show. The act enraged the designer Jeremy Scott, who was also the week's guest judge. I guess the judges were a little more forgiving of Samantha because of her past performances. She had been pretty strong while Isis had been struggling.

If you've missed a couple of episodes, some of the girls might look a little different. Last week they received makeovers.

Here's how each model changed: platinum blond Marjorie went brunette; Jocelyn got a long, textured weave; Hannah got a shoulder-length bob; Elina received a curly red weave; Samantha became more high-fashion with a shorter hairdo that reminds me of Katie Holmes; Clark's blond hair went dark brown; Lauren Brie's hair became platinum blond; Sheena received highlights; Analeigh became a blond; Isis got a long, flowing weave; and Brittany, who was eliminated last week, got a long, flowing dark weave.

Posted by John-John Williams IV at 3:47 PM | | Comments (1)
Categories: America's Next Top Model
        

Comments

Kudo's to Tyra and her colleagues for their forward-thinking stand to decidedly recruit Isis for this mainstream, syndicated, international show and brand. Regardless of my own personal sexuality and those of close and distant family and friends, bringing Isis on ANTM Cycle 11 is unprecedented and historical for the reality genre and especially mainstream modeling industry - whether Isis were to win or not. However, I had truly hoped Isis would make it to at least the top 5 or 6 models (secretly I had my fingers and toes crossed in an effort to telepathically help her reach the top 3 models.) After 3 rounds Isis has been eliminated, and rightfully so.

As excited and eager as I was to see her be a part of this historical making cycle, I became as disappointed (more and more) by her performance as each show aired. Tyra and her fellow judges, particularly Paulina Porizkova, were right on target when they pointed out that Isis was “disappearing” with each round – becoming void of personality, vitality and any sign of enthusiasm, let alone model talent.

Recruiting Isis to be among the Cycle 11 models to vie for the title has forever and significantly raised the bar and became a historical benchmark for the modeling industry. History has been made. I hope Isis will look back and realize that she made history, no matter what! Thank you Tyra!!

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About Sarah Kelber
Sarah Kickler Kelber, an editor in the features department since 1999, got sucked into reality TV with the first episode of MTV's The Real World in 1992. Then came Survivor and American Idol, and suddenly, the genre was everywhere. She started blogging about it for The Baltimore Sun in January 2006 and has logged more hours watching and writing about such shows as Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother and, of course, Idol, than she'd like to admit.
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