We don’t think anyone should be surprised that Ann Ward beat out Chelsey Hersley to become this year’s winner of America’s Next Top Model. But there was someone who was incredibly shocked, Chelsey.
Up until the end Chelsey was confident and at points cocky about winning America’s Next Top Model. She said that she had the full package, knew her fashion and had everything that it took to win America’s Next Top Model. So imagine Chelsey’s surprise when Ann was named the winner.
We were not surprised that Ann won but we were surprised that Chelsey thought she had any shot at this competition against Ann.
Here are some of the reasons why we knew Chelsey had no shot at winning America’s Next Top Model.
Ann won best photo 5 weeks in a row:
Just because she did not win every best photo competition, does not mean that the judges forgot that she was their favorite for five consecutive weeks. She was the judges favorite from the start and the judges were not going to just forget that when it came down to the final vote. In addition to her five consecutive wins she also won best photo one other time. Ann won best photo more than any other girl in the competition. There were 11 panels total this season and Ann won best photo 6 times, almost half of the times she faced the panel. The judges clearly loved Ann and they were not going to stop loving her in the last week.
Chelsey never won best photo:
Never, not once did Chesley ever impress the judges enough to get best photo. The judges never declared her to be the best out of the entire lot. She always came up short for the judges. Why would she assume she could take out Ann who won best photo more times than anyone else in the competition? When she couldn’t do that throughout the competition.
Chelsey is 23, Ann is 19:
For years America’s Next Top Model has perpetuated the ideal that age does not matter. It is very rare for a girl to establish in herself in her mid-twenities in the modeling world. Ann, who is 19, will have more longevity than Chelsey, who is 23, due to her age and the judges knew that.
Chelsey is “American” and Commercial:
Chelsey’s blond hair may make her a great American model but that look is not typically favored for international models. Chelsey also has a very commercial look that may be appealing for beauty shots and cover girl ads but is generally not favored by Vogue.
Remember, the winner of this cycle gets a spread in Vogue Italia. The judges were not going to send Vogue Italia a girl who did not win best photo and does not have an international look which the magazine tends to favor, i.e. Chelsey. They were going to send their best, a girl who has established over and over again that she is high fashion and has a more internationally appealing look, i.e. Ann.
André Leon Talley loves Ann:
Everyone who is anyone knows that after Anna Wintour the only persons opinion that matters in fashion is the great André Leon Talley. From the start André was fixated on Ann and that never changed throughout the competition. André was always singing the praises of Ann and while he may have occasionally give some attention to Chelsey he did not shower her with the same praise as he did with Ann. There may be four people on the judges panel but in the end André’s voice is the only one that has the most influence.
All the evidence pointed to a win for Ann, but Chelsey, whose only goal in life was to be a supermodel, ignored all that evidence and entitled enough to say she deserved to win. Instead of expressing disappointment about her lost, Chelsey went on the attack and said Ann did not deserve to win. If anyone did not deserve to win it was Chelsey. A girl that cannot even get best photo has no business winning the competition and that is a fact. Chelsey was only great in her own mind and she did not deserve to win this years America’s Next Top Model competition.
Ann’s Weight
As we were preparing to write this article we came across some articles that criticize Tyra for picking Ann because of her weight. In the audition stages Ms. Jay said that Ann had the tiniest waist he has ever seen and closed both of his hands around it.
There are those who say that picking Ann, a girl with a tiny waist sends the wrong message. They say that Ann is “too skinny” and that she should not have won. We disagree.
Ann won because she is talented. Ann has never had issues with an eating disorder or had an obession with her weight. Ann just happens to be naturally skinny and have a high metabolism. She aboslutely deserves to compete and win in this competition.
We’ve said this before and we’ve will say it again, it is not fair to judge someone for being who they naturally are. There are those who have said Ann should have gained weight before the competition. Why? There is no proof that she is unhealthy or has an eating disorder. We need to stop being so fixated on weight. If Tyra had asked a girl to lose weight to be in the competition everyone would be up in arms. Why is it inappropriate to criticize someone for being curvy or large but ok to criticize someone for being too skinny?
In order to get to the point where women are ok with their bodies we need to get to a point where we stop criticizing people for being who they are. We need to realize that any conversations about a woman’s body, that do not focus on whether she is healthy, is inappropriate and destructive. Calling a girl “too skinny” is just as inappropriate as calling a girl “too fat.” The only question we should ask a girl is if she is healthy, any question beyond that plants a seed of doubt in a girls mind that she is not enough and creates self-esteem issues that will plague her for a lifetime.
Ann deserved to win because was talented. If there her winning sends any message to young girls it is that they should accept who they are and that even rarest of beauties can blossom and become America’s Next Top Model. If that is not a good message for women then we don’t know what is.
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