A damn good job in a Versace dress

To avoid the scorn of those who haven't yet watched ANTM yet, I'm putting my pre-recap, post-finale comments after the jump. (Was this shit fixed...like, more than usual?)

You know I always like to post the most flattering shot possible of the winner. Call it a quirk.

Every cycle since Tyra demanded that we kiss her fat ass, I've predicted that the plus-sized girl (fuck the nouveau lingo) will take it. I refrained this time and whadda ya know: the plus-sized girl took it! How do you like them buxom apples?

I'd call this a symbolic victory, but this is ANTM: if it's not symbolic, it's as good as symbolic. However, earlier this week, I received an email from a source that would like to remain nameless (and, clearly, close to my heart) that suggests this victory is super-symbolic The mystery woman writes:

I debated on whether to share this given my source and you may have heard this already...The source is this wonderfully chatty boy in one of my classes...who says he went to high school with Whitney. The claim is that Whitney did not try out for top model but was approached on a plane by someone from the show. She was already doing modeling as a size 2 or 4 but because she was closer to a 4 she was a little too big for the show as a regular model. They told her that if she went and gained 10-20 pounds they would definitely put her on the show as "the plus-size model". She's about a 6 or 8 on the show. He even showed us this picture of her when she was smaller which was from a year ago.

He also said that she was going to make the top 3. That's why I held out from saying anything for 3 weeks. I wasn't sure if anything was credible. But since the "top 3" thing came through...

This email arrived, mind you, before the pre-ANTM shots of a much slimmer Whitney hit ONTD:

I wouldn't be surprised at all if it were true (knowing nothing about women's sizes, I'd guess close to a 4 is about right in those shots). At the very least, the pictures tend to refute Whitney's sob stories (heard most recently in the final moments of the show) about being teased for being curvaceous. Of course, given that it's at least third-hand information,this could merely be one of those things that make you go hmmm.

In any event, none of this is to diminish Whitney's hard work standing around and being fierce. Having the plus-sized girl win is a nice touch, and I'm never mad at a good plot point, no matter how contrived.

Full recap on Monday, OF COURSE.

Update from Whitney's interview on the Los Angeles Times Blog:

I saw some pictures on a Web site of you modeling pre-ANTM where you didn't look full-figured. What's the story with that?
I've only ever modeled locally in Jacksonville, Florida. I didn't do any big campaigns. Those are from Jacksonville Magazine. I had a great photographer who does some great airbrushing too, but I'm not small in those pictures. I'm about maybe a size 6 or an 8, because those are from high school.

I wasn't sure if you had to gain weight for Top Model or anything like that.
Oh, no. I went on the show, and I'm the one who said "I'm a plus-sized model." Which is so funny because when I was when I was there, all the other girls there that were my size were like "Oh, you know, I'm a size ... 10." And I was like "Pfft. I'm a size 10! Yeah!" I think that's why they took me out to L.A. I didn't expect to make it that far. People always told me, "You should be on that show!" And I was like, "Please, I would never get on that show." And look at me now! Never say never. [via ONTD]

She doesn't seem too bothered by the allegations. I guess I believe her ultimately? However: bullshit to the airbrushing thing.

Comments

Among the "rules" we have back on cycle 10 was the "ultimate winner gets in the bottom three several times in the final weeks". See Danielle, Caridee, Jaslene.
I knew Whitney was going to be the winner like I knew Jaslene would be - because they needed a "first".

That said, her Covergirl picture and her walk were better than Anya's even though Anya is a much much much better model overall.

[Steve Abramson]

There have been a LOT of people making claims about Whitney's past that seems questionable, and while I'm not questioning you Rich, I question some of these sources.

Unlike Cycle 9, where rules were specifically broken (or seriously bent) for Saleisha to take the title, I don't have a problem with Whitney taking the title for all the alleged accusations. Seriously, from girls like Kahlen/C4, Sara/C6, Michelle/C7 - they were all cast without auditioning, while other girls like Jaslene/C8 and Marvita/C10 were actually invited back. So, even if, Whitney was cast for the show and did not go through the audition process, I don't have a problem with that.

I've seen some of Whitney's pre-show work and the fact that she was thin does make her sob story at the end a little "odd" but I think Whitney just doesn't have a pause or censor button. However, I agree with several of the responses here that it was more that Whitney just gained weight on her own and she managed to rock it better being larger.

I think (and I go into major details about this somewhere else online) that the final six of this cycle was about as close call/neck-in-neck since Cycle 2. - Each of the final 6 girls could have taken the title and I would have felt earned the title legitimately. If Lauren won she'd be the quirky girl who had the title handed to her. If Katarzyna won she'd be the Ivy League girl who had the title handed to her. If Dominique won she'd be the first old man to have the title handed to her (Jaslene didn't look that old). Had Fatima won she would have been the girl power platformer having had the title handed to her, and had Enya won she would have been the first lightbulb to win...

Point is, sometimes I think people take the conspiracy theories to whole new levels with this show - they say they don't take it seriously, but bringing this shit up, they DO take it seriously! - I don't trust Tyra - Saleisha proved that to me - but I think Whitney won this competition as fair and square as possible (I was rooting for Whitney, but I really thought Anya did better in the finale LOL).

The thing is most people have hoped that Anya would lose so she could go on and have a real career, while Whitney would turn into one of those ANTM has-beens...

Mark my word... Anya will be another Joanie/Kahlen, while Whitney could be the next Jaslene.

For only the third time in ANTM history did I actually CHEER when the winner was announced - they made the right choice; and hopefully the Whitney haters will just chill out while the Anya lovers will have faith and hope for her in the future.

The end.

[mb]

sorry in those pics that girl is totally a size 6 not a 4 and she was not just a size 6-8 on the show she was a size 10 or 12. I mean come on you know that girl has to be 5'8" and that bikini body is not the body of a girl who is at least that tall and a size 4. She looks good regardless though.

[FortyTwo]

I'm satisfied with this outcome. I don't know how Fatima managed to make it as far as third (not to mention Dominique taking fourth), but Anya and Whitney as the top 2 made sense. Both are beautiful and managed to stay strong all season (unlike Saleisha -- that flower picture was awful), so it was an even contest.

After Whitney was declared winner and Anya had her final interview, my husband said, "She'll have no problems booking jobs." Anya definitely has a future.

As for Whitney gaining weight for the competition -- we've always known the show was manipulative, and this is nowhere as bad as Saleisha's win last cycle. (Remember when she was talking to another contestant, and the girl said, "Well, you never know, YOU might be in the bottom two sometime," and Saleisha responded, "Ex-CUSE me?! Who do you think you're talking to?" I think she was promised the win from the start.) At least Whitney is beautiful.

[Chandra]

I agree that there is no way she was a size 6-8 on the show. She's 5'10 isn't she? I thought she was a size 10, I was surprised when they said she was suppose to be a 12.

Those pictures look more 4-6 to me, with it being closer to 6. I prefer her more curvaceous and I really hope she was a 10/12.

Although somehow I doubt someone who just knew her from high school would know all these details, that is something a good friend would know. And if she was told to gain it weight, I imagine it would be so she didn't get booted like the plussie from last cycle.

[Jaybird]

if anyone out there can google better than me, (tee-hee!) I found a blog out there that had a ton of pre/post ANTM photos on there and Whitney was thinner and doing alot of modeling.
Now hearing she was placed on the show as a mole.....I guess when I go back and look at it, I really don't see her pictures being the cream of the crop. Or maybe I'm still bitter that Claire or Kat didn't win. But Whitney did round out my top 3......

[Jaybird]

WHERE'S THE SARAN WRAP!!!

IM S0 HAPPY! L0VE HER!

[Kitty]

Was it just me, or did Whitney's runway seem absurd? Don't get me wrong, I was kinda rooting for her, but I don't buy Tyra's bullshit 'exaggeration is good' summation. Exaggerate, fine, but damn if Whitney's walk wasn't drag queen flamboyant!
Anya was clearly the superior model, and I'm glad she has a shot at a real career now (the black and white, pre-ANTM shot of her at ONTD! is absolutely STUNNING, really).

[Kat]

Penelope, I'm 5'10, I know what women look like in terms of size at my height. Just because she looks toned and great like she does there doesn't mean that she's automatically a tiny size. Just for comparison, this is a size 4, 5'10 model. You can tell that her legs are a lot smaller than Whitney's. http://www.donnabaldwin.com/female/Images/K/big/KiraLandis_C.jpg

I'm definitely more Whitney's body type. Even when I'm in perfect shape, I don't get any smaller than a size 6. People are always shocked that I'm a size 10, because my stomach is flat and I have a very small waist. It's just that when women are taller, sizes increase correspondingly.

[RD]

Re: Whitney's walk: It was. No professional model would walk on the runway swinging their hips like a madwoman.

[LeBon]

Uggh, I was annoyed that she won so I am going to go ahead and believe that it was pre-planned to be the plus-size cycle and get my hate on.

The way I'm choosing to look at it is the big girl had to win as it was starting to become too obvious that the big girls were always tokens.

[spazmo]

I sorta started to hate Whitney a few episodes ago, and I'm not sure why.

But, whatever. I'm sure she'll make a fine spokesperson for...um...intact genitalia?

[stranger]

That photo has been photoshopped. it's a fake for sure. how could you believe some strange source so easily. but well i still love what u write. u're fantastic. but tt photo, def a fake. cheers

[Angela]

Can't we all agree, we SAW this one coming?

When the Saliesha scandal came out, I realized that ANTM was a scam.

It was like finding out Santa wasn't real.

But, I KNEW that Whitney would take it all because of the heavy foreshadowing.

I'm not talking about the ridiculously unfair dresses, or the "WE NEED A FAT CHICK TO REPRESENT" or any of that.

No, I knew when Tyra announced that Whitney, "reminded me of myself... when I first started..."

Whitney was the winner from that point on.

[Nadia]

I'm so fucking UPSET.
I teared up when she started babbling about being picked on in school for being fat, because well.. i was picked on on school for not being a size 0. and i sorta related to her.
And now after seeing this pictures, i feel lied to. I feel..so disappointed.
Of course i knew this show was bullshit, but i was happy for once a plus sized girl won..Except you know, she's a "FAKE PLUS SIZE"
WOW. just wow.

That being said, i'll watch it again next season...Maybe i'm a bit of a masochist.

[Pat]

In the end, good for Whitney. Whether she deserved it or not, she won, and she's not as bad as Saleisha anyway.

But if it's true that her sob story at the end is all a lie, then, I think it's very disappointing. I understand why viewers would feel cheated and betrayed. Yeah, we laugh at this show, but the truth is TONS of 12-14 year old girls watch this, and about half of them are overweight. How are they going to feel if they find out that the whole "teased in school" speech that they related to so much wasn't even based on reality? We just moan and bitch for a few days, then forget about it. Some of these girls take this really seriously, and will probably be crushed.

If it's true, I honestly think the show just stooped to a new low. It's not even funny in a ridiculous kind of way, like when Tootie won Cycle 9. It's just kind of sad, because it proves that Tyra (and the whole production team) will do pretty much anything to make the show look heroic and ground-breaking.

[Mark]

Whitney was one of the "mean girls" in HS... when she was saying that BS about being teased I wanted to slap her. Sure your friends talked about you behind your back but you were still in the top social class.

[Ellen]

I don't think I'm the first person who's brought this up, but it's possible that those ONTD skinny photos of Whitney were done when she was dieting like crazy to try to fit into a "typical" model size, and that her natural figure looks more like what we see on the show. Kind of like Kate Dillon or Christine Alt. So it might not be necessary to feel disillusioned or cheated at seeing a thinner Whitney.

[Monica]

I knew Whitney was going to win as soon as I noticed she was not having the typical ANTM problem of non-fitting clothes. Toccara was robbed - they made sure she had problems with her clothes so they could say she lost her spirit.

[Addis]

This is the first time I've ever watched ANTM, so I'm unfamiliar with the previous upsets / scandals. I was disappointed to see Whitney win, and even more disappointed to see the debatable-but-I'm-gonna-believe-them pre-show pictures.

I can't wait for Whitney to be a has-been.

And I can't wait to see Anya succeed!

[Natalie]

Don't forget that we saw pictures of Whitney in highschool and she wasn't skinny.

[Eric]

How can anybody who has watched top model over the past few years be upset (let alone shocked) by the results? I assumed knowing that this wasn't an [i]actual[/i] modeling competition was part of the show's campy fun. (see: TyTy's ridiculous sayings, Mr. Jay's ridiculous tan, and Ms. J's ridiculous fabulousness.)

[Trish]

I agree with some of the posters here. Anya was too high-fashion to pose in Seventeen and Whitney's "story" (be it contrived or not) is good for young girls to hear.
My family is friends with this family in which there is a 10 year old girl who struggles with her weight. And she is HUGE (no pun intended) ANTM fan. She was ecstatic last night that a "plus sized girl" won. It was good for her to see.
Anyway...

[Mel]

Top Model hasn't become a competition at all. Now Tyra decides who wins when she reaches the top 12. She was called fat recently so she wanted to make a statement. Whitney didn't win because of talent, she won because she's plus size. Saleisha did not win because of talent, she won because she worked for Tyra before. I don't even watch it when it airs anymore because I don't want to support it. I just watch it on youtube.

P.s. you are awesome.