Now that "America's Next Top Model" is in its 13th cycle, there are only so many ways to keep the concept fresh. Making the girls pose as circus animals? Done. Including a transgendered beauty named Isis? Done. Shaving the models' heads? Done to death.
So this time around, Tyra Banks lowered her standards. Literally. Only candidates 5-foot-7 and shorter were allowed to audition, whereas most runway models are 5-foot-10 or statuesquer. It gave 5-foot-6 Erin Wagner of Spring Grove the chance to try for a career as a petite model. And now that the competition is down to just four girls, Erin is emerging as the closest thing to a villain the producers can come up with.
"I know I came off as bratty, but it's reality TV so I've accepted my edit," says Erin. "Everyone watching should just keep in mind, what you see is not necessarily what you get."
The accused "modzilla" clarifies some of her more scandalous moments.
The charge: Grabbing a girl during a race.
"The pushing was entirely accidental," says Erin. "All of us girls were running around that corner, full speed, and I ended up almost falling over, so on instinct I grabbed for the closest thing to me to avoid falling - the closest thing ended up being Sundai." Sundai was the tiniest model. "I apologized to her immediately afterwards," says Erin. "As long as Sundai and I are on good terms, I could care less who makes a big deal about the situation."
The charge: Hiding a picture to keep Ashley from winning a contest.
"I would definitely keep Ashley's picture again, because that was strategy, and not malicious at all," says Erin.
The charge: Complaining about a prize.
When Erin won a challenge, she ended up not with thousands of dollars' worth of jewels or couture - she got a helicopter ride. "A helicopter ride did not relate at all to the competition and did not give me a leg up in the modeling world," says Erin. "I think I was justified in feeling that way, but should not have voiced my thoughts to the other girls."
Erin, 18, had never lived on her own before. But give her credit for letting Tyra bleach her eyebrows into oblivion without crying, and for mastering Tyra's favorite technique: "smizing." (It means "smiling with your eyes.") She doubts that there are any real applications for smizing in real life, not even getting out of a parking ticket. "Even if I was smiling with my eyes, I would still be crying with the rest of my face," she reasons.
No one is smizing when they're voted out of the competition. But Erin is undaunted, either way.
"On the off chance I don't win, I will still pursue modeling," says Erin. "I think it would be easier for me than some of the other girls, since I live so close to Chicago and the city has a stable modeling industry." She also plans to major in liberal arts in college.
Will that acceptance have to be deferred? Find out tonight at 7 on WGN-Channel 9 whether Erin will continue on in the hopes of becoming America's . . . Next. . . Top Model. But be forewarned: "I'm not one to take rejection lying down," she says.
Whatever Erin said in this interview is just bull.
-"The pushing was entirely accidental." But in the next paragraph, doing something as sleazy as keeping someone's photo is a strategy? If I remember correctly, it was not only Sundai who got pushed and shoved by the almighty Erin; ther girls complained the day after about the bruises they got from that b*tch.
- She mentions that she hated the fact that she won a helicopter ride over Hawaii because it didn't relate to modeling at all, but how about another trip to Hawaii she wanted in tonight's episode? That has nothing to do with modeling.
It's just amusing that this girl in this interview tried to take back the horrible things she had said and done. The past is the past. ACCEPT IT! You can't change it. All you can do is regret and just move on.