I was very sad last night to see Tyra Banks and the other judges on America’s Next Top Model send Heather home. Heather is the contestant with Asperger Syndrome - a mild form of autism. One of the characteristics of Asperger Syndrome is that the person has trouble with loud noises and crowds. In last night’s challenge on the show, the contestants had to make their way through the large city to find modeling agencies for “go-sees.” Heather kept getting lost and ended up only making one go-see while the other contestants made three or four.
With Heather gone, the show has lost much of its appeal. In the real world, Heather would have had help getting to the go-sees. She wouldn’t have been stuck in an unfamiliar city where people didn’t speak her language. The other contestants are beautiful, but they don’t have anything unusual or striking to bring to the table. They’re of the “if you’ve seen one model, you’ve seen them all” mold. I thought Heather’s photos were absolutely phenomenal, and it was a mistake to send her home.
Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but I really wanted Heather to win. I want to see someone who overcomes obstacles and who doesn’t make excuses for her failures. Heather has an unusual look, and she is versatile in her looks. Yes, she wasn’t as socially adept as most of the other contestants - but not by much. And she more than made up for that awkwardness with her looks, her ambition and her attitude - especially her attitude. It was surprising to me to watch some of the other contestants make fun of her. Such immaturity should have disqualified them immediately.
America’s Next Top Model hasn’t exactly picked great winners in the past. Just look at Jaslene, last year’s winner. The girl can barely talk coherently in the “My Life as a Cover Girl” commercials. It’s hard to understand what she’s saying. And before her, there was Danielle who also had some serious voice problems. I don’t understand why either of them were chosen as the winner in their respective seasons. If a person can’t talk intelligibly, why make them a “top model” who must be a spokesperson for various products? Although Heather needed her lines read to her, she was able to speak clearly and with expression and it was believable. And her photographs were outstanding.
So good luck, Heather. Hopefully there will be folks in the modeling world with greater vision than Tyra & her set of cronies. You have the gumption and self-understanding to reach your dreams. I think you will go far.
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November 29th, 2007 at 10:58 am
I have to agree. I have no desire to watch AMTM now that Heather is gone. The rest of the girls are very “typical” to me.
November 30th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Just because Heather had autism, a slight autism, doesn’t make her very special. One of the girls from another season had lupus. You didn’t see her use that to keep her in. She wanted to be treated fair. She had days where she could not continue on. But she did, and sadly she did not win. But she didn’t use her illness as a way to stay. I am sure that is what Heather was hoping for. I liked her yes, but in the real world of modeling do you think they are going to go, oh my gosh, she has autism, I feel bad for her lets hire her. No they are not. They are going to question her ability as to if she can or can not do it. What Tyra and the group of WONDERFUL judges did was show her was she was going to face. They were not trying to be mean or anything like that. And none of those girls are “typical”, yes that is your opion, but was Natasha “typical”, no, or Jaslene, was she “typical”, no. All those girls had and has something special in them. It doesn’t matter how they speak, it is what they speak. Girls will still look up to them, no matter what their race, beliefs, or how they talk is. Those girls who win are some little girls role model. So what you guys say is fine, but this is what I say, leave it at what it is. Heather is gone. Jaslene won. But every single one of them has to believe in themselves and not use excuses to stay.
TMS: Heather had obstacles that were more extreme than the other contestants. That doesn’t mean she deserves to win either. I didn’t see her making excuses for herself - and I certainly wasn’t making excuses for her. It thrills me to see a girl who has a “challenge” overcome it and pursue a career like modeling. However, that also doesn’t negate the fact that she has an unusual and striking look and had to work harder than the remaining contestants to do what she did. Heather was one of the more interesting and compassionate figures I’ve seen on ANTM - and I’ve seen every show of every season. And I believe that Jaslene’s and Danielle’s inability to talk clearly limits their ability to have speaking commercials. They’re okay for photographs - just don’t let ‘em talk. And it has nothing to do with their culture or race. It has to do with SPEAKING. And I never said Tyra and the other judges were MEAN to her. Some of the girls were deliberately mean to Heather. I think Tyra and the other judges used poor judgment by not kicking out the smart-mouth blonde (can’t remember her name) instead of Heather. It’s Tyra’s show, though, and her decision. I just think it was the wrong decision. I agree that neither Natasha or Jaslene or Danielle were “typical” - but they also weren’t the best contestants, in my opinion. I think Jaslene got it because she tried a second time and it was obvious that Tyra liked her from the beginning. She looked like a sissified drag queen to me. The chick that kicked off for looking too old was the best model in that cycle of the show.
December 1st, 2007 at 3:57 pm
I understand that. Just like they should have gotten rid of Caridee. She was rude, so what if she apoligized. What she said about Nigel was mean and unprofessional.
Heather was beautiful, and is beautiful. If she thinks she can make it in modeling, then she should try again.
But as I see it, the way they speak doesn’t matter. I mean yes, Jaslene it is hard to understand her, but what about Natasha? She was unable to understand sometimes.
One thing that I do agree with you on is, well maybe not just one, but they didn’t give her a chance to show what she could do. As I see it she had it hard from the start, the hair, then the commerical. But maybe one more chance, maybe she could have shined though. If I could talk to her, I would tell her to go back like Jaslene did and show them that it was a mistake to vote her off.
TMS: It seems we’re on agreement on most things. Except I disagree about how they speak not mattering. If they’re speaking in a commericisla, then what’s the point if people can’t understand what they’re saying. I never paraticularly liked Natasha. Having phone sex with her husband with the TV cameras rolling was a bit much. I think Heather is going to be fine - and I believe she’ll go on to be a successful model.
December 1st, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Very true. But I think that when Natasha was having phone sex with her husband, it might of been for attention. They always do that on drama shows.
With the speaking however, your dealing with models that are different, hespanic and russian, they are bound to speak different. But it doesn’t mean that they should not be there. It might show some other girl that it doesn’t matter how she speaks, as long as she speaks, that she can still model. Jael on the other hand, she sounded like a man to me. I don’t want to be mean, but it is true. I think that she sounded worse than Jaslene and Natasha put together.
I have another question, why is this website just about Heather, shouldn’t it or couldn’t it be about ANTM in general. Where people could talk about the shows and what they think.
TMS: This website isn’t about either Heather or ANTM. It’s my personal blog, and I wrote this one post about Heather because I felt strongly about it. Out of several posts each day, this is one of only a very few that are about ANTM - I’m not even sure if I’ve ever written anything about it before. I’d have to check my archives to see. I’m a teacher, and I am naturally interested in seeing people of all ages who have challenges and overcome them. That’s part of why I was rooting so much for Heather. Plus, I saw the other contestants being deliberately mean to her because of her differences - AND I thought she was the best of the remaining contestants. That’s my personal opinion, and you obviously disagree wiht me. That’s fine. No problem. I’m sure there are other sites that are about ANTM - just google it and find them. I agree about Jael - I didn’t care for her “look” either. I’ve heard plenty of people from other cultures and countries who speak English as a second (or third or fourth) language, and they speak clearly enough to be understood. Jaslene and Danielle just need some lessons on speaking clearly.
December 14th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Plus, I saw the other contestants being deliberately mean to her because of her differences - AND I thought she was the best of the remaining contestantS.
I DON’T THINK THE OTHER CONTESTANTS KNEW THAT SHE HAD AUTISM AND EVEN IF THEY DID KNOW SHE HAD AUTISM, I DON’T THINK THEY REALIZED THAT IT WAS THAT DISABILITY THAT MESSED HER UP ON THE GO SEES.
I LIKED HEATHER TOO. SHE WAS NICE FROM THE INSIDE. SALEISHA TOOK GREAT PICS BUT HER BUBBLY PERSONALITY WAS JUST A BUBBLY PERSONALITY. SHE WAS NOT THAT NICE FROM HER INSIDE WHEN COMPARED TO HEATHER. HEATHER CAN BE A ROLE MODEL TO MANY YOUNG GIRLS. WHEN SHE GOT ELIMINATED AND SHE STATED THAT THE “EXPERIENCE WAS WORTH MORE THAN THE AWARD” -THAT ALREADY HAS MADE HER MY ROLE MODEL.
SALEISHA IS A BEAUTIFUL GIRL ON THE OUTSIDE AND TOOK GREAT PICS AND GREAT WALK AND SEH SEEMS LIKE A NICE PERSON BUT THERE WAS A LACK OF SPECIALNESS ABOUT HER. HOWEVER, I THINK SALEISHA’S GOOD LOOKS MIGHT TAKE HER A LONG WAY.
December 14th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
i DO LIKE DANIELLE THOUGH. THAT GIRL WORKED HER BUTT OFF. SHE WAS SICK AND WENT TO THE PHOTO SHOOT. SHE SPRAINED HER ANKEL BUT KEPT A SMILE ON HER FACE. SHE INSPIRES. COMMUNICATION SKILLS IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE WORKED ON. I DON’T THINK ANYONE SHOULD BE ELIMINATED BECAUSE OF LACK OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS. THE MORE PEOPLE YOU MEET AND TALK TO AND THE MORE YOU GO IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, THE MORE COMFORTABLE YOU GET. PLUS THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FAKE ABOUT DANIELLE. NO FAKE BUBBLY PERSONALITY. SHE WAS HERSELF. I LIKED THAT.
TMS: Well I certainly like Danielle better than Jaslene.
December 14th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
OH YEAH AND THE WAY THE JUDGES CRITICIZED HEATHER’S POSTURE AND LOOKS. I TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH THEM. I THINK HER STYLE IS VERY UNIQUE. I LIKED IT!
October 7th, 2012 (1 weeks ago) at 6:06 am