Inside 'ANTM's' Shocking Exodus
From a screaming Tyra Banks to fainting contestants, America's Next Top Model has never been short on drama. But the venom has flowed like never before in the current British Invasion cycle, as 7 foreigners face off with 7 Americans in hopes of winning Tyra's "fabulous prizes."
Last night's episode was book-ended with fights, as it opened with model on model feuding and ended with one contestant threatening violence against judge Kelly Cutrone. To find out what really went down as Louise quit the competition, I caught up with Kelly for a frank chat about their confrontation, their post-filming run-in and what you can expect from the rest of cycle 18!
Insider.com: From your perspective, was Louise's exit [watch it here] a surprise?
Kelly Cutrone: What you didn't see was that she'd been really rude to Tyra the week before when she said Louise looked like Linda Evangelista – what they left out was my response because Louisa started to bite her nails and I was like, "Are you serious? Tyra's telling you that you look like Linda Evangelista and you’re going to bite your nails?" That was one thing. Then, she was rude to Nigel, very rude to me and rude to Cat Deely too – who was being so nice about her criticism. And she just bolted. She was out.
Insider: Louise felt like you were being exceptionally harsh on her. Looking back, what do you think?
Kelly: No. In fact, I was amazed at the rudeness of some of the girls. The panel is trying to help all of them – this is a super concentrated plan. It's three years worth of experience in a few weeks. Louise just was not a very good competitor. This is not the behavior of a girl who wants to win. I thought she was very volatile. The scary thing, which they kind of showed, was that all the other girls started to cry. It was like a bawl festival.
Insider: What do you make of all the girls this cycle?
Kelly: The thing that I love about last night's episode, that I only see now that it's airing, is that this is like a really violent competition between pretty skinny girls [laughs]. My life was threatened, I was gonna get slapped in the face. The thing is, we don't see that footage while filming, so I had no idea it was happening. The judges panel is the only time we see them outside of challenges and Seymone, the full-figured girl from the south, was sweet like sugar, but then I saw the footage of her and Louise throwing down in the house -- I was shocked!
Insider: Louise did threaten you, are you looking forward to a post-show run-in?
Kelly: The thing I love is that you see me reach for my coffee right after she storms off. That's how upset I was [laughs]. It's funny, after this episode taped, we were filming another challenge at this LA hotel and I saw this girl with a horrible hat on. She turned around, and it was Louise! I grabbed my hair guy and ran to my cabana. I thought this girl was out for me [laughs].
Insider: Do you think someone with an attitude like that can ever be successful in this industry?
Kelly: We all have worked with models like that, but that behavior is best saved for when you're highly successful. But with that attitude, you'll never get there. Unless you're some freak who is so stunning and shoots so well that people will overlook the fact you're a violent freak – but today, because everything is so fast paced and budgets are tighter than ever, people tend not to want to be around that. I don't think Louise will ever have a modeling career. She'll be the famous girl in the pub, not the famous girl in the publication.
Insider: Without spoiling anything, what do you think about this cycle's winner? Will she be successful?
Kelly: This season, the prizes are really on point – they're a guest correspondent, they're with Cover Girl, they also get a spread in Italian Vogue and they become the face of ANTM fragrance, so you can't just be a great walker. The girl who wins is a great competitor and was super smart. The winner knew how to take criticism, was really there to be a model and used her personality to get to the finish line. Some girls crumbled under the criticism. She thrived.
Insider: You've done lots of reality TV before, but this is the first time you've regularly judged a reality competition series. How did you like it?
Kelly: I liked it so much. It's a dream job -- the only bad thing about the show is that I'm wearing blush [laughs]. I let the makeup artist talk me into it. It's a problem, it's not for me.
Insider: Tyra has notoriously tangled with the women who've sat in your chair before (Janice Dickinson, Paulina Porizkova) -- what do you make of her?
Kelly: I have to tell you, she's pretty amazing. Tyra runs a tight ship. She comes in, all her assistants are there, the Harvard people were there, her book people were there – she has a million things going on. I felt really lazy working next to her [laughs]. But she's pretty amazing. There are no cue cards, she knows all those speeches down. And I got to stare at her backside the whole season [laughs].
America's Next Top Model airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW.
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