America's Next Top Model

America?s Next Top Model is a reality television show which pits contestants against each other in a variety of competitions to determine who will win a modeling contract with makeup manufacturer Covergirl. Supermodel Tyra Banks hosts and produces the show.

Season 2

The second season of the show, in 2004, featured 12 contestants this time. Though the format was the same, the production took several different angles on how the show was presented. The judges were often much more harsh in their criticism of the contestants. In particular, one contestant, Catie Anderson, was repeatedly told that she looked or acted like a prostitute. The contests in this season were also more sexual: the first one required contestants to pose nude in body paint, something that plus-size contestant Anna Bradfield opted out of, causing her to be eliminated first. There was also a lesbian-erotic photo shoot towards the end of the show where the remaining four contestants posed nude in seductive positions in pairs of two.

Related Topics:
2004 - Prostitute

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The second season also spawned a clear-cut "hated" character in the form of Camille McDonald. While it is not uncommon for a "bad" character to emerge on a reality show, Camille's race came into play when it was pointed out by critics and the NAACP that many reality shows airing at this time seemed to peg the black female character as the one to dislike. Camille did make it into the final five, however, and in so doing ousting other more promising model hopefuls, including Catie and the Muslim-orginated Sara. The second season also featured Mercedes Scelba-Shorte, a young woman whose struggle with lupus was detailed on the show. She fought against it to become one of the last two finalists.

Related Topics:
NAACP - Lupus

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Another contestant of note was Shandi Sullivan, a lithe, blonde cashier from Kansas City, Missouri. Shandi began the show as a very mousy and poorly dressed girl in glasses with absolutely no flare at all for the catwalk, but by the end she had transformed into an extremely skilled model and ravishing beauty. Shandi provided an infamous moment when in one episode she cheated on her boyfriend, Eric, while in Italy. The scene when she called her boyfriend to inform him of her infidelity was shown on various other programs. She made it into the top three.

Related Topics:
Shandi Sullivan - Kansas City, Missouri - Italy

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The winner of the cycle was Yoanna House, a fashionista who had lost 40 pounds (18 kg) in order to realise her dreams of being a model. Yoanna proved that one with physical disadvantages (she was overweight and had a slightly limp shoulder) need not bow down to outside contention should you believe in yourself.

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