Angela, alongside Lisa D’Amato and Allison Harvard, was competing for the crown. However, during an odd final judges panel, Tyra Banks and the other judges revealed Angelea had been disqualified… without giving viewers any reason or explanation.

“We’re back in Los Angeles on the Top Model set and we’re here for a special finale that’s being conducted under unusual circumstances,” said Tyra. “It turns out, our production team and the network learned information from Angelea that disqualifies her from the competition,” added fashion photographer Nigel Barker.

With Angelea (pictured far right) disqualified, Lisa and Allison were left to battle for the win and Lisa came out on top. Unfortunately for Lisa, viewers are more concerned with Angela’s disqualification.

According to PEOPLE, the speculation is that Angelea might have given away some finale spoilers and her possible win on her personal Facebook page before the show aired, which would equal violating the rules of the competition.

Yes, the rumor now is that Angelea was actually the original winner and that following her disqualification, the show had to re-tape the ending. In fact, the CW network admits they only learned of the information about Angelea AFTER the show wrapped, and that they did have to re-shoot scenes.

The network said in a statement: “After production wrapped on the current cycle of America’s Next Top Model, we learned information that made Angelea ineligible and she was subsequently disqualified from the competition. As a result, new scenes were filmed to address this for the audience during the finale.”

Wowzers. As for Angelea, she seems to be taking her disqualification rather well as she tweeted the following last night: “OMG!!!! IM TRENDING WORLDWIDE on twitter right now!!!!!!!!!! Wowwwww!! That’s the whole world!! Lol! #humbled!! Thanks y’all!!! #LOVE.”

Meanwhile, runner up Allison had the following to say when asked about Angelea’s disqualification. “I think what happened with Angelea is more of a personal thing that went on with her. Out of respect and undying love for her, I think I will remain silent,” said Allison to Zap2It. And the mystery continues…

TELL US – THOUGHTS ON THE ANTM FINALE AND DISQUALIFICATION SCANDAL? DID LISA DESERVE TO WIN?

There’s a big change coming up on next season’s America’s Next Top Model as judge André Leon Talley is leaving the show following four cycles.

PEOPLE magazine is confirming that André, Vogue contributing editor, will be replaced by New York Fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone.

“I am a huge fan of America’s Next Top Model and have watched the show for years,” said Kelly, 45, owner of People’s Revolution. “Having worked in various aspects of the fashion industry over the course of my career, I am excited for this new opportunity and hope to bring a different perspective to the show.”

André, 61, who joined the show in early 2010 after many years of pleading from Tyra Banks, reveals there are no hard feelings about the change. “I had a great ride and will always consider my experience with Top Model one of the best moments of my life,” he states. “Tyra is an incredible role model and I learned so much sitting next to her through four cycles.”

Kelly will replace André starting early next year with cycle 18. She is well known for starring on MTV’s “The Hills” and Bravo’s “Kell on Earth“.

TELL US – THOUGHTS ON ANTM’S JUDGING CHANGE? WILL KELLY MAKE A GOOD JUDGE?

Top Chef does it, Real World and Road Rules do it, Big Brother does it, Survivor LOVES to do it, and Project Runway is doing it next season. What am I talking about? All-Star shows, of course!

Nothing screams ratings more than bringing back the craziest, most controversial, and in some cases most talented, cast members from seasons past of any given show. America’s Next Top Model is jumping on that bandwagon with Cycle 17, ANTM All-Stars, premiering next month.

Fourteen of the wildest, loudest, and strongest personalities from cycles past are coming together to compete for the title that has previously eluded them. This season’s prizes include an Express modeling campaign, a fashion spread in Italian Vogue, a stint as a guest correspondent on Extra, and the staple Cover Girl contract.

Expect to see Kristin Cavallari, LaToya Jackson, Tyson Beckford, Nicki Minaj, The Game, Ashlee Simpson, and Kathy Griffin as guest judges…just to name a few. As always, the challenges are sure to be outrageous with stiff competition among the ladies.

ANTM All-Stars premieres on the CW on Wednesday, September 14th at 9pm ET, and as always, Tyra Banks will be front and center teaching these up-and-coming models how to pose and tell a story with their eyes…fierce!

Get reacquainted with the models of Cycle 17 below!

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON TO SEE ALL THE CAST PHOTOS!

Angelea Preston, Age 25 from Cycle 14

Alexandria Everett, Age 22 from Cycle 16

Camille McDonald, Age 33 from Cycle 2

Shannon Stewart, Age 27 from Cycle 1

Isis King, Age 25 from Cycle 11

Laura Kirkpatrick, Age 22 from Cycle 13

Sheena Sakai, Age 24 from Cycle 11

Bianca Golden, Age 22 from Cycle 9

Lisa D’Amato, Age 30 from Cycle 5

Allison Harvard, Age 23 from Cycle 12

Brittany Brower, Age 29 from Cycle 4

Bre Scullark, Age 26 from Cycle 5

Kayla Ferrel, Age 20 from Cycle 15

Dominique Reighard, Age 27 from Cycle 10

Photos by: Celeste Canino

The girls are meet individually with Ivan Bart, president of IMG models, who will be signing the winner of this cycle. He, predictably, likes both girls and notes their positive attributes, not giving away which one he would personally choose. Afterwards the girls meet Mister Jay Manuel to film their CoverGirl commercials for Liperfection Lipstick shot by Italian photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari.

Unlike previous seasons where the commercials were straight up disasters with no one being able to remember their lines or demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of ANY language, this year’s were pretty seamless. Brittani is rocking a serious femme fatale look, but while filming the commercial her self-confidence starts getting the best of her and she begins to cry – again! I think she has cried more than any other contestant in ANTM history. She needs one of those wristlet tissues cases old ladies carry to sop up all the impromptu waterworks. Once she sorts out her emotions and relaxed she actually did an amazing commercial highly praised by Mister Jay.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON TO READ THE REST!

Then the girls shoot some sort of pajama-y apparently supposed to be lingerie spread for Italian Vogue magazine. Molly has some sort of dilemma where she was missing her chicken at lunch and this puts her in a cranky-butt mood, so during the shoot she is sort of broken down doll gone wrong with low-energy. Psssp: don’t forget to smize!

Back at the model mansion, Molly receives a surprise visit from her parents. They are so excited and proud – it is very sweet. Brittani’s mom isn’t able to make it due to her panic-anxiety disorder, but they are able to chat over Skype. Brittani, sweet little thing that she is, says she wants to support her mom and that is why winning ANTM is so important to her.

Then TYRA MAIL! “Tomorrow’s runway will be modeling mania.” Ooohhhh… auspicious. Mister Jay announces they will be partaking in a Salon Style fashion show for Vivienne Westwood Anglomania. And guess what – Kasia, Alexandria, and Hannah – the most recent eliminated contestants are back! Also back is Ann – last season’s winner and guess what – girl still walks like Lurch with her limbs all disjointed from her torso. It is so distracting.

The Vivienne Westwood clothes are amazing and over-the-top. The make-up is fun and vibrant! The hair is teased, big, and enormous. I love theatrics! Backstage at the show Molly breaks down and cries about how much her parents mean to her while talking with Tyra. It was nice to see a softer side of our snarky rebel. During the fashion show there is tea being served, traditional Moroccan drum music, rose pedals being strewn from the balcony that will soon spell disaster for one unsuspecting wannabe Top Model.

During the the last runway lap, oh dearie me, disaster ensues – first Brittani and Molly have to tandem walk the runway and do these awkward “sex shop window” poses, which were so weird that at one point Brittani bursts out laughing. Then Brittani slips on a rose pedal and falls headfirst into a wall, cutting her wrist and twisting her ankle in the process! This time I think her crying is totally justified. She redeems herself like a champ in the show finale, walking out like nothing happened clapping and smiling – a true mark of professionalism. Brittani shouldn’t feel so bad supermodel Naomi Campbell once fell during a Vivienne Westwood show.

Then a surprise twist! Before judges panel the girls are going to get totally different, brand new looks – super short pixie hair cuts and fresh faced make-up. Brittani looks chic and adorable, Molly… like a mushroom. Why Tyra? What is your dysfunction with Molly’s hair this season? First the cheap Chinatown weave of nightmares and now a bowl-cut borrowed from a 6-year-old boy.

At panel the judges: Tyra, Andre Leon Talley, Nigel Barker, and Mister Jay felt both girls did great but they were disappointed that Brittani ruined the pairs posing moment by laughing. Molly’s walk was criticized for being bouncy and a “little cheap.” Then we viewed the Cheesy, Corny, Goofy CoverGirl commercials. Brittani’s commercial got rave reviews, Molly’s not so much as she was called out for being stiff and coming across as a “mean girl.” Molly redeemed herself by having a stunning CoverGirl shot.

The judges deliberate and go through the history of each girls photos and ALT is pulling for Britt something major, but Nigel seems to like Molly. Finally, finally they decide and BRITTANI is the winner! With the win, Brittani scores a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl Cosmetics, a contract with IMG Models, a spread in Vogue Italia, and a cover and spread in Vogue Italia‘s beauty mag Beauty in Vogue.

Congratulations Brittani – for once I think an ANTM winner will have a successful career in the modeling industry. But I also think Molly is amazing.

So, do you think Brittani deserved to be America’s Next Top Model? Who was your favorite ANTM contestant this cycle?

Ready or not, they’re she’s baaaack! Tyra Banks that is as the 16th cycle of America’s Next Top Model premieres tonight, because you know, all the previous winners of the 15 past seasons have all went on to become “top models.”

The show returns tonight with 14 new hopefuls competing for a contract with IMG Models, a fashion spread in Vogue Italia and an additional spread and cover of Beauty in Vogue; plus a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl Cosmetics.

Tyra leads the panel of judges, which includes fashion editor André Leon Talley and photographer Nigel Barker. Jay Manuel will serve as the photo shoot creative director while Miss J Alexander returns as the runway trainer. The full cast list is below -

• Alexandria, 21; Height: 5′ 10″ Hometown: Newport Beach, California
• Angelia, 20; Height: 5′ 10″ Hometown: Landstuhl, Germany
• Brittani, 19; Height: 5′ 10″ Hometown: Beech Creek, Pennsylvania
• Dalya, 21; Height: 5′ 9″ Hometown: Clear Lake, Texas
• Dominique, 23; Height: 5′ 9″ Hometown: Houston, Texas
• Hannah, 20; Height: 5’10″ Hometown: Houston, Texas
• Jaclyn, 20; Height: 5′ 10″ Hometown: Belton, Texas
• Kasia, 26; Height: 5′ 9″ Hometown: Wheaton, Illinois
• Mikaela, 21; Height: 5′ 9″ Hometown: Boca Raton, Florida
• Molly, 22; Height: 5′ 10″ Hometown: Charleston, South Carolina
• Monique, 19; Height: 5′ 11″ Hometown: Hebron, Illinois
• Nicole, 20; Height: 5′ 11″ Hometown: Orlando, Florida
• Ondrei, 18; Height: 5′ 7″ Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
• Sara, 18; Height: 5′ 10″ Hometown: Rio Grand Valley, Texas

And on to tonight’s premiere as Tyra continues to prove she has no shame in her game by punking the 14 contestants. Yes, Tyra begins the show by telling the 14 finalists they didn’t make the cut and will be going home. The girls weep of course and try to find their luggages, only for Tyra to reveal it was all a joke! Very funny indeed.

Below is also a promo video in which Tyra mocks some of the most common types who appear at “ANTM” castings aka the girl that doesn’t really want to be there, the girl that is not there to make friends etc.  It’s actually pretty funny.

America’s Next Top Model airs tonight on the CW network at 8/7c.

TELL US – ARE YOU EXCITED FOR THE NEW SEASON OF ANTM? THOUGHTS ON TONIGHT’S PREMIERE?

On last night’s finale of America’s Next Top Model cycle 13, Nicole Fox was crowned the winner of the first ever petite season, which had all the models at 5’7″ or under.

Nicole beat out runner up Laura Kirkpatrick to take the final prize which includes a contract with Wilhelmina Models, a six-page Seventeen spread and cover, plus a $100,000 CoverGirl deal to look forward to. “I’m a dork and I’m America’s Next Top Model!” exclaimed the 18-year-old from Louisville, Colorado.

“This journey was incredibly hard,” Nicole said. “I had to learn to embarrass myself—and to speak, which was a struggle. Sometimes I didn’t think I was going to survive the journey. Like, I remember during casting week I went home and I cried because I was like, ‘What have I gotten myself into? I can’t deal with this.’

Good luck to Nicole, she will be needing it as a majority of past ANTM winners haven’t had much success in the modeling world.  Former ANTM judge, Paulina Porizkova echoed the same sentiment in a past interview. Paulina even went as far as to say, “Go to Top Model only if you don’t want to be a model.”

America’s Next Top Model just got more glamorous.  Lauren Conrad and Kim Kardashian will appear separately as guest judges when the show returns for it’s 13th cycle.

LC will join host Tyra Banks, photographer Nigel Barker and runway diva J. Alexander on the judges’ panel on Sept. 16, while Kim will take her turn on Oct. 21.

According to People, each episode of the new cycle, which premieres Sept. 9 (8 p.m. EST) on the CW, will feature a member of the fashion community as a guest judge.

Former judge Paulina Porizkova will no longer be appearing on the show, as she was fired back in May.  Another first for this season?  All of the contestants on this cycle will be 5?7? and under.

Former Supermodel/Newly Fired ANTM Judge Paulina Porizkova gave a new interview, and she did not hold back when speaking of Tyra Banks and the Top Model franchise. Paulina accused Tyra of constantly being late to the set, and even accused the show of casting girls solely for the drama and not for their modeling abilities. The best quote of the interview – “Go to Top Model only if you don’t want to be a model.”

So Paulina is basically saying what we’ve all been thinking for years, it’s safe to say none of the ANTM winners have gone on to become “Top Models.” Below are some excerpts from the interview -

What did you think of Teyona’s win?
Well, I was there. I had a hand in it. But you know what? Honestly, now that I’m off the show I can actually say it. I didn’t vote for Teyona.

Who did you vote for?
Allison. Well, I’m not going to name names. But two of us voted for Allison and two of us voted for Teyona and one of us had to cross the line over to the other one.

Of the three finalists, who do you think is the most likely to have an actual modeling career?
None of them.

Really? That’s sad.
I know. I’m really very sorry. But they’re not models. Look at the history of Top Model. When has a winner not fallen down into that great big hole where the other sock goes? When? That’s because you can’t pick models from a TV show. Those tall, long giraffe things that don’t really look real are rare freaks of nature. And finding a freak of nature with a personality, that’s like finding a double freak of nature. So you’d have a TV show once every 10 years.

You announced this week that you aren’t coming back.
I didn’t announce that. I announced that I was fired on my birthday—April 9th They timed it beautifully.

Why did they let you go?
Well, they said that Top Model needs to trim the fat. So they cut me. It came as a little bit of a shock. I was a little upset that I was fired roughly four weeks before the new season was starting. I was being told to go have a physical for the show and then I got fired. I think they could have done that better.

Stupid recession.
Actually a lot of my friends from the show got booted, too. Makeup and hair people. And I shouldn’t say this because this sounds bitter. But if Tyra came in on time, they would save somebody’s salary. If she actually showed up on time for the judgings and they didn’t have to pay a lot of overtime, they would save a lot of money.

Do you think you did something to bring this on?
I did get pissy about Tyra being late a couple of times. I said, “I don’t think that’s right.” And they told me I had a big ego. So maybe that had something to do with it.

If they ask you to come back as a guest judge would you go back?
No. I think there’s a little too much bad blood. I mean I don’t wish them ill. But do I want them to blossom without me? No. I’m not going to lie.

Do you have any advice for future auditioners?
Yeah. Go to Top Model only if you don’t want to be a model. These girls want to be models so desperately. And the fact is the show is not even looking for fashion models. They’re looking for personalities. It’s a Cinderella story. But [many of] the girls who succeed on the show won’t succeed [in the industry] because they’re not models. I have become friends with some of the models on the show and they actually have lost jobs when it came out that they were on America’s Next Top Model, because the fashion industry will not touch those girls with a ten foot pole.

So they have to hide the fact that they were on the show?
Yeah. And if you’re a winner you can just flush yourself down the toilet. Unless you marry a Brady, in which case you have a career.

But some of the models, like Ya-Ya DaCosta, have found showbiz success.
Yes. Some of the ones who did not win have done much better than the winners for sure. But none of them have approached top model [status]. Out of the girls that we had this season: I think Aminat might have a future in shows because she’s a terrific walker, she has a great body, and she’s very tall. But that’s the closest anybody’s going to get to fashion.

A lot of young girls look up to the show and it really hasn’t produced a top model.
They haven’t and they won’t. And now they’re doing the short girls. Like that’s ever going to catch on in fashion. It might be terrific TV. But it’s not about reality.

What are your thoughts on what Paulina had to say? Do you think the “Top Model” winners stand a chance?

Another day, another judge gets the boot from America’s Next Top Model. The latest judge to get fired is Paulina Porizkova. Paulina confirmed on Tuesday’s Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson that she will no longer be on the show, “Listen, do you know why I am in Los Angeles … because I am looking for a job.  I was fired by America’s Next Top Model on my birthday [April 9].”

The 44 year old ex model claims she got fired over the phone, “The reason I was told I was fired was because, it seemed that America’s Next Top Model has gotten too fat and they needed to cut some fat, and the fat was me,” she says.

The CW also confirmed she is no longer with the show.

A group of aspiring models showed up for last week’s America’s Next Top Model auditions in New York last Saturday but do any of them really stand a chance at being the Next Top Model?

According to the NYDailyNews, the answer is no. Their sources claim Tyra Banks and the ANTM producers choose at least some of their contestants at private tryouts and that the open cattle calls around the country are mostly just publicity stunts.

A rep for the CW network declined to comment, while another source claimed, “The producers had already picked some of the girls they wanted in private meetings.  They had to sign agreements promising not to reveal how they were chosen.”

Aspiring model Dehea Abraham who flew from Atlanta for the March 14 open call was told by a friend that she didn’t stand a chance. “My friend is a dancer who’s represented by a talent agency that also handles models,” says Abraham. “Someone from the show saw her MySpace page and invited her to a secret pre-audition. My friend doesn’t really want to model. But she figured she’d try it out. She had to sign a confidentiality agreement.”  Dehea continues saying, “When I got to New York, she called me and said, ‘Please tell me you’re not in New York City. You’re wasting your time.’”

Another aspiring model Dionne Sherrae, who injured her shoulder in the March 14 fiasco, says she’s “not surprised” to hear that the 13 girls who get into the Top Model House may not all come from cattle calls. “You never hear about people saying, ‘Oh, I stood in line next to that girl.’”  Must say she brings up a valid point.

Do you believe the ANTM tryouts are rigged?