This in from MTV News intern, "Gossip Girl" expert, and "Top Model" obsessive Rya:

So it seems that some of you really ran with my story about Whitney’s magical triumph as the winner of this cycle of “America’s Next Top Model.” There were enough, um, passionate comments that it seems necessary to get analytical.

Let’s start with the positive. Whitney, if you’re out there in cyberspace reading this: you’ve got a helluva fan base. Many have taken a shine to the idea that a toothpick with limbs didn’t win big. “Real Girls are not anorexic...Real Girls have meat…Whitney’s got that, thank you,” wrote Mawlo. Reader Wendy was especially happy with the show’s results because “She will be a positive role model for MANY girls/women in America. It’s great that she will be representing the average woman in the international modeling world!”

Others interpreted the win as a kind of patriotic statement. Georgetown Hoya got even loftier, attributing Whitney’s win to a political shift happening in America: “This is the era of change! We can see this in politics as we have Obama and Hillary running. America is finally being mobilized in a positive way, and I'm hoping the same mobility happens in the fashion industry. Stop hating on Whitney!” Hope! While Lacey Cloverdale made me want to wrap myself in the American flag when she declared, “Anya was nowhere NEAR being an American -- unless she just took her citizenship test. No American has that kind of accent. She could barely speak ENGLISH, and this is ‘America's Next Top Model.’ Whitney was the only one left. Good for her.” Hmm. Lacey, sweetheart, have you not noticed how Eastern Europeans, Russians, and Dutchwomen are dominating the pages of Vogue these days? Larger conversation!

But there were worlds more comments that were negative... Read more...

MTV News intern and resident “Gossip Girl” expert Rya has expanded her overly personal obsessions to include "America's Next Top Model" -- and just in time for the finale:

So last night’s episode of “Top Model” was the grand finale, which I watched with the sincere hope that the show is actually aware of its all-consuming campiness. I mean, Tyra knows, right? Anyway!

If you didn’t know (how would that be possible?), the glorious final three was composed of Fatima, a gorgeous Somalian; Anya, a Russian/Hawaiian goddess; and (hold onto your chairs) Whitney, a pretty normal-sized, beautiful woman we at MTV News have totally been rooting for.

There were so many amazing, hilarious, and amazingly hilarious moments in the “Top Model” finale. (Like Miss J's rhinestone eyebrows. Note to whoever thought up such a facial accoutrement: I'll have what you're having.) My rundown after the jump. Read more...

After being in the bottom two twice in a row, Whitney (looking particularly rock & roll above) broke the curse last night and made it into this “ANTM” cycle’s final three. Don’t say we never told you so!

It’s ironic that a plus-sized beauty would triumph in a particularly food-averse episode -- the girls ganged up on Dominique behind her back, calling her out for eating candy and snacking at 2:30 in the morning (scandal!) -- but that’s just what happened. Continuing the corny themes inspired by the Roman backdrop, the girls were forced to “act” once again (gag), this time running down some steps with their (surprisingly short) Italian model “boyfriend” while being stalked by a paparazzo. Whatevs. Tyra, woman, those pseudo-concepts are so Cosmo/Allure/Seventeen -- i.e. not haute fashion! But what do you expect from a TV competition sponsored by Cover Girl? We wouldn’t be surprised if Oxy sponsored cycle 11…

Anyway, Whitney took some OK pics, as did the rest of the gang. Not an inspired/inspiring week. But what we came away with is the fact that, as the Blonde Bombshell herself put it, “America and ‘America’s Next Top Model’ are ready for a plus-size model to win the competition.” Yes, we are! Bring it!

So will Whitney take it all the way? It’s looking like a real possibility. What do you think…?

Along with her Miley Cyrus obsession, we have learned that MTV News intern Jackie is also a devotee of the Tyra Banks-athon, “America’s Next Top Model.” Here she shares her thoughts on contestant Whitney, the plus-sized model currently dominating this season:

Being a self-proclaimed religious viewer of La Tyra’s “Next Top Model,” I find this season to be the most exciting for one reason: Whitney. The stunning 20-year-old from Atlantic Beach, Florida, has gotten farther in this competition than any of the previous “plus-sized” girls, and I’m sure a lot of women would agree that it’s been a long time coming. Last night, although in the bottom two, she was pushed through to the final four, sending the once-favored Katarzyna packing.

I, for one, was getting a little tired of the same sort of girl winning every season, and when Whitney stepped in the room the first episode, I wondered if finally we would see a “plus-sized” girl win. Modeling shows have become so popular, it’s great to see a normal body type – one you’d see in your mom or best friend (or in the mirror?) -- getting closer to winning. Read more...