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I'm not quite sure how to best introduce this next piece of footage, so I'll keep it brief.

We have this guy here at MTV News called CJ. We love him. He's awesome. But CJ has a problem. He walks funny. There's really no way to describe it apart from the fact that he walks like he's possessed. Even if its just a few steps or a couple of blocks, CJ walks everywhere like he's being chased by a serial killer or worse. Arms flail, his mop-hair bounces and people stop and stare. We've all kind of become immune to it here at MTV News, but for CJ's own sake, we felt that something had to be done.

When J. Alexander — also known as Miss J, the runway coach and judge from hit reality show "America's Next Top Model" — stopped by the MTV Newsroom for an interview (he's promoting his new book "Follow the Model: Miss J's Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power"; stay tuned for more from the interview later in the week), MTV News' Rya Backer and I decided to stage an intervention for our friend CJ.

Miss J has made a career out of teaching girls how to strut on "Americas Next Top Model" and has helped some of the world's most iconic models develop signature walks. But we knew that this was going to be his most daunting task yet. Could Miss J help CJ unleash his own poise and power? Check out the video below to find out.

Kim Stolz

Oh no she didn't!!!

On Tuesday, my old friend Tyra Banks gave me a little shout-out on her talk show. When I heard that I'd been mentioned, I thought, Could this be about successful "America's Next Top Model" alums? News reporters? MTV on-air correspondents? Modeling? Why is Tyra talking about me again?!

And then it came to me with a rush of "shockingly predictable": The show was called "Straight Girl, Gay Crush" and asked the question, "Is everybody a little bit gay?"

On my season of "ANTM," I had a somewhat brief (depending on how much you know) fling with a girl named Sarah Rhoades, a self-proclaimed straight girl. So, naturally, Tyra was using our notorious limo kiss as an example of a straight girl getting involved with a gay girl — so surprising, considering the three times I was on the Tyra show were centered around my apparently very exciting sexuality. Oh great!

Still, though. I'm a sucker for Tyra, so I'll bite.
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Kim StolzI recently visited the "Real World" house in Red Hook, Brooklyn, expecting simply to hand Real Worlder Chet the mock MTV News that he had hosted the week before. (Chet is interested in an on-air position at MTV, so we thought we'd set him up with a little test run.) But I encountered a hell of a lot more when I got there.

There's this condition called PTRSD. Don't worry — it's nothing serious. And while the numbers are growing, only a small percentage of the population is affected. It develops in the days and months (in some cases, years) after any or all of the following experiences:

1. Having zero control over your minutes, hours and days, and taking orders from people you cannot see (perhaps via telephone or message) Read more...

Tyra BanksCall off the troops and put away the bayonets. Today, a feud was ended, and a friendship commenced.

Tyra and I are kindred spirits again.

I have to admit, making the "elimination room" spoof was a blast. It made me feel exhilarated, renewed, refreshed and, yes, avenged in a certain manner. But such fleeting feelings were soon overtaken by a need to put down my arms, be the bigger (metaphorically speaking) person and make things right with TyTy once more.

I saw the new film she executive-produced, "The Clique," as the perfect opportunity. So, pride and confidence in hand, I went to interview Tyra this morning with three goals in mind.

1. To call for a cease-fire
2. To find out if, after all, the photo shoot with Analeigh (theme: the reporter with an attitude) was, in fact, inspired by my antics at the Fiercee Awards
3. To ask, if it wasn't about me, who was Tyra talking about? Who deserves to take Naomi Campbell's place?

Who is Tyra feuding with?

All three goals were completed. Take a look:


Joan. It's on. Godspeed and may the best woman win.

Dear Tyra,

I want to express my deepest condolences over my ex-friend Jim Cantiello disrespecting you in his blog entry yesterday. I especially want to express sympathy for his apparent mocking of your music career. Keep with it, girl! Fierce!

Now, I'm not self-centered. Maybe you weren't even referencing me in Analeigh's photo shoot. Maybe you were talking about some other potentially bitchy red-carpet moment that you had with another interviewer ... Could it be Joan or Melissa Rivers, or even Oprah?? OK, probably not Oprah. She's perfect and everyone's fave. (Does that hurt?) But does THIS

look like Melissa Rivers? Certainly doesn't look like Joan ... in fact ... WAIT! It resembles me more than most photos taken of me — I gotta agree with Jim on that one.

But hey, that's water under the bridge. Let's get to the real issue at hand.
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Tyra Banks and Kim Stolz
The photo shoot on last night's episode of "America's Next Top Model" started innocently enough. Queen Tyra had the girls act out awkward, unscripted scenarios at a fictional awards show. The photos ranged from tripping onstage to not being able to pee in a fancy dress. (Classy!) And then there was this scenario: "The Interviewer With an Attitude."

That's an odd awards-show scenario, isn't it? I don't really think that particular situation would pop into most people's heads when they hear "unscripted awards-show moment." But whatevs, just last week Tyra called traffic a "natural disaster," so I'm used to this show making my brain hurt.
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[Editor's note: MTV News correspondent Kim Stolz was a finalist on "America's Next Top Model" in 2005.]

IsisSix cycles and three years after Nigel Barker nicknamed me "Tim" (like, I get it — he thinks I'm too gay), "America's Next Top Model" has announced that one of the contestants of Cycle 11 is transgender. This, no doubt, is quite a historic move for the show, which previously had a sort of unspoken "must be born a woman" clause. However, from scrolling through the photographs of the Cycle 11 girls, Isis looks just as — if not more — qualified than the rest. She's more model-esque than most of her competitors, with long, skinny legs, and it's clear that she's had top surgery (her boobs are bigger and prettier than almost all of the girls' — oh my!). Plus, I'd bet my "ANTM" earnings (OK, fine, a lot more than that) that she's got the best walk of the bunch.
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whitneywalking

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...

whitneywins

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...

whitney2

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…?