Category — Alex Perry

It is amazing how every Monday without fail there is a yarn about Australia’s Next Top Model in the papers. Normally involving something judge Alex Perry said or did not say. Always handy when the episode is going to air tonight….

This time it comes from Project Runway Australia finalist Craig Braybrook who said to the Herald Sun that Alex Perry and the Project Runway contestants used to make negative comments about fat people.

The article states:

Known for his catty comments, the Melbourne designer couldn’t resist letting slip that contestants and mentor Alex Perry would often make swipes about curvy people on the set of the Foxtel reality series.

“On the show he was always like ‘I hate fat people’,” Braybrook said.

“He used to say it all the time.”

Last week Perry denied he was a “fattist” after copping a barrage of criticism for describing a size 8 Australia’s Next Top Model contestant, Alissandra Moone , as “overstuffed luggage”.

Perry was slammed in the media and on social networking sites after he led the charge to send Moone, 18, packing when she could not fit into a size 10 designer dress.

The Perrygate saga followed an angry war of words with former Biggest Loser host Ajay Rochester, who claims Perry hates fat women and had openly mocked her body.

Perry described Rochester’s claims as reprehensible and said there was no way Moone was a size 8 when she was on the show.

“Somehow everyone thinks I hate fat people … I have somehow become the new skinny ambassador,” Perry said at the time.

“I can dress a big girl better than anybody.”

The Project Runway Australia finale just happens to be on Arena TV tonight as well at 8.30pm, and the Australia’s Next Top Model episode  is on Fox 8 at 7.30pm.

If you want to see the previous Alex Perry’s stories click here, here, and here.

Every year this issue comes up on Australia’s Next Top Model when one of the models is told they are too fat.

However this year it appears a girl who is size 8 has been deemed as being to large for the industry.

News.com.au reports Alex Perry tells 18 year old Alissandra Moone likens her to “overstuffed baggage”.

The article states:

Alissandra Moone, 18, who at 57kg is considered underweight on the Australian body mass index, was “stunned” when her size became an issue on Foxtel’s top-rating show.

Judge Alex Perry has openly criticised Moone’s body, likening it to “overstuffed luggage”, and the clash is set to reach a head on tonight’s episode.

“It’s a very bad message to be sending to young girls who watch the show,” Moone said yesterday.

“It’s harsh. It’s stupid. And it’s out of touch. I understand it’s a reality of the (modelling) industry but this is a TV show and they should have a responsibility to censor that kind of thing.

“I know this has happened to other girls in the past but I was shocked when he (Perry) said I was too fat.

“I’m only a size eight. There’s going to be a lot of young girls watching this who are bigger than me, and how’s this going to make them feel?”

Perry was unavailable for comment.

This story has probably been put out there to attract viewers to tonights episode on the show.

So if you want to watch it Australia’s Next Top Model (ANTM) is on Fox 8 tonight at 7.30pm.

 UPDATE: Alex Perry has come out on twitter (no not in THAT way) and said he was misquoted. His quote was to do with her pose in photo shoot apparently.

Ajay Rochester is in town to promote her new book has taken a slash at Alex Perry  saying he hates fat women. News.com.au quotes Alex as saying the reason Ajay might be having a go at him is that he refused to dress her in the past.

However Alex and Ajay went head to head on 106.5 fm yesterday and it wasn’t very edifying for either of them. I wondered why Alex was allowing himself to be drawn into this debate, however he said on air 60% of his made to wear business are larger women.

Ajay continues to give her views on the stoush via her blog.

Good news for Project Runway Australia fans, with news the third season will kick of on Monday July 4 on Arena TV at 8.30pm.

There is a whole new cast. The show will  be hosted by Megan Gale, with Alex Perry as mentor.

I don’t know how Alex Perry is juggling his workload, as Australia’s Next Top Model is currently filming as well. He also has his fashion design commitments and last week I read he was designing an apartment complex in Brisbane.

Fashion designer Kirrily Johnston is a new judge, as well as industry expert Jarrad Clark.

Clark’s experience spans working with the major creative heads in fashion, Australia and worldwide, as the Global Event Production Director of IMG Fashion.

And we have the names of the contestants.

Five designers from New South Wales; Anthony Allars, Dylan Cooper, Johnny Schembri, Nerida Bourne and Rachael Perks, four designers from Victoria; Claire Hocking,Craig Braybrook, Gabrielle Stephens and Matcho Suba and three designers from Western Australia; Anna McEachran, Amanda McKenna and Timothy Godbold will battle it out for first prize.

Also expect to see Collette Dinnigan, Camilla Franks, Dannii Minogue and  Carla Zampatti, as guest judges.

Cannot wait – this is one of the best Australian reality TV show produced. By the looks of the preview it looks like again the production values are high.

Also if you know any of the contestants email me or make a comment and tell us about them.

The Daily Telegraph are saying Australia’s Next Top Model judges Charlotte Dawson and Alex Perry are suing Nine MSN and Facebook over allegations she bullied a university student during a vicious online exchange. (Previous blog post on the issue here).

The stoush cost Charlotte an $18,000 contract.

The article says:

Dawson said she initially joined the Facebook slanging match, believing it was “one of our friends joking around”.

“But as soon as we started, the responses became really full-on and the messages we were sent were so explicit,” she said.

Dawson said comments described her as a “disease-ridden prostitute” and “crack whore”.

“I was so fascinated people would write such hateful things and when I wrote back they’d say, ‘Oh, we love you, we were just having fun’.”

But the online “fun” allegedly ended in death threats to the pair, who now plan a joint action against a Ninemsn report which documented the thread.

In the piece, Dawson reportedly conceded calling the page’s creator a “westie scrag” and its members “f … ing losers”.

Ninemsn head of news Hal Crawford defended the article yesterday, stating: “Charlotte Dawson confirmed with [us] that she had made those comments.”

I think this will be an interesting court case to watch, and wonder if it will set case law in relation to social media comments.

New Reality TV Show For Alex Perry On Foxtel

Designer and Australian Next Top Model judge Alex Perry will start filming a reality TV show next month. It is a bit unclear what it will be. He said it will be something “fun and different” and not a Big Brother style behind the scenes snapshot of his crazy life.

He said he would love to do a bridal aspect because the craziest stuff happens at weddings!

Now that would be cool our very own Bridezilla, though I am sure the society babes he designs for won’t agree to that.

Expect to see his celebrity clients trying to raise their profile on his show.

Link to story here.

Australian Idol Contestant Sex Predator Finally Convicted.
In an article here in the Herald Sun it is revealed a sex offender has finally been convicted on charges for sexually assaulting 10 girls between 14 and 18 between 2003 and 2005.

Previously the Idol contestant had been through a harrowing court case with this same person for sexually assaulting her in the late ’90′s when she was 15. A jury did not convict him of the three sex related charges.

She states she is happy she had made the allegations against him. Did the jury get it wrong? Because of the nature of the charges the singer nor the year she was on Idol can be revealed, and out of respect for her I won’t bother speculating.

Andrew G’s Australian Idol Top Four Predictions
Andrew G reckons the top four will be Wes Carr, Mark Spano, Brooke Addamo and Roshani Priddis. I found the most interesting aspect in an article here where he reveals his and his wife’s Noa’s plans for kids.

Make Me A Supermodel Are Trying To Boost Ratings By Promoting The Best Bits Of The Upcoming Episodes.
Last week it was the stolen bottle of Bollinger by Hannah and this week it is the fight between Billy Bishop and Tom Penfold which is broken up by judge Jackie Frank. Apparently would be model Courtney was also injured in the melee.

This strategy appears to be working with the show cracking the over 1 million viewer mark for the first time last week.

The link between these to controversies appears to be Jackie Frank – will she turn into the Charlotte Dawson of this show, taking away the attention from the bland hosts?

Grant Hackett’s Channel 7′s Contract In Danger Because Of His Refusal To Go on Dancing With The Stars.
Now I always knew this guy had integrity and this confirms it by him refusing to go on that awful boring show Dancing With The Stars. Apparently he said no and David Leckie head of Channel 7 said he had to. Rumour has it that Hackett may be looking for a new contract elsewhere. Full story in the Daily Tele here.

Now I know this is off topic but can someone tell him to take his wife Candice out for a good feed as she looked incredibly scrawny at the Olympics.

In other Dancing With The Star News James Tobin from Sunrise (I have no idea who he is) and Renee Bargh from Channel V may be doing the wild thing.

Australia’s Next Top Model publicity team has really cranked it up this week in preparation for the start of the show’s fourth series on Fox 8 on 22 April at 7.30pm.

Last years winner and international success story Alice Burdeau will be flying in next week. I am not sure if this is timed to coincide with the start of the show, or to do with some lined up commitments with Vogue. She will doing a shoot, plus be an ambassador at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week.

Last night the show was launched and Vogue editor Kirstie Clements said this year’s contenders had not produced the ‘obvious’ winner she saw in Alice last year.

Alice’s success overseas has definitely validated the show as a launch pad to a modelling career.

In an article yesterday in the Daily Terror Alex Perry one of the judges said at a glance, Burdeu can a look a plain Jane, and one of the interesting aspects of the show is that it explains the mysteries of fashion modelling.

Perry says the interpretation of beauty is a big thing.

“The girls who are the most famous and achieve that really high status are never the beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed beach babe that people think Australia’s Next Top Model should be,”

“They are not the girls who work for Vogue international and do all those international shows. It’s getting down to basic, it’s the bone structure those girls have.

For success on the show Perry states:

“They have to have the whole thing,”

“Their bodies have to be perfect, their skin has to be flawless and they have to have good personalities and can get on with a lot of people – and translate that on to film.”

Personally I didn’t think someone like that existed.

It was interesting to read that judges avoid footage of the girls in the mansion which does show a more realistic view of the contestants personalities.

“We hear a few reports but the only thing we see weekly is the elimination process and we never see them at home, “

“When I finally watch it going to air, it surprises me, some of the behaviour, and if I was watching that as it was happening during judging, it would taint my view.

“Some girls last year – I thought “Are you kidding me?”

“So I prefer to go on what they’ve done on the catwalk and in photographs. It’s not a personality competition -it’s about what they can deliver as a model.”