by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: August 04, 2008

America's Next Top Model usually has some characters that stand out in your mind, individuals who are arrogant or who get into memorable disputes with fellow contestants. In the first season it was Elyse, the militant atheist, and Robin the good Southern Baptist girl who were at loggerheads. In season three Eva Pigford was arrogant, bitchy, but also beautiful. She did seem to mature over the course of the programme, and was more deserving of the win than the runner-up, Yaya DaCosta, who came across as snobby and snotty throughout. Plus, who can forget the granola bar incident' in season five when Bre Scullark seemed to completely lose it in London?

The most memorable character for me, however, has to be Lisa D'Amato from season five. She is my favourite in that she is my favourite contestant to hate. It seems that she wasn't exactly popular with her housemates either and they were slightly bewildered by her erratic (often drunken) behaviour. Obviously editing may have fostered the idea that Lisa was slightly bonkers and slightly aloof from the rest of the contestants, but you can't help feeling that the editing couldn't account for all of her behaviour. She certainly didn't shy away from attention and had an unquantifiable amount of self-belief, which others justifiably interpreted as arrogance.

Somehow she managed to take reasonably good pictures, but watching her stand in front of the panel, she looked rather unattractive. Obviously beauty is in the eye of the beholder', so there are plenty of people out there who thought she was attractive, but I'm not one of them. Her voice was rather annoying as well; as well as ageing poorly due to smoking; she also sounded like she'd been smoking for some considerable time. I'm sounding rather bitchy, but I think bitchiness is what is needed when referring to Lisa because she was just so annoying and weird. Now I'm not exactly normal', so for me to be calling someone weird means that the person in question must have done something to warrant it. I think, for me, it was when she was showing off in front the Wildboyz and decided to relieve herself in the adult diaper she was wearing. Some may say, well, isn't that the purpose of an adult diaper?', but I mean, come on, she knew this was going to be aired on national (and international) television yet she thought it was a good idea. This girl was shameless!

Lisa was certainly memorable. Every week I watched America's Next Top Model I had my fingers crossed that it was her week to go, until finally it was. Then there was a huge sigh of relief. Shows usually benefit from having someone a bit loud and extroverted, but Lisa took it too far, and she didn't have the charisma to pull it off. Like I said before she is my favourite contestant on America's Next Top Model merely for the fact that she is so memorable, but memorable for being so bad, not good!

Learn more about this author, Michelle Wilkinson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.