It doesn't happen very often in reality TV, let alone on AusNTM, where an archetype is immediately overshadowed by their successor but that is pretty much the case with Jessica and Paloma. Jessica was the first girl in AusNTM to wear the mantle of "geeky annoying girl everyone fights with" but was also the girl who went on the biggest journey in Cycle 2, leading her to stand second only to that season's golden child, Eboni.
Really, when you think about it, Jessica coming in runner-up to Eboni means that she, more than any other girl in that cycle, certainly would have a reason to be upset at the way the whole situation played out. Had Eboni not been given what many could argue was preferential treatment, perhaps Jessica would have been the girl who won that Cycle and forever changed the face of Australian modelling on the international scene?
Jessica's bisexuality, although never openly addressed on the show, did lead to one of my favorite moments in the history of the show and definitely my favorite Jessica moment when she chose Madeleine to join her on a night out as the winner of the reward challenge in episode two and this happened:
If only the Jessica remained this fun and bubbly instead of becoming the rather dour, miserable sad sack that she would in subsequent episodes. She became a real stick in the mud which made it difficult to enjoy seeing her success propel her into the runner-up position.
Given that, also, Paloma's fight's were more epic, her photos were more banging, and her quotes were more quotable, that's pretty much all the factors that combine to see Jessica go out as the first of the top 20 girls.
BUT, this wouldn't be a trojan write-up if I didn't dig up a little dirt to throw on a girl if I could now, would it? To say that Jessica's reputation as a bit of a whinger and a tantrum thrower lived on post-show would be a bit of an understatement. In fact, in 2009 she got herself into a bit of hot water during some Mardi-Gras shenanigans and ended up having the following article published:
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv ... 1119085235Tsk, tsk, Ms French. One should really learn to keep that horrid tempter in check.
Numbers Chosen:
Numbers Eliminated:
Numbers Saved:
[/center]
Better late than never?