Tahnee named Australia’s Next Top Model
Tahnee Atkinson, 16, has been announced as the winner of Australia's Next Top Model -and was almost upstaged by a nosebleed.
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Australia’s Next Top Model. She defeated Cassi Van Den Dungen, 17, from Victoria.
While Cassi won extra votes from the judges, it was the audience vote that tipped Tahnee as the title winner.
Sarah Murdoch hosted FOX8’s live finale under the big top at Luna Park, opening the show by asking a huge audience if the winner would be “Boganista Cassi” or “Gorgeous goofball Tahnee?’
“What a bunch of scrags they’ve been,” said judge Charlotte Dawson. “Talk about bitching.”
Co-judge Alex Perry agreed, “If there’s no bitching what’s the point?”
So it seems…
Before a throng of fans, industry, celebrities and media, the finale brought back all 11 eliminated contestants, and featured Jessica Mauboy performing, Project Runway Australia contestants, a message from Bruno, and a surprise reunion with Cassi’s mother who now resides in the US.
Ruby Rose hosted behind-the-scenes moments with contestants and members of the audience.
But an unexpected nosebleed for Tahnee nearly upstaged them all.
“I think that’s a first,” said Murdoch.
All 13 contestants also participated in a ‘forum’ style chat with Dawson and Perry asking questions about the series, including their conduct and comments. Much of it focussed on bitching, dummy spits and tantrums with clip highlights.
“I called you a mole, so I apologise,” Dawson said to one contestant.
Another girl clarified that the bitching was, “more sibling rivalry than bitching.”
As the winner of ANTM’s fifth cycle, Tahnee wins agency representation, a trip to New York, features as the face of a Maybelline collection, a magazine shoot for Harper’s Bazaar and $20,000 cash.
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38 Responses
cassie may have a bad attitude and i dont like her but she totally deserves to win over tahnee…
dear God people, the Fashion Industry is all about one thing only.. aesthetic / beauty! That’s it. Nothing more. If you cant take someone being a bitch to your face, you will never survive all the subversive, insincere, backstabbing, transience that is the vocation of a model. The pay is exorbitant because the conditions are extraordinary. You are paid to be professional ‘meat’, follow instruction which includes criticism. Im sure none of you would reject a fee of $5,000+ for a few hours work.. so youre expected not to bring your personal hangups / show any general insolent behaviour / display any random opinions. Youre a manequin for a product; that’s it. People who have no inside knowledge of the industry give too much credit to modelling as a dignified vocation.
iI cannot believe mt eyes as im reading other peoples opinions on the outcome of ANTM! Shut the hell up about cassie and claire. cassie did not win and nor did claire, it is no longer time for them to shine, it is Tahnees! For most people to say that Claire shouldve won is shallow and not respectful of all the hard work Tahnee put in. This is one beautiful girl who is down to earth (unlike the other two), she represents real women, and is certainly the kind of girl i want my daughter to look up to!! Cassie and Claire need to go and have a good feed, and come back down to earth. There was no ‘rigging” involved in the final vote just obviously the majority of Australia voted for the girl they wanted. Tahnee would not have made it as far as she did on the show judged by high up people in the industry if she was not the model type, and the people who say such a thing probably voted one of the others. Congrats Tahnee i think you are gorgeous, and best of wishes for your fantastic future!!
The fact that when sent on ‘go sees’ to Top Fashion houses the one girl given most positions in the Fashions shows was Clare, was the definitive point in what should have been Clare’s immediate choice as one of the last two compeitors for Australia’s Next Top Model. Alex Perry chose Clare but Charlotte Dawson’s comments were not only rude re Clare they showed Charlotte as the ‘bogan.’ Because she is a beautifully mannered, calm and controlled young woman, Clare was way out of the league of understanding of the judging panel and therefore not included in the final two. That Cassie was in the final was, from many angles, just wrong!
Tahnee is pretty and had lost weight for the final but the winner should always have been Clare and it’s difficult to have any faith in that show for the future when such an obvious mistake has been made. The public knew who should have won!
Cassi should have won. The public should not be able to vote – this is a modelling contest, not a popularity contest. The public already voted for their favourite model – Claire – and she won $5000. We don’t vote for the best chef on Masterchef, we don’t vote for the best designer on Project Runway … because we are not professionals in that industry. The professionals chose Cassi – so she should have won.
As for Sarah and Charlotte’s reasons for not voting for Cassi – I was appalled. They could have delivered that message in a much more positive way. Why not give all the reasons they wanted to vote for Tahnee, not all the reasons they didn’t want to vote for Cassi. They should have a better understanding of how those kinds of comments are going to affect a 16 year old girl. If she chooses to get married and settle down in Sunbury … what business is it of theirs? They brought her to the final – if they didn’t think she deserved the prize, they should have eliminated her earlier. I was so upset at the way Charlotte and Sarah spoke to Cassie last night.
Worse still they made fun of the way her mum walks and then they laughed along with Lola’s “no regrets” comment. Hypocritically, they made Mikarla apologise to Tahnee for calling her fat … did we forget what Tahnee did? She put cigarette butts and rubbish in Mikarla’s bed!!!They seem to pick and choose when personality and behaviour counts in this competition. If that was the case … Demelza wouldn’t have won last year.
I think Cassi should have won. She was unfairly discriminated on the show because she comes from a lower socio-economic background. How hard would it be to do anything if your mother moves to L.A. and leaves you when you are just 16 years old? A lot of the so called drama and bullying is just staged anyway. Also all the people in the know – the agent, the photographer, the designer and the magazine editor all voted for Cassi – what does that tell you. Actually Sarah Murdoch’s prejudice against ‘bogans’ has turned me off her – I thought she would be above that.
I agree with David 100%.
The girl has been picked on because she is from a different class of people.
All the models were nasty and mean, some were more sneaky about it.
She is still a good person and conducted herself extremely well. As her mother said, she took a lot of rubbish and she listened to it and tried to change.
That’s pretty big for a 16 year old to take so much on board.
I couldn’t help but see a “kid” that was being descriminated against, mostly by the media, because of her backgroud and it made me want to jump to her defense when I ordinarily might not.
DId anyone else notice the way Cassi hogged the limelight when the vote was announced. I thought she had won! And what about that headlock she gave Tahnee – I thought she was certainly lacking in any class whatsoever, which is really the reason she didn’t win.
Maude I think in such a pressure cooker, and at their age, any reaction risks being taken out of context. She was a good sport considering.
I also think a lot of the press has been unfair, including Foxtel reminding us she is ‘boganista’ Cassi in official press releases today. Sure, she admitted she was a proud bogan -she had to after press brought it up. Again, including contestants under the age of 18 is a big risk in reality.
I’m glad that Tahnee won, she was ahead all along, Cassie did nothing but bitch and moan right through the show, how she made it to the final is a mystery, Clare and Tahnee should have been in the final. Congrats to Tahnee you deserve it.
I agree with Daniel,well done Tahnee.I’d rather my daughter look up to someone like you.You were my favourite from the start.
Beautiful blue eyes & dark hair & a great pair of legs.
All the best for the future.