America's Next Top Model 4, Episode 11: It's Because She's Black

The girls go to dinner that night to meet the guys. Keenyah decides to tell Bertini about what he did at the shoot, and he doesn’t seem to care, especially when Brittany tells him that he did great. When the check comes, Keenyah doesn’t want to pay since her drink isn’t listed on the bill. Brittany says it’s polite to put in money anyway, and I agree. How cheap can you be? Keenyah and Brittany start to bicker, and Naima says the guys are watching them bash one another. Even Kahlen says she feels awkward. All this continues in the van. Brittany says that Keenyah is selfish, and if she had no money, why did she order a drink? Good question! Brittany then brings up the whole Nelson Mandela thing again, and the deal with Naima getting the key. Damn, Brittany has no problem laying it all out there. Naima is now thinking she’s glad she got to hold the key, since it actually meant something to her. The girls are now back at their suite, and still arguing. Keenyah is rambling, and when Naima tries to say something, Keenyah cuts her off, sending Naima into a frenzy of not wanting to talk to anyone. Where’s Kahlen, you ask? Oh, she’s on the patio crying! Brittany leaves the room and Keenyah says she’s never seen this side of Brittany, and as all the girls go to bed, Keenyah reads Tyra mail that says one of them is going home tomorrow. G’night.

The girls walk in and greet the judges. Time for the 11th cut this season. The girls are reminded of the prizes and introduced to the judges, including Mandela and Bebe, the creators of G’Mbo clothing. This week, they were taught movement, and will have to dance for the judges, then pose when Tyra yells. The music starts and Tyra makes the girls pose. Then, the judges get involved and start dancing too. Even Nole’ breaks it down. How can you not love this panel? Anyway, it ‘s time for individual evaluations. Brittany is first, and they tell her she was holding back on her dancing and had no energy. Nigel likes her shot this week, and Tyra says that too many of her shots had her hands in the air. They also show a poor shot, and it’s not good!

Keenyah is next and the judges liked that she stepped to the front when the girls were dancing. Her movement was sexy, but in her shot, they think she needed more neck. Keenyah tries to explain that Bertini was feeling her up, but they don’t want to hear it. They look at one of her other shots, and the belly is too far out. I don’t think it looks so bad. Kahlen is next and Nole’ says that her dancing was like a saltine cracker – square and dry. They look at her shot and think she looks scared. Janice tells her to figure out how to work her body, and in her bad shot, her eyes are closed.

Naima is told she danced well, but was hidden. They tell her she is still holding back. When they look at her shot, she’s told it looks amazing, but Nigel says from what he saw from her in person, he would have never booked her. They all agree that her bad shot isn’t even bad, and Tyra tells her she didn’t need her extra 30 frames. Time for the judges to deliberate!

The judges say that Kahlen wasn’t that great this week, but is very versatile. Brittany had a great picture, but her personality is shrinking. Janice disagrees. Naima takes great photos, but they still don’t know who she is yet. Nole’ compares her to a Faberge egg. She’s beautiful on the outside, but hollow on the inside. Keenyah looks like a top model in person, and Mandela says in Africa, she’d be considered very skinny. Tyra says as an African American woman, she’d be considered skinny too. Janice thinks Tyra is just flirting with Mandela. I might agree with that, but I think Janice is drunk.

The girls come in and Tyra says she has four girls in front of her, but only three photos. The first name she calls, is Keenyah. She tells her that her performance this week in front of the judges turned some heads, and made them look away concerning her midsection. Kahlen is called next, and is told that she is almost complete, but needs to embrace herself and be sexier. Naima and Brittany step up. Only one photo is in Tyra’s hands, so the girl not called will have to pack up and go. She tells them that she has no comments about their photos, but about their hearts. Brittany came into the competition with fire in her eyes, but now something is just slipping away. She lacks the passion and desire she once had. With Naima, it’s a very weakly burning fire. They still don’t know her that well, and aren’t sure how America is supposed to relate to her. Tyra knows she has a desire to win, now Naima has to show the other judges. The girl called… is Naima. Tyra tells her to step it up, as Brittany hugs the other girls and thanks the judges.

Brittany packs her bags and sheds a tear. She can’t believe it’s all over. She’ll miss it all and will miss Keenyah the most. Brittany tells the camera she’s proud she made it as far as she did, it’s just hard to leave when you know you are so close, but you are so far. I feel bad for her. This girl had spunk.

Next week, it’s the finale! The three remaining girls duke it out in a Cover Girl commercial, and a fashion show in Cape Town. This is going to be good. Who do you think is going to win? I’m going to stick with my original pick and say Naima? Did I just doom her to second? I guess we’ll see. I say Naima wins, Kahlen second and Keenyah third. Thoughts, anyone?

Oh, and for the first time, I’m opening up the floor. My interview with Brittany is tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. If you want me to ask her something, let me know? If you get your question to me before 2:00 p.m. Eastern, I’ll try to add it in. See everyone next week!

Phil Kural is a recent graduate from Temple University, with a degree in journalism. You can reach him at pkural@gmail.com with any feedback that you may have.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recent articles on this show at our America’s Next Top Model page and take a look at our sections on The Apprentice and Last Comic Standing. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about America’s Next Top Model, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: America's Next Top Model!