Toddlers & Tiaras - General Discussion

[ZoloftBlob]

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So essentially her mother decided Kailiah's future for her from birth, and it involves the entertainment world.

I'm not in any way endorsing contortionism and I am not an expert, but in order to do the back bendy stuff like what Kaila was doing, you can't start in high school, the training has to start very early (and its not something I'd do with my kid because of potential health risks). And parents choose things for their kids all the time. For all parents harp at the Olympics how their 13 year old daughter wanted to train 7 hours a day from age 4 to be there, no I just don't buy that Mom and Dad were forced to bend to lil Gymnast's dream. Kailia seems to have a forceful personality, if she doesn't want to do Cirque Due Soleil, she won't. But, Kailia and her mom actually seem to have a pretty healthy and normal relationship and the kid seems to really like the contortion stuff (never saw her balking at practicing or demonstrating).

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I was thinking about this episode last night and it finally dawned on me what I hated about Piper most of all---on stage, she looks like a sheet of paper and her make-up doesn't help any. But why isn't she spray tanning? I mean, I don't do it to my kids but they don't do pageants. It would help her stand out against the lighting. You can't see her eye color---which is pretty---against the harsh lighting. For a glitz girl, she doesn't tan and that's weird to me. 

Let me speak on behalf of my porcelain skinned sisters. ;)

I'm not *ginger*, and Piper is, and that makes it worse and better for her but here goes.

It just would look freakish on her *because* she's ginger. For starters, when you're Downton Abbey white, it's hard to get spray tanning to look like a tan and not like you sprayed yourself orange. Believe me, I've tried it. Even a skilled tanner has a hard time getting a normal looking color on someone with super fair skin - something about the blank canvas startles them, I think.

Second, while I was auburn as a child and turned brown, Piper is a red head. There's a certain expectation as to what goes with red hair and blue/green eyes. Piper is a classic irish lass, and if she was spray tanned it would look weird. And I bet her mom tried it when she was younger and realized it just wasn't pretty.

[Loves2Dance]

19 minutes ago, ZoloftBlob said:

I'm not in any way endorsing contortionism and I am not an expert, but in order to do the back bendy stuff like what Kaila was doing, you can't start in high school, the training has to start very early (and its not something I'd do with my kid because of potential health risks). And parents choose things for their kids all the time. For all parents harp at the Olympics how their 13 year old daughter wanted to train 7 hours a day from age 4 to be there, no I just don't buy that Mom and Dad were forced to bend to lil Gymnast's dream. Kailia seems to have a forceful personality, if she doesn't want to do Cirque Due Soleil, she won't. But, Kailia and her mom actually seem to have a pretty healthy and normal relationship and the kid seems to really like the contortion stuff (never saw her balking at practicing or demonstrating).

Let me speak on behalf of my porcelain skinned sisters. ;)

I'm not *ginger*, and Piper is, and that makes it worse and better for her but here goes.

It just would look freakish on her *because* she's ginger. For starters, when you're Downton Abbey white, it's hard to get spray tanning to look like a tan and not like you sprayed yourself orange. Believe me, I've tried it. Even a skilled tanner has a hard time getting a normal looking color on someone with super fair skin - something about the blank canvas startles them, I think.

Second, while I was auburn as a child and turned brown, Piper is a red head. There's a certain expectation as to what goes with red hair and blue/green eyes. Piper is a classic irish lass, and if she was spray tanned it would look weird. And I bet her mom tried it when she was younger and realized it just wasn't pretty.

I'm DT Abbey White and a Ginger so I get it, but it is totally possible. I used to do spray tanning for dance competitions and never looked like an Oompa Loompa. You just have to find the right person to work with you. With that said, if Katie wants to continue to avoid spray tanning then she needs to dress her and style her make up better. Nothing she wore this weekend did her ANY favors. And her make up was horribly underdone.  

I agree with you on Kailia; if she didn't want to do it, I doubt she'd still be doing it now. Sure her mom started her young, but it's something you stretch and train for daily. She'd be old enough now to put her foot down and hasn't, so my guess is she wants to do it. 

[bethster2000]

21 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

I agree with you on Kailia; if she didn't want to do it, I doubt she'd still be doing it now.

And let's face it: the kid is amazing to watch.

[Honey]

11 minutes ago, bethster2000 said:

And let's face it: the kid is amazing to watch.

She's incredibly graceful. She appears to have had some ballet training.

[Alapaki]

I think Jaimie is less mature than some of the girls she "coaches".

I believe most of these mothers are trash.  But I can kind of get their frustration with Selyse's mom Kim.  Kim seems, to me, to be either profoundly stupid or profoundly lazy and entitled.  I get the sense that she doesn't do half of the things that are necessary to have her daughter compete (or at least compete with any remote chance of placing).  Instead, she just presumes/imposes/whines her way into getting someone else to take time away from their own obligations in order to help her.  And, if/when her daughter doesn't get the prize she expects, she turns around and looks for someone else to blame.

Finally, I think there's probably some sad societal commentary to the fact that the hyper-sexualization of pre-pubescent girls, which was the "hook" or shock-factor when this series first started not that many years ago, has now become no big deal at all.  And so now the "hook" that TLC is going for is the antics of these garbage parents.  Maybe I'm a hypocrite, because I tune in each week.  But our culture truly is fucked.

[ZoloftBlob]

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I believe most of these mothers are trash.  But I can kind of get their frustration with Selyse's mom Kim.  Kim seems, to me, to be either profoundly stupid or profoundly lazy and entitled.  I get the sense that she doesn't do half of the things that are necessary to have her daughter compete (or at least compete with any remote chance of placing).  Instead, she just presumes/imposes/whines her way into getting someone else to take time away from their own obligations in order to help her.  And, if/when her daughter doesn't get the prize she expects, she turns around and looks for someone else to blame.

So I do agree and I think a huge reason why the Sassy Moms hate her is that she's not just a hot mess from an organizational standpoint, she's always whining and looking for a reason for someone to do task x y and z for her. I found it hilarious that she was whining to the cameras how on top of everything else, she was pregnant! A guess on my part is that Cambrie will drop her because she isn't doing any of the training and the kid is a brat and we won't see her next season unless someone else picks her up. So I think the Sassy Moms at least have reason to dislike her.

I just can't endorse any of the behavior that goes beyond"I bet she'll crash and burn". There was no need for any mom to confront her. If you don't like someone, leave them alone - we learn that in kindergarten. And Jamie clearly wanted to have a dramatic moment for the cameraswhich was why Jamie made a point of hanging around, if not actually sending Lola's mom in to start it. Jamie kept the rage whipped up and made sure to let her team know it was fine by her to keep the hate going.

There's so many Kims out there... I see them every day and you just have to leave them alone until they either realize they have to pick up the pieces or until they move on to a new feeding ground. Jamie just wants her moms to have a hate target who sucks at fighting back so that they have a target other than her.

[operalover]

Lola was doing some highly sexual moves in swimwear. Even the moms and coach were saying "what is she doing? where did she get that?" but they liked it. But it was GROSS for a 5 year old to be doing those sexual moves. Watch it again if you can- terrible!

I've been watching for so long I forget that the whole premise of JUDGING little girls for their looks is disgusting and despicable.  Comparing little girls for how they look is sick, especially in today's society where we are trying to teach girls that how they act and what they contribute is more important than looks and clothes.  Also they look so freaking WEIRD in that make up and hair and the stupid faces. The whole thing is absurd, yet I keep watching- totally my guilty pleasure show I cannot look away. I still think Abby is not that pretty and looks really weird in the flipper.

This show was a national level pageant- there were 166 girls from all over the country! In past years we have seen local pageants - about 40 girls and the really average ones Supremed (pardon my French). We have heard about National level pageants but I think this is the first shown on T&T. Correct me if I'm wrong.  In Piper's category, 9-10 girls, if you looked down the line at crowning, they were ALL very pretty. And those girls were all pretty and polished and came from all over the country, which is why Piper only got Princess.  For the mom to think she was prettier, she really was blind. And the mom kept saying "It's a FACE pageant, and they are not judging on face, because if they were, well look at Piper's face!" like subtly she was saying her daughter was fat without saying it. But now her face is fat too. She has a double chin. If you are judging on FACE a double chin doesn't cut it. And did you see Piper stuffing her face with fast food while getting her hair done? She was shoveling it in.  But I digress, a National pageant, Piper did not have a chance. Did you hear Piper's mom saying how her daughter was the epitome of good sportsmanship? I nearly choked on my burrito supreme.

I thought Selyse did very well but at that pageant she didn't have a shot to supreme, too much competition.  Again we see a mom bitching and throwing the plastic crown on the floor. The kid had no clue and was happy winning princess.

We have not seen such a big pageant before of 166 competitors. It's a miracle that one we were following won the whole enchilada-supreme.  Some of the non-followed girls looked stunning.

Jaime really made herself look bad on this series and Cambrie looked good, even with her tits hanging out! The way one behaves and acts is what you are worth. Cambrie did not bad mouth anyone and it made her look classy. She said Lola was a beautiful girl- who was on the opposing team. She didn't add anything mean.  Jaime just bad-mouthed everyone and came off looking terrible. I hope she watches herself and realizes she is a royal bitch.

[momofsquid]

I finally watched the last episode having skipped the last couple. My biggest laugh was at Selyse's mom mouthing all the kid's TH lines along with her, clearly having fed them to her, and then giving the crew a look like, "I can't believe the things that come out of this kid's mouth!" 

[operalover]

As for ToyGate, the mother that got totally hysterical, I believe she was caught red-handed trying to cheat. I believe that she knew which toy her kid wanted and which table she was supposed to choose from, so she moved the wanted toy to that table. The director who was yelling was saying to the MOM "you can't do that" and he showed what she did and said she moved the toy to the other table on purpose. The mom's reaction was so over-the-top that the only thing that explains it is that she is GUILTY as Hell and was caught red-handed in her trickery. I mean she bawled like a baby, it made no sense.  How did that toy get onto the wrong table? She put it there!

Edited November 27, 2016 by operalover

[magemaud]

On 11/24/2016 at 7:27 PM, millk said:

Do they give a pronunciation guide to the announcer because if I were just handed a paper with Selyse on it I wouldn't get it right.

They MUST have some kind of phonetic cheat sheet for the announcer, how else could they figure out how to pronounce these (ridiculous, IMO) creative names with even more creative spellings? You can bet these moms would go ballistic if anyone mispronounced their special snowflakes' monikers! Edited to add: For example, if I was the announcer and they handed me a paper that said "Selyse" I probably would have tried "Ummm...Suh-LIE-zuh?????" 

Edited November 28, 2016 by magemaud

[operalover]

I do agree about the pronunciations of the weird names! I just read the T&T facebook page. Now I need a shower. Trash! Kim and Piper's mom and another mom are all posting. Piper's mom is reading all the mean things written about her and Piper. Kim is reading as well and responding. I then went to the facebook page of Piper's mom and she was posting all these fake news stories from the election! What a surprise! The people posting on the T&T facebook page are just incredibly dumb. One lady wrote that she is "very smart" but "their not to smart" and that she, being so very smart "should of started a facebook group called their not to smart"

so that wasted a whole morning when I should be working on something more fitting to my education...lol. I'm not to smart either

[magemaud]

Jamie's claims that her kids and their moms are "sassy" and "classy" comes across instead as "nasty" and "trashy." JMO

[Tasya]

My biggest take away from this season was that the Sassy Supremes are incredibly delusional; from the coach on down. I few times Cambrie's mom (mostly Jayliana's mom) have stirred the pot, but mostly they just focus on their own kids. Cambrie has also NEVER stopped down to her mom's level when they are going after someone. Jaimie is right there in the fray with her trash mom and that is incredibly unprofessional. 

At the pageant, I was incredibly impressed with Cambrie's Court. I think she took 16 girls and based upon what we saw and the categories they called out it seemed like all of her kids pulled out for at least some sort of supreme. From a business standpoint alone, any of Jaimie's parents who watch this season back and still justify paying her are crazy. I'm not in to pageants (I have a son) but if I was going to go that route and spend the crazy amount of money associated with it, you can damn sure bet I'd want the best. 

I saw Nisa in the audience with her new team but not Amanda. I wonder if Landry was there? I bet her mother wouldn't bring her to a "face" only pageant because there's a better chance that she wouldn't win. She's really talented and well-coached but she's not as straight out pretty as some of Cambrie's girls. 

[Loves2Dance]

On 11/27/2016 at 0:39 PM, operalover said:

As for ToyGate, the mother that got totally hysterical, I believe she was caught red-handed trying to cheat. I believe that she knew which toy her kid wanted and which table she was supposed to choose from, so she moved the wanted toy to that table. The director who was yelling was saying to the MOM "you can't do that" and he showed what she did and said she moved the toy to the other table on purpose. The mom's reaction was so over-the-top that the only thing that explains it is that she is GUILTY as Hell and was caught red-handed in her trickery. I mean she bawled like a baby, it made no sense.  How did that toy get onto the wrong table? She put it there!

I saw the mom talking about it on Facebook. According to her, she was mistaken for a different mom who had already been warned and that is why he went off. She also said he screamed at her daughter even after she said she was sorry and that his behavior was a hundred times worse off camera than it was on. 

As a person who cries when being yelled at, I felt for her. It doesn't matter whether I'm right or wrong, if I'm yelled at I cry. I even cry as I yell back, but I cry. Her reaction made total sense to me. 

2 hours ago, Tasya said:

My biggest take away from this season was that the Sassy Supremes are incredibly delusional; from the coach on down. I few times Cambrie's mom (mostly Jayliana's mom) have stirred the pot, but mostly they just focus on their own kids. Cambrie has also NEVER stopped down to her mom's level when they are going after someone. Jaimie is right there in the fray with her trash mom and that is incredibly unprofessional. 

At the pageant, I was incredibly impressed with Cambrie's Court. I think she took 16 girls and based upon what we saw and the categories they called out it seemed like all of her kids pulled out for at least some sort of supreme. From a business standpoint alone, any of Jaimie's parents who watch this season back and still justify paying her are crazy. I'm not in to pageants (I have a son) but if I was going to go that route and spend the crazy amount of money associated with it, you can damn sure bet I'd want the best. 

I saw Nisa in the audience with her new team but not Amanda. I wonder if Landry was there? I bet her mother wouldn't bring her to a "face" only pageant because there's a better chance that she wouldn't win. She's really talented and well-coached but she's not as straight out pretty as some of Cambrie's girls. 

Nisa was there solo with her new 'team' the Elite Crowns. Landry was not present. Nisa's girl won Queen in 9-11. 

[Alapaki]

On 11/27/2016 at 6:01 AM, operalover said:

Jaime really made herself look bad on this series and Cambrie looked good, even with her tits hanging out! The way one behaves and acts is what you are worth. Cambrie did not bad mouth anyone and it made her look classy. She said Lola was a beautiful girl- who was on the opposing team. She didn't add anything mean.  Jaime just bad-mouthed everyone and came off looking terrible. I hope she watches herself and realizes she is a royal bitch.

 

6 hours ago, Tasya said:

At the pageant, I was incredibly impressed with Cambrie's Court. I think she took 16 girls and based upon what we saw and the categories they called out it seemed like all of her kids pulled out for at least some sort of supreme. From a business standpoint alone, any of Jaimie's parents who watch this season back and still justify paying her are crazy. I'm not in to pageants (I have a son) but if I was going to go that route and spend the crazy amount of money associated with it, you can damn sure bet I'd want the best. 

 

Cambrie clearly took this as an opportunity to showcase and market herself (and her boobs, which . . . no complaints here).  I think she largely succeeded.  As ridiculous as it is that these pageants are something about which one can "know their shit", Cambrie clearly knows her shit.  If I were going to spend money on coaching, it'd be with her seven days a week and twice on Sunday before I even thought about tossing a nickel at Jaimie.

I can't really figure out what Jaimie hoped to get out of this season or how she thought she wanted to portray herself.  I don't follow any of these folks in real life, and I guess Jaimie actually does get paid to "coach".  But, if I had to go just on what I saw on the show, I'd be very skeptical that Jaimie and her team weren't just an artificial construct created for the show to challenge Cambrie.  

[Honey]

13 hours ago, Loves2Dance said:

I saw the mom talking about it on Facebook. According to her, she was mistaken for a different mom who had already been warned and that is why he went off. She also said he screamed at her daughter even after she said she was sorry and that his behavior was a hundred times worse off camera than it was on. 

As a person who cries when being yelled at, I felt for her. It doesn't matter whether I'm right or wrong, if I'm yelled at I cry. I even cry as I yell back, but I cry. Her reaction made total sense to me. 

Nisa was there solo with her new 'team' the Elite Crowns. Landry was not present. Nisa's girl won Queen in 9-11. 

Huh.  I really thought I saw a quick shot of Landry all glammed up.  She's not pretty, her face is flat and her eyes are too far apart.  She's a robot child, trained well and does well in the smaller pageants. 

Cambrie only says nice things about the girls competing on the other teams.  She doesn't want drama in front of the kids, and several times I've seen her remove the child from the situation, while the parent is having a meltdown or fighting.  She even started crying after "chickenpoxgate" because the Jayliana's mom and Kayliah's mom were fighting.  She is kind to the kids, but strict when she needs to be.  She would be a good parent.  

I wonder why we don't ever see Kim's other daughter, who also competes?

Edited to add: I think that's Landry in the profile pic on the Toddlers and Tiaras Facebook page.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Honey
Added thought.

[Loves2Dance]

12 minutes ago, Honey said:

Huh.  I really thought I saw a quick shot of Landry all glammed up.  She's not pretty, her face is flat and her eyes are too far apart.  She's a robot child, trained well and does well in the smaller pageants. 

Cambrie only says nice things about the girls competing on the other teams.  She doesn't want drama in front of the kids, and several times I've seen her remove the child from the situation, while the parent is having a meltdown or fighting.  She even started crying after "chickenpoxgate" because the Jayliana's mom and Kayliah's mom were fighting.  She is kind to the kids, but strict when she needs to be.  She would be a good parent.  

I wonder why we don't ever see Kim's other daughter, who also competes?

Edited to add: I think that's Landry in the profile pic on the Toddlers and Tiaras Facebook page.

Yeah that is Landree. 

Kim addressed that on Facebook; she said she didn't know why one of her kids were featured more and hoped her older daughter would be featured in the future. 

[Drogo]

7 minutes ago, Honey said:

I wonder why we don't ever see Kim's other daughter, who also competes?

The show may have had too many "older" girls, and needed someone in Selyse's age group only?  Wonder who coaches her.

*Photo is from the photography company branded on her pink SUV.  Turns out Kim's quite a talented photographer.

[Loves2Dance]

3 minutes ago, Drogo said:

The show may have had too many "older" girls, and needed someone in Selyse's age group only?  Wonder who coaches her.

*Photo is from the photography company branded on her pink SUV.  Turns out Kim's quite a talented photographer.

Cambrie does. In the practice studio when Sel had her meltdown, her older kid was in the room too. She also won at Supreme Me and wore the same black and gold clothes the Cambrie's Court kids wore.

[Loves2Dance]

Also the whole Amanda/Nisa thing seemed to be done for TLC. Nisa is one of Landree's dance coaches and they were still posting pictures together as of a week ago with Amanda calling Nisa L's second mother

[Janc]

Wow the hotel where IFF was held is in danger of burning down from the wildfires in Tennessee.... thanks T&T. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/29/worst-possible-conditions-residents-flee-gaitlinburg-tenn-as-flames-lick-roads/

[Absolom]

Ratings for 11/23:  682K viewers and a .2 rating.

[operalover]

Loves2Dance- I'm a big crier too, and in public, I can hysterically cry so I get it. It seemed like there was more to the story why the guy was screaming at her. If she had just grabbed a toy from the wrong table he would not have got so mad. I guess being mistaken for someone else who was warned makes sense. These pageant moms all look the same, about 400 pounds.

Reading the T&T facebook page, Jaime has posted there and even after seeing herself on the show, she does not think she looked bad. She defended all her actions and all her moms. Someone who acts like that has no clue, even when shown the evidence. She is still on a high horse.

Cambrie was aware of the cameras and has probably watched enough reality TV to know that how you act on camera is super important, but after awhile I read that you forget the camera is there and your real self comes out. So she must be a very up and up person. I love the way she dealt with Selyse. It was "calm and assertive" like Cesar Milan says you need to act with your dogs. You state calmly the rule- you don't get angry and throw a hissy fit- but you don't bend. Cambrie is the epitome of calm and assertive energy. We, the inner gnat, were prepared to hate her because of the way she dresses, the boobs and all that but she carried herself so well. 

Edited November 29, 2016 by operalover

[Loves2Dance]

23 hours ago, operalover said:

Loves2Dance- I'm a big crier too, and in public, I can hysterically cry so I get it. It seemed like there was more to the story why the guy was screaming at her. If she had just grabbed a toy from the wrong table he would not have got so mad. I guess being mistaken for someone else who was warned makes sense. These pageant moms all look the same, about 400 pounds.

Reading the T&T facebook page, Jaime has posted there and even after seeing herself on the show, she does not think she looked bad. She defended all her actions and all her moms. Someone who acts like that has no clue, even when shown the evidence. She is still on a high horse.

Cambrie was aware of the cameras and has probably watched enough reality TV to know that how you act on camera is super important, but after awhile I read that you forget the camera is there and your real self comes out. So she must be a very up and up person. I love the way she dealt with Selyse. It was "calm and assertive" like Cesar Milan says you need to act with your dogs. You state calmly the rule- you don't get angry and throw a hissy fit- but you don't bend. Cambrie is the epitome of calm and assertive energy. We, the inner gnat, were prepared to hate her because of the way she dresses, the boobs and all that but she carried herself so well. 

Cambrie has also been featured as a coach on T&T dating back at least to season 3 so she was fully aware how they edited things and I bet that helped as a reminder. 

[Alapaki]

I think it's more than simply experience with reality TV.  For that matter, I think anyone who's watched reality TV realizes the risks of editing by now.

I believe that most people on reality TV at this point realize, in a meta-sense, that they need to "perform" in the sense of providing the show something worth putting on air.  If you're as dull, who'd want to watch?

Cambrie chose to make herself interesting by strategic-mammary-deployment (and, kudos to her on that!), and pointless but telegenic field-trips and "guests" like the magician, etc.  And she was very careful about how she talked trash, directing it mostly at behavior instead of people, and with a calm delivery.  Finally, it didn't hurt that her girls actually won.

Jaimie, on the other hand, decided to go full-Springer.  Over-the-top trash talk, including trashing kids.  Ridiculous low-rent field-trips like that last one when she and some of the other, eh, large, moms had to crow-bar themselves into that small train ride at that low-rent indoor amusement area.  And so on.

Bottom line is that I think both Cambrie and Jaimie were totally aware and trying to control how they would come across.  It seems that Jaimie came across exactly the way she wanted to.  She's just low-class enough to think that's a good look.

[operalover]

According to Penn Jillette, who was on Celebrity Apprentice, you do notice the cameras at first and try to behave- but after awhile you forget about them and you just are yourself. Cambrie had 16 girls at that pageant  that she was trying to coach and organize. TLC was trying as hard as they could to show her in a bad light. If she was nice for 16 hours and bitchy for 2 minutes, they would have shown the 2 minutes. She had other things on her mind that day and the stress of the pageant so trying to be so careful as to present a fake version of herself would be really difficult.  Especially since the pageant itself brings out stress and stress tends to bring out the worst in people. Pageant stress really seems to bring out the worst in these moms and kids!  I don't think what we saw on camera was a fake version of herself-that she really is mean, bitchy and horrid but controlled that part of herself for the cameras.  I think she really is what we saw: competent and nice. Jaime really is petty, bitchy and mean.

[Alapaki]

7 hours ago, operalover said:

Pageant stress really seems to bring out the worst in these moms and kids!  I don't think what we saw on camera was a fake version of herself-that she really is mean, bitchy and horrid but controlled that part of herself for the cameras.  I think she really is what we saw: competent and nice. Jaime really is petty, bitchy and mean.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm totally team Cambrie.  And I agree that she is indeed competent and nice.  I also agree that Jaimie is truly petty, bitchy and mean.

But we all know that "competent and nice" don't get you on Reality TV.  And I'm guessing Cambrie knew that as well.  

I think Cambrie was very wise in presenting herself in a way that would get her visibility without destroying her credibility.

Jaimie, on the other hand, either didn't care how she comes across, or actually thinks that the way she comes across would be viewed positively.  Either way, not a good look.

[operalover]

Oh I see Alapacki, she brought her puppies to be the star of the show- for reality show interest! All that make-up and lack of clothing really makes you have that first impression that she is a vapid bimbo.  Jaime does think she came across just fine. No one on the inner gnat likes her, I mean NO ONE so she didn't come across well. 

[cheezewiz]

I got bored and read through those pageant forums.  There were a whole lot of catty remarks about Jamie and Cambrie and pageant contestants.  It was back and forth, and there was nothing memorable about it.  However, there was a lot of juicy accusations against Amanda (Top Models coach/owner).

Everyone really hates Amanda and her husband Troy (glitz photographer/pageant director).  

Amanda

• Top Models has a horrible reputation in the pageant world. She has very few clients.  They tend to take deposits and run off without providing services.
• Amanda has a criminal history - cheque fraud
• Bankruptcy, eviction, etc... They don't pay their bills.
• Blacklisted from a number of pageants.
• Amanda and her husband got Alisha Dunlaps (main lady from that show Cheer Perfection) mother to cosign a loan on their home and then they defaulted and ruined her credit.

Troy (Amanda's husband)

• A drug addict (pain medication)
• Criminal history - animal abuse, drugs, car theft
• Breeds dogs and sells puppies (despite having a history of animal abuse)
• Pathological liar
• Troy borrowed a car from Nisa and her husband after filming Toddlers and Tiaras.  He then disappeared and drove to Texas on a drug bender. They reported the car stolen and it was returned. For some reason, Nisa has forgiven them.  She's responded to criticism on the pageant forums but refuses to answer any questions related to the car.
• He's older than Amanda and got married to her when she was a teen competing in pageants.
• No job besides his pageant duties.  So he spends his free time on forums bad mouthing former Top Model coaches and clients.
•  He was caught photoshopping his daughter's face onto other girls pageant photos.  Out of laziness?

T&T trivia - Troy's 1st daughter (Amanda's stepdaughter) was the 20-year-old blond girl that won 10k at Mrs. Annette's pageant years back.  I think it was when Mackenzie and Eden competed against each other.

• She has her own drug problems
• Lost custody of 1st child
• Recently gave birth, and may lose custody of that child too.

Oh and Nisa served as a judge at Mrs. Annette's recent pageant.  

[Alapaki]

I suspect there's a whole lot of grifting and hillbilly heroin floating around the pageant cesspool.  An expose on that would actually be interesting and informative (and potentially serve a positive societal function).  

Instead, Discovery Communications puts some of these cons on the payroll, which only aids and abets their misdeeds.

[cheezewiz]

Amanda's (director/coach at Top Models) story keeps getting stranger.  This is probably one of the reasons she skipped the final pageant on T&T.

• Amanda hooked up with her husband Troy when he was in a relationship with another man (Michael B.).  She was in her teens at the time.
• Michael B. is the owner of the International Fresh Faces pageant.  He was featured on Toddlers and Tiaras, the episode where his partner supposedly yelled at a woman and her daughter for grabbing the wrong toy from a table.   
• Michael lived with Troy (Amanda's husband) and helped him raise his first daughter (Hannah).   Michael is currently trying to get some kind visitation rights with Hannah’s daughter (who he considers his grandchild).

Hannah (Hannah winning 10,000 CASH! ) - multiple mugshots on a google search.

• Arrested for heroin possession while she was pregnant with her second child in March
• Arrested in May for felony non-support

I'm curious if TLC did any kind of background check before featuring Amanda.  Sheesh, what a mess.

Edited December 7, 2016 by cheezewiz

[cheezewiz]

18 hours ago, Alapaki said:

I suspect there's a whole lot of grifting and hillbilly heroin floating around the pageant cesspool.  An expose on that would actually be interesting and informative (and potentially serve a positive societal function).  

Instead, Discovery Communications puts some of these cons on the payroll, which only aids and abets their misdeeds.

 

Tell me about it, I don't understand how these middle-class families can spend thousands a month on this hobby.   Yes, some of these people are well off and have lots of disposable income, but I'm interested in the impact it has on these parents, as well as their coping mechanisms.  I'd love to know the background of these child pageant directors, coaches, & photographers. 

[sleepyjean]

Eden update on Entertainment Tonight. She's a 6th grade cheerleader now. She says she'll go back to pageants when she's older and they show her trying on a mermaid style dress that is way too mature for an 11 year old. There was also a note that she'll be doing something in fashion week in Feb.

[Honey]

On 8/16/2016 at 0:08 PM, Sam215 said:

This is what happens at chess tournaments also.  Lots of screaming and yelling and kids who look like they hate it.  My son had enough two years ago at a very well know tournament and he finished it out and didn't return for a year.  He isn't up to where he was but it was eating at him.  

Look forward to talking about these new episodes soon!

I won a national spelling bee when I was a kid.  I competed for 3 years before I won,  and once I did, that was it for me.  My parents were relieved, since I think they were even more stressed than I was.

[spankydoll]

On ‎12‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 3:10 PM, cheezewiz said:

I got bored and read through those pageant forums.  There were a whole lot of catty remarks about Jamie and Cambrie and pageant contestants.  It was back and forth, and there was nothing memorable about it.  However, there was a lot of juicy accusations against Amanda (Top Models coach/owner).

Everyone really hates Amanda and her husband Troy (glitz photographer/pageant director).  

Amanda

• Top Models has a horrible reputation in the pageant world. She has very few clients.  They tend to take deposits and run off without providing services.
• Amanda has a criminal history - cheque fraud
• Bankruptcy, eviction, etc... They don't pay their bills.
• Blacklisted from a number of pageants.
• Amanda and her husband got Alisha Dunlaps (main lady from that show Cheer Perfection) mother to cosign a loan on their home and then they defaulted and ruined her credit.

Troy (Amanda's husband)

• A drug addict (pain medication)
• Criminal history - animal abuse, drugs, car theft
• Breeds dogs and sells puppies (despite having a history of animal abuse)
• Pathological liar
• Troy borrowed a car from Nisa and her husband after filming Toddlers and Tiaras.  He then disappeared and drove to Texas on a drug bender. They reported the car stolen and it was returned. For some reason, Nisa has forgiven them.  She's responded to criticism on the pageant forums but refuses to answer any questions related to the car.
• He's older than Amanda and got married to her when she was a teen competing in pageants.
• No job besides his pageant duties.  So he spends his free time on forums bad mouthing former Top Model coaches and clients.
•  He was caught photoshopping his daughter's face onto other girls pageant photos.  Out of laziness?

T&T trivia - Troy's 1st daughter (Amanda's stepdaughter) was the 20-year-old blond girl that won 10k at Mrs. Annette's pageant years back.  I think it was when Mackenzie and Eden competed against each other.

• She has her own drug problems
• Lost custody of 1st child
• Recently gave birth, and may lose custody of that child too.

Oh and Nisa served as a judge at Mrs. Annette's recent pageant.  

Is Amanda the lady who wears the sunglasses and is sniffling all of the time? She looks like a total drugged out eye job gone bad mess.

[cheezewiz]

17 hours ago, spankydoll said:

Is Amanda the lady who wears the sunglasses and is sniffling all of the time? She looks like a total drugged out eye job gone bad mess.

No, Nisa (the blonde, huge sunglasses) was the dancing coach that worked for Amanda.  Amanda was the brunette woman sitting next to her in all of the interviews, and the woman who shed those big crocodile tears on stage when her daughter won the pageant.   Nisa is apparently rather tame compared to Amanda. 

[spankydoll]

21 hours ago, cheezewiz said:

No, Nisa (the blonde, huge sunglasses) was the dancing coach that worked for Amanda.  Amanda was the brunette woman sitting next to her in all of the interviews, and the woman who shed those big crocodile tears on stage when her daughter won the pageant.   Nisa is apparently rather tame compared to Amanda. 

Can you imagine the two of them after a few pops at Happy Hour? They may need their own show.

[funky-rat]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 8:39 AM, Venee said:

I haven't been on here much, but back in the TWoP days I posted a classic, which never gets old. If you're relatively new to the T&T "I can't believe this is a real thing" watching community, you may not know that there used to be a segment called "Proam"  in beauty pageants. It was this dance modeling segment that has no equal. Sadly it's gone now, but through the magic of you tube (and a classic HBO Documentary called "Living Dolls"  a must see btw)  ) We can return to the good old days. Enjoy! and if you don't have time fast forward to 1:37 where legendary coach Shane King does the demo. 

Noboy Pro-Ams like the late Jenny Foster from Baby Beauty Queens.  No.Body.  And don't be taking points off for her Pro-Aming!  These lame people don't know anything about Pro-Aming and Southern style pageants!!!  When her mom was on T&T with her daughter born after Jenny passed (Cassidy?), I was disappointed she didn't have the crazy dialed up as much as she did in Baby Beauty Queens.

[funky-rat]

On ‎10‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 1:04 PM, Nowhere said:

I don't care much for children talking  about politics because they're just repeating what they've heard their parents say. There's no reason for children to hate on each other because one thinks she's a democrat and one thinks she's a republican. Children are neither. They don't know enough about politics to choose a side so I strongly disagree with parents who allow their children to speak against other ideologies.

"Simone is African American BUT she's beautiful." Wow. I hated that thirsty blond bitch with her resting duck face more this week than last, and I didn't think that was possible. Tell me why she is always wearing scarf, sunglasses, and fedora in every TH? 

I've been away from this show for a long time.  I've not been able to completely catch up because I'm missing some episodes.  Still not a fan of the new format.

Anyway, yes, I hate hearing kids talk politics.  I dated a guy once who was on the complete opposite of the spectrum as me, and his little brother - all of 6 years old - would constantly come up and parrot stuff he hard his parents say, and they encouraged him to say it to me.  I have a cousin who is a rabid supporter of our current President.  He has 3 kids, but lavishes everything on the only boy.  Apparently it was funny to him that the kid told a relative's spouse who is hear legally from another country that he loved the President, and if the spouse didn't, then "That's your tough luck.  I'll just have you deported."  Um...yeah.  Not cute.  His kid is one of the few instances where I just really hate someone's kid.  He's just beyond spoiled, and beyond bratty.  And there's no way that he learned at his young age to say what he said on his own.  Someone else said it - repeatedly - for him to parrot it.

On ‎10‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 6:37 PM, PamelaMaeSnap said:

YES!!!!! I didn't know if it was okay to comment on the reruns here, even though I have them all being TiFauxed and they jump around a lot so it's hard to put them in any kind of chronological order but I watched that last night and that mom (Melissa, I think?) absolutely ranks in the Top 5 of WORST T&T MOMS EVER (and, may I add, Carly/Darly is plain plain plain ... or, to borrow from a Four Weddings thread, B-L-A-N). I wonder how many side competitions they entered and poured money into for her to finish with the runner-up-to-the-overall-ultimate-nacho? 

Finally, Berkeley (named for the school or just so dad could buy swag with her name on it on the cheap) was ... okay,  not quite so cute.  They should have dressed her up as Frida Kahlo for Storybook Theatre time. (Waiting for that lightning bolt to come crashing down on my head now so will step away from the laptop.)

Carly/Darly is the one that I think was down the road from me.  There was a kid featured on the show from down the road a bit from me, and I remember her mom was all kinds of crazy and ended up defending herself vigorously in the local media.  Even if not,  I remember her, and that poor kid is going to need therapy.

They called Berkeley "Baby John Belushi" in the old TWOP forum.  She was so whiny, and I cringed every time she screamed for her medicine like a 90 year old man.

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 0:45 AM, Maharincess said:

My eyes rolled so far back so many  times during this episode that I still can't see.  Are these people fucking serious?  A grown ass woman crying because she sees Eden Wood?  Seriously?  I would be ashamed to show my face in public if that was me. "That's your dream baby...it's Eden Wood, sob sob".  Jesus Christ this shit is ridiculous. 

There was an old episode where a bunch of people showed up to shower Eden with fandom, and they all were in a room to get her doll and autograph, or something similar.  The woman who was her manager at the time later said all those people were paid to be there.  So any time I see someone fawning over Eden, I become suspicious.  It used to rub me the wrong way when she'd get on stage to do some talent thing, and it would be an advertisement for her Facebook page, her doll, her website, etc.

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 4:56 PM, PamelaMaeSnap said:

ABSOLUTELY what I was thinking ... there is no way either one of those engaged in the, shall we say, "traditional" method of making those twins.  My guess is they bought them from a Russian orphanage with the express purpose of making pageant princesses out of them so they could BOTH live out their vicarious dreams without having to procreate.

I missed this one - are you talking about the woman who was an ex-stripper who we all called Horse-Face?  She was married to a dentist, and was Nouveau-Riche (where's the Louis Vuitton luggage!!!)?  They had twins via IVF.  One of her twins was the one who made Saint Danielle Of The Stolen Spotlight cry.  Her name was Kelly, and there was speculation about her husband back then.  They were in two old episodes.  Someone on the old TWOP forum knew someone who went to her husband for dental work and he complained that Horse-Face, her adult and/or late teen kids from other marriages were bleeding him dry.

 

On ‎11‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 10:38 PM, Honey said:

Selyse's Mom carries her everywhere, can the child walk anywhere on her own?  Oh yeah, she's a raging brat too.  Keep wasting your money Kim, your kid doesn't have a clue WTF she's doing, but keep paying, I'm sure the pageant directors would love a new car.

We used to go to church with a woman who had an adopted daughter, and she adopted her late.  Now that's perfectly fine, but that kid was so spoiled that she was always carried, she was held like you would hold a baby if you were nursing it (and she was old enough to be in either kindergarten or first grade) and rocked.  There was a basket of toys for all the kids in the back, and she'd take the whole entire basket just for her kid.  When someone said something to her, she said the other kids could bring their own toys (yeah, well so could she have).  She never made her kid memorize lines for plays, and so she'd get relegated to non-speaking parts, so she complained and her kid would sit and read them off of sheet, monotone.  Hadn't even thought about them in years until I saw them at a restaurant a few weeks ago.  The kid is a teen now, and very pretty.  Her mother looks older than ever, but she was sitting at the table with her daughter and a friend acting like she was the same age.  She talked about borrowing their clothes.  It was just....sad.  And sadly, her daughter was in the early stages of mean-girl-ness, and her mom was there just egging it on.

On ‎10‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 0:46 PM, jenifaohjenny said:

Enjoy! http://www.voy.com/245242/

I was actually wondering if the VOY forums were still around.  They were a cesspool years ago, and it seems nothing has changed.  I remember someone on the old forum who had a kid in the pageant world and knew a lot of the people on the shows.  She avoided the VOY madness like the plague.

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 8:20 PM, sleepyjean said:

I also watched an old Eden vs McKenzie episode. One where there was a rickety disney princess bed at stake for the ultimate grand supreme. Neither girl won it. Eden got regular non-ultimate grand supreme, and McKenzie got diddly squat. Eden was 6. When I turned that episode off, the tv was on TLC and it was the latest episode with Eden as judge in that bizarre pink bedazzled outfit. It was weird seeing Eden at 6 and then at 11 back to back. She's so grown now! And very confident. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought she'd be so much more awful than she was about being a "star." I wondered how much she even remembered about being in pageants. It doesn't seem like her career has really taken off the way her mother hoped. Other than that little rascals show and a short-lived raltiy show, there doesn't seem to be much going on for her, fame-wise.

Heh - the bed that the piece fell off of as they were filming it.  That thing was janky, and when I saw a teen win the pageant, I remember thinking that she wouldn't want that stupid bed for anything.  I thought I recalled hearing that the company was making a special Eden Wood model and gave her one for promoting it, but I could be wrong.

On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 10:26 AM, Portia said:

That pageant director Annette has always worked my last nerve. She obviously thinks she's incredibly clever and quirky, but whenever she's on screen, all I can do is speculate about how low her IQ must be.  For me she was the most unbearable part of the most recent episodes . . . and that's saying a lot.

We used to laugh at the way she pronounced words - "New-Vada" (Nevada), etc.

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 2:56 PM, PamelaMaeSnap said:

Oh, ShaNaeNae, how could I have forgotten Kaydentz when recalling the "facially ungifted"? Thank you for reminding me of Little Chucky.  I know as moms we all think our offspring are bee-yoo-tee-ful but ... eeek.
 

There was a woman I went to church with as a kid who had just the homeliest babies.  I hate to say it, but those kids were homely babies.  They grew up to be cute kids, but they had to grow in to their features.  But it was funny that people would say "Oh he's cute" and she'd say "No, he's not, but he looks like his dad, and he'll be cute in about 5 years".  She was always good natured about it, and we chuckled, but the old ladies at the church were never amused that she didn't feel her baby was cute.

On ‎11‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 7:30 AM, 3girlsforus said:

THIS!!! I nearly fell over when her mom talked about her 'elite' tumbling. Sorry lady, but I don't think that word means what you think it means. My kids were gymnasts, not cheerleaders, but that tumbling is not remotely elite. It's barely making it onto an entry level gymnastics team - barely.  I will give kudos to Hallee for knowing she wasn't going to land it and deciding against doing it even with her mom pushing. 

I remember people with kids in gymnastics weighing in when Cheer Perfection was on, and they said those kids "chucked" their moves, and they were concerned they would end up injured.

[Mommyof2]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 10:17 PM, Bina17 said:

I didn't mind Cambrie- just a woman trying to run a business who had the opportunity to capitalize on exposure.  However, if she truly has the accolades that she claims, she shouldn't have to lie about it.

From the article linked below:
 

http://www.reviewjournal.com/neon/tv/las-vegas-pageant-coach-talks-toddlers-and-tiaras

OK. RED FLAG.  If someone were to actually win the Miss Utah pageant, she would remember that she actually won the pageant, as this is not something that she or anyone around her would ever forget.  Heck, it would even give her more prestige and respect in the pageant world as a "hook" to lure parents into Cambrie's Court.  There are obligations that come with being Miss Utah- you don't "think" you won- you LIVE being Miss Utah.   You would think she would know not to embellish when these things are easily verified or disputed on the internet.

http://www.pageantupdate.info/utah-results.html

(I also searched for Miss America pageants, but it was more difficult to find the archives- but- she never won this title either)

She was a semifinalist in the Miss Utah USA pageant, which is IMPRESSIVE to say the least.  However, the need to lie about the fact that she won the pageant is despicable.  Is she that insecure about her resume?  Does saying "I think it was" excuse the lie?  OOPS, I guess I misremembered winning one of the most prestigious pageants in the state of Utah?  All respect is lost.  Even if she actually won some other meaningless Miss Utah title- kind of like how the pageants crown the "World Champion" of the Jungle Princesses and what not- she obviously meant to lead on this interviewer into printing that she won something substantial here.

That isn't true...I was Miss Cincinnati for the Miss United States pageant and don't remember what year...can't remember but I am guessing it was sometime between 2007 and 2010 but I can't remember :p  Also, Miss United States is run a bit differently than Miss USA or Miss America. Some of the titles are appointed, not every city or even every state has a live pageant and will find a girl to "appoint" as their representative. If Cambrie was appointed Miss Utah for the Miss United States pageant, she may not remember the year because she may not have even been crowned onstage. And there are requirements for how many appearances you do, but they are much less than Miss USA or Miss America...and actually, Miss America is becoming the same way, our state winner has to book her own appearances in events, and there are no longer really requirements for how much she does...some states for the Miss America pageant just appoint local titles and so they have local queens but those local queens never actually were crowned as local queen onstage.

Edited April 8, 2017 by Mommyof2

[Me from ME]

I enjoy reading your first hand account of pageant life Mommyof2. I hope you'll share more insights.

[Mommyof2]

20 hours ago, Me from ME said:

I enjoy reading your first hand account of pageant life Mommyof2. I hope you'll share more insights.

Thank you :) If you want to know anything just ask. There are a lot of misconceptions about pageants out there.

[Me from ME]

Quote

Quote

If you want to know anything just ask.

OK, you asked for it :-)

First, do you know or have observed coach Nikki? Is she liked/respected and just got a very bad edit?

Second, did Pro-Am just fade away or, was it a decision by the pageant directors?

[Mommyof2]

On ‎4‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 5:20 PM, Me from ME said:

 

I miss pro-am :( lol. It kind of just faded. Some pageants held onto it a bit longer than others, but I can't think of any pageants that still do it...It makes me feel so old..girls don't really do pro-am anymore. It isn't so much that I miss pro am exactly, it's just...the old way of doing things...pro am took precision to get good scores and you had to really work on it and you'd lose a ton of points if you weren't detailing properly. Nowadays though, instead, it's like you just go up there and make faces and shake- All girls do the same stupid movements and kind of just bounce around shaking and stuff. Nothing looks polished anymore and I miss it. Back in the 90s you could tell pro am was something that had to be practiced a lot, what theyre doing onstage now looks like it could just be winged if it needed to be. And everything is OOC..outfit of choice...in the old days you had separate events for every outfit- western wear, swim wear, sports wear, casual wear (yes, they had BOTH sports wear and casual wear at the same pageant lol), and tons of others directors would think of extras like patriotic wear, tropical wear, day care wear (actually, sunburst still does day care wear but that's it), and anyway there were different events for every outfit. However, this led to complaints of too many things needed and eventually directors just combined it all into "outfit of choice". I don't like that, but it is what it is.

Another change is beauty, like if you go back and watch the old documentaries you will see it, ages 3 and under would wave and blow kisses, but once you were 4 you needed to walk smoothly and elegantly and if you waved or did anything cutesy then just plan on losing. But now even older girls are making faces and stuff during beauty. I don't like that change either.

I HATE CHANGE lol.

I do/did know Nikki. I did not have a whole lot of interaction with her, I only met her at maybe like 5 or 6 pageants, so not a whole lot, but I was around her enough to know that I am not a fan of Nikki. lol. She is not like a bad person or anything...but I don't like her...I just felt like there was a lot of immaturity that could end up in dramatics and I didn't want to be a part of that. Pageants are enough drama the networks really do not need to stage anything because they could just let the cameras roll lol. I should say my pageant years were like 1991 or 1992 until almost 2010.  I am not in the pageant world anymore, except for still being friends with girls I did pageants with and going to watch their kids at pageants. (My husband doesn't want our daughter to do pageants as a child which makes me sad but I understand his concerns. He says if she is in high school and wants to enter a pageant then that's one thing but he doesn't want us putting her into pageants as a pre-schooler.)

[Mommyof2]

1 minute ago, Mommyof2 said:

I miss pro-am :( lol. It kind of just faded. Some pageants held onto it a bit longer than others, but I can't think of any pageants that still do it...It makes me feel so old..girls don't really do pro-am anymore. It isn't so much that I miss pro am exactly, it's just...the old way of doing things...pro am took precision to get good scores and you had to really work on it and you'd lose a ton of points if you weren't detailing properly. Nowadays though, instead, it's like you just go up there and make faces and shake- All girls do the same stupid movements and kind of just bounce around shaking and stuff. Nothing looks polished anymore and I miss it. Back in the 90s you could tell pro am was something that had to be practiced a lot, what theyre doing onstage now looks like it could just be winged if it needed to be. And everything is OOC..outfit of choice...in the old days you had separate events for every outfit- western wear, swim wear, sports wear, casual wear (yes, they had BOTH sports wear and casual wear at the same pageant lol), and tons of others directors would think of extras like patriotic wear, tropical wear, day care wear (actually, sunburst still does day care wear but that's it), and anyway there were different events for every outfit. However, this led to complaints of too many things needed and eventually directors just combined it all into "outfit of choice". I don't like that, but it is what it is. A lot of the old pageants would have all those different outfit competitions PLUS have a pro am event or a separate pro am title and I just miss the old ways. Of course when I was in college age pageants we wore bright pastel colored suits for interviews and clear acrylic heels with swimwear and today that is frowned upon, clear acrylic heels with swimwear is considered trashy looking now and instead of bright colored suits for interview they wear a cute dress.

Another change is beauty, like if you go back and watch the old documentaries you will see it, under ages 3 or so, would wave and blow kisses, but once you were about 4 or so then you needed to walk smoothly and elegantly and if you waved or did anything cutesy then just plan on losing. But now even older girls are making faces and stuff during beauty. I don't like that change either.

I HATE CHANGE lol.

I do/did know Nikki. I did not have a whole lot of interaction with her, I only met her at maybe like 5 or 6 pageants, so not a whole lot, but I was around her enough to know that I am not a fan of Nikki. lol. She is not like a bad person or anything...but I don't like her...I just felt like there was a lot of immaturity that could end up in dramatics and I didn't want to be a part of that. Pageants are enough drama the networks really do not need to stage anything because they could just let the cameras roll lol. I should say my pageant years were like 1991 or 1992 until almost 2010.  I am not in the pageant world anymore, except for still being friends with girls I did pageants with and going to watch their kids at pageants. (My husband doesn't want our daughter to do pageants as a child which makes me sad but I understand his concerns. He says if she is in high school and wants to enter a pageant then that's one thing but he doesn't want us putting her into pageants as a pre-schooler.)

[Me from ME]

I really appreciated your reply. It seemed to me that Pro-Am seemed more difficult and required a lot more coaching and practice to present well. Now it just seems they need to smile, show their dimples, and look "cute" for the routine.

 

I can't help wondering what would happen if one of the contestants busted a few moves while competing.

[funky-rat]

Probably get marked down like poor Jenny Foster (RIP).  I can't help it- Pro-Am'ing will forever be burned in to my brain with the image of her getting marked down for it.

[Mommyof2]

Yeah that was so sad. I kind of didn't understand why her mom entered her in that pageant at all because her mom seemed so against that particular pageant and that particular director, saying it was a cult, etc. but then I figured even though she had a bad attitude, she still did it anyway because Jenny wanted to. I wish she could have had a better attitude for Jenny's sake. I never knew Jenny by the way just in case you're wondering. Never met her or her mom. I'm glad though that her mom put her in pageants. If you find out your child's life is going to be cut short, I'm sure as a parent you want to make sure she experiences every single thing she wants to do. Because of all the things you know that Jenny was going to miss out on already- like college, career, etc- you don't want to add anyhting else she'd miss. And the pageants gave her something to focus on and hope for. And for a girl who was never going to go to the prom, be a bride, have a wedding, etc, pageants gave her something she could do to dress up fancy and have a special moment.

[Mommyof2]

One more thing. I feel sorry for Jenny's sister because she is always going to go through pageants (and go through life) with this idea that she is supposed to be everything that Jenny was. And that's not healthy.

[funky-rat]

Yes - that was the first pageant doc I ever saw, and I was just riveted by her story.  And yes, she wanted to do that pageant, so her mom went along, but found it hard to hide her distaste for it all, and honestly, I'd have felt the same way.  That director clearly had it in for certain people who were in her "circle".  I did a pageant once when I was little - at a campground we used to stay at.  I just wanted the shiny crown.  The girl who won was friends with all of the judges.  I pitched a fit, and that was the first and last one I did.  Everyone was always telling my mom she should put me in pageants when I was younger, but she said absolutely not, and she was right - I wouldn't have been able to take the rejection, etc.

I do feel bad for Jenny's sister.  I wouldn't want to try to live up to that.  And she was always clearly not happy doing pageants.