Awkard! The Openly Anorexic Contestant on Britain’s Next Top Model

In a controversial move, Britain’s Next Top Model has cast Jade McSorley (age 21) who is currently struggling with anorexia. That’s weird, right? Doesn’t it make you want to say ‘WHAT?’ 

Jade McSorley

Having dealt with the disease since the age of eight, just months before going on the show she was in the hospital. She told The Sun, “Obviously I’m still going through it. It’s something you have with you for life.”

To me, this seems like a horrible idea. The modeling industry, and a competition with a focus on body image (where less is best), seems to be the last place Jade should be. There are so many triggers, mixed-messages (when voicing her doubts about being too thin to look good in a picture, a judge assured her she looked fabulous – most likely before the judge realized she had an eating disorder), and complications when you put yourself in such a stressful environment. This was demonstrated most recently by recent America’s Next Top Model contestant, London Levi, whose involvement in the same reality TV show made her go downhill.

Levi told TV Guide, “My number one goal right now is to be fully recovered from my eating disorder. I have bulimia and I struggle with anorexia. It’s something I’m being helped with. It’s not something I made up as an excuse for gaining so much weight! Going into the competition, it just kind of slammed down on me because I’d watch all of these girls who are naturally thin. I’m not naturally thin, I’m curvy. I watched them eat normally and pig out sometimes, and I thought I could do that too. But my metabolism was so messed up from years of abuse that my body stored all that food I was eating. So I gained weight.”

Even if the people on Britain’s Next Top Model are encouraging and sweet to her about her eating disorder – telling her to gain weight, the reality of the modeling world is nothing like that. I think it’s irresponsible for this show to bring a girl into their show who is not recovered from such a serious disease for young girls (the target audience). I can only see this negatively impacting her in the long-run.

Popularity: 7% [?]