Former ANTM Contestant Fighting Meth Addiction

Watercooler

By Luscious | Monday, September 17, 2012 | 11:27 pm | 26 Comments
Tagged: , , , , ,
Posted in: Watercooler

Hey Gasmii,

This is slightly old news, but I just came across a few people sounding in on the situation, so I thought we should add it to the watercooler.

Jael Strauss, a former contestant during cycle 8 of ANTM was already fighting demons when she appeared on the show.

Sadly, it appears her demons got the best of her and she’s been struggling with a meth addiction. This information came to light when she appeared on the Dr. Phil show.

 

It’s hard to believe this can be the same girl.

Addiction is a tragic disease and we can only hope that Jael will be able to get the help she needs to overcome her dependency.

A few former Top Model winners have weighed in on the subject:

CariDee English thinks Tyra’s abandonment after the show
makes it hard for the models to continue on.

See CariDee’s words here.

Cycle 10 Plus Size winner Whitney Thompson agrees modeling is hard
but that has nothing to do with Jael’s problems.

 

See Whitney’s words here.

 

What’s your opinion, Gasmii?

Luscious
About

Luscious just got back from a one year backpacking trip around the world with her husband (TVgasm fill-in specialist, The Professor). She spends her days writing, knitting and sewing. She's only good at one of those hobbies, not saying which.  Her secret dream is to write romance novels and have critics say her brilliance is wasted on such a pointless genre. Also, she'd like to create a pair of pajamas for her niece where the sleeves actually work.

26 Comments

  1. 1
    chaosbutterfly
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 1:37 am

    I think Jael’s addiction doesn’t have anything to do with modeling or Tyra Banks.
    I’m pretty sure she was already doing drugs before she got to ANTM, and in general, the longer you do drugs, the worse the addiction gets. I think it’s as simple as that. Plus, there were clearly some issues in the family dynamic…her mom and sister were also doing drugs with her, so I’m sure that contributed to it.

    As for not supporting the girls after ANTM, that’s not Tyra’s job. She gave the girls some exposure, some kind of experience, crowned a winner, took her check and went on home to gently caress her Harvard certificate.
    That’s generally how fashion works, minus the Harvard certificate.
    If the girls expected hand-holding after the fact, then that’s their problem honestly.

    It was sad to see how she messed up her beauty though. I hope she gets better.
    And I wonder why her family went to Dr. Phil and not to A&E’s Intervention.

  2. 2
    sarcasatire sarcasatire
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 1:44 am

    Does meth change the shape of one’s nose?

    Poor girl..I hope she recovers.

  3. 3
    kthxbai kthxbai
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 3:11 am

    @sarcasatire It looks like it made hers way bigger too.

  4. 4
    NotWithoutMyTV NotwithoutmyTV
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 4:33 am

    After my modeling career started getting traction, some bitches photoshopped one of my glossies to make it look like I had meth face, and then posted it to the web. Hos jus’ jealous, yo.

    They tried to spread it around that Tyra was making me change her kitty litter, too.

  5. 5
    snowshoecat snowshoecat
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 5:04 am

    @NWMTV, honey I’ve seen the glossies. They couldn’t possibly have photoshopped ALL of them.

    *Woof*

    KnowwhatI’msayin?

  6. 6
    Classy Drunk classy drunk
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 5:26 am

    Is that what METH does to you?!?!!? Why would anyone take that?!?!?!?!

  7. 7
    Smarlo
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 5:49 am

    Google “faces of meth” and you’ll see!

  8. 8
    blueberryPancake
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 5:57 am

    there are plenty of ANTM girls who used the exposure to springboard their “careers” ( if you can call it
    that ..looking at you Eva and Adrienne)
    But i feel for Jael, I hope she can get her life turned around and break out of her family’s addiction pattern. Getting Meth face is a good cautionary tale for any young girl !

  9. 9
    snowshoecat snowshoecat
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 6:20 am

    @BlueB, it should be a cautionary tale, but most kids have the “silver bullet complex”– It can’t happen to ME.

  10. 10
    Gypsy Gypsy
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 6:28 am

    Like, whoa.

  11. 11
    CattyFan cattyfan
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 6:40 am

    I knew before I clicked on the TVGasm story which girl I was going to see.

    Jael clearly had issues before the show…and the show exploited her “story.” But I’ll bet they never got her any help. If I remember correctly, just before the show one of Jael’s friend’s OD’d. She was grieving that loss, and also had her own history of drug use.

    Jae/’s addiction is her own…but Tyra and company should get some blame, as well, for taking a troubled girl, using her for drama, and then discarding her.

  12. 12
    msjacqmills
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 7:41 am

    How the hell is that the same person?!

  13. 13
    snowshoecat snowshoecat
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 7:49 am

    @msjacqmills, Left: my face Right: my face on meth

    When we were newly married, hubbycat took me to a little bar in his home town. At the bar were a couple of really seedy old, old men, and he noticed that I was staring.

    He told me that he had gone to school with both of them.

    And that was just alcohol.

  14. 14
    Gypsy Gypsy
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 8:48 am

    Meth is a helluva drug!

    If anyone cares to watch a movie about Meth check out Spun. Here’s the trailer. Great cast too! That stuff scares the Jeebus out of me!

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283003/

  15. 15
    labowner
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 10:05 am

    Yep the before and after pictures with the ages below would really help.

    See these folks all the time. The real fun is watching the tourists with their kids trying to figure out just what is wrong with the freak.

    Sarc I’m wondering if she didn’t face plant a few times or get hit upside the head. Meth addicts can be violent. Then again, look at how alcohol can bloat up a nose.

  16. 16
    Gypsy Gypsy
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 10:18 am

    @labowner google search says pic one is 2007 and pic 2 is 5 days ago.

  17. 17
    Sugarbush Sugarbush
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 11:24 am

    That’s heartbreaking. I loved Jael and saw such a broken girl in her. I hope she can get better.

  18. 18
    snowshoecat snowshoecat
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    @Gypsy, all hard drugs scare me, but meth is the scariest of anything.

    Not a huge MR fan, but I have to say the guy is an acting genius. Type-casting here?

    Thnaks for sending that trailer along. Hmmmmmm would that be trailer trashed?

  19. 19
    Gypsy Gypsy
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 1:31 pm

    @SSC, flipping battery acid is in Meth. WTH? I get carded at CVS for buying store brand cold meds, they put the Dayquil behind the pharmacy counter now.

    Sad world.

    You should watch that movie but prepare youself… it’s like Requiem for a Dream, sorta. And if you watch the movie you’ll find your answer. Spolier: Blondie makes a cameo in it.

  20. 20
    Dear Crabby
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 1:34 pm

    Saw her on Dr. Phil last week (rainy day during vacation)…all of her teeth were broken too because of “meth mouth.” Totally disgusting. Dr. Phil was a bit of a drama whore that day too, come to think about it…

  21. 21
    wcsdancer
    Posted September 18, 2012 at 4:52 pm

    @Dear Crabby, is there ever a day when Dr. Phil *isn’t* a drama whore?

  22. 22
    AshleyS
    Posted September 19, 2012 at 1:13 am

    Check it out, she’s a walking anti-meth campaign! All you’d have to do is put that slogan (“Meth–not even once.” As you can see I’ve taken public transit in the past two years) over that picture and you are done! No one would ever want to do meth ever again because if it turns a gorgeous model into…that…what chance do you or I have?!

    Oh god…
    >.>
    <.<
    I think I've now identified what was wrong with my older cousin's face and am wondering what she looked like before I was sentient because I only remember her with that lumpy, pocked face. Even her lips looked like that! And now I've gone from a nice snark to weirding myself out before bed. God damn it.

  23. 23
    NatPatBen
    Posted September 19, 2012 at 11:23 am

    AshleyS, you’ve triggered a memory in me as well.

    A few months I was supposed to meet up with someone and I saw her picture ahead of time. Looked to be in upper-30s / lower-40s. Very beautiful. But when she appeared, she looked in her 60s+ and very haggard. I wondered how one could’ve possibly transitioned in a few years from her before to after.

    Someone else suggested “meth” but I thought he was joking. But now seeing what meth can do….

  24. 24
    Classy Drunk classy drunk
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 7:24 am

    Meth is a helluva drug….(in my Rick James voice)

  25. 25
    Tmurda
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    Uh, yeah. At age 28, I was bad on meth for only 6months or so, and in just that time I looked about 40 and my hair was falling out. Thank God I quit and there was no permanent damage to my appearance other than some discoloration scarring on my back from picking. I didn’t smoke it so my teeth are fine, but looking back, I was a monster. I wasn’t a person anymore…just an empty vessel with no affect or sense of reality. That shit is pure sewage. Ive seen it made, and every ingredient is something that no normal person would ever even consider putting in their body. Scary shit, ya’ll. But you’d be amazed at how quickly one’s appearance improves as soon as they quit that shit. I hope she can pull thru her disease cuz homegirl is pretty far gone.

  26. 26
    merry
    Posted September 21, 2012 at 7:54 am

    There are only two paths to reality TV: having a huge talent; or having some combination of no brains, no shame, no inhibitions, or no self-control. Guess which of those gets you on America’s Next Top Model.

    For every one girl on that show who seemed reasonably intelligent and put together, there were ten who were stupid, nasty, or just immature because (shocker) producers love a train wreck. The whole point of reality TV is to make the viewing public feel superior. Sure these girls are thin and pretty (at least when they’re caked with makeup and shot by pro photographers), but nobody with any self-awareness would envy them their time getting humiliated on TV.

    Jael was a total mess during her season, clearly whacked out and either on drugs or in need of psychiatric help (or both). Tyra and company could care less. There was one model (forget which season), London, gorgeous and seemingly pretty nice. She put on some weight during the show and got insulted by the panel and eliminated for it. Kicker: she was a recovering anorexic. Maybe it was dumb of her to put herself in that situation at such a fragile time, but you can’t tell me Tyra and her team didn’t know. They just didn’t care.

    Tyra’s not under any obligation to hold these girls’ hands after the show, but they’re young and dumb and they admire and trust her, making her casual disposal of them more than a little cruel.

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