The bromance is over for Texas gay Will Jardell, who faced down a homophobic Houston guy on “America's Next Top Model” with an assist from Tyra Banks, who was having none of it.
It was just a few weeks ago that Jardell left us swooning with his bromance (and kiss) with Matt Smith. But the simmering homophobia of Denzel Wells, a former football jock from Houston, finally bubbled over. It started when Jardell made his big, gay debut on the show in August and sashayed across the room in heels. That offended Wells and his considerable manhood, who was even more uncomfortable a few episodes later when Jardell touched his bare chest as all the contestants lay in a big, nearly-naked dog pile for a photo shoot (below).
On Monday, Wells' homophobia came front and center when he took exception to Jardell playing an “assertive, powerful, militaristic” character during a challenge.
“Will is a very effeminate homosexual man,” Wells says. (Watch above)
Not satisfied with pitching the tired jab that gay men aren't masculine, Wells tries to explain his homophobia to Keith Carlos as they lay in bed. No homo.
“I got no problem if you gay but if you gay, be a man about it. Ain't no fucking way a man should wear heels,” he says. “It's almost like I came out here to get beat by a dude wearing heels. Wait, not even regular heels but patent leather heels.”
Jardell overhears the comments and gets upset, troubled by how it brings back the memories of being bullied in small town Texas, which he discussed in an interview with Project Q before the season debuted. Wells responds by saying Jardell is acting like a woman and not dealing with it “man to man.”
Banks, during the judging session, was having none of this hypermasculine homophobia. She dressed Wells down with enough force to make any drag queen proud.
Jardell also got a boost of gay inspiration when photographers Tu Tsai and Franco Lacosta openly gushed over him during a frigid challenge in an ice skating rink.
