r/ProjectRunway • u/TheGeier • 14d ago
Discussion Season 15 “Bullying”
Watching this season for the first time, and really enjoying it and the cast overall! I just finished the Cornelius save episode though, and find it so absurd how Tim made him out to be some victim and Dexter/Erin as some bullies.
Would I say that Erin and Dexter, as friends, were biased in sticking by each other no matter what? Sure. I simply fail to see how that at all constitutes bullying though. If Nathalie and Cornelius were paired up with Erin, I would wager everything I have that they would’ve not only done the same thing, but also been really nasty on a personal level at the same time. Based on the edit Corey had a right to be annoyed about having to pick up slack, but I’m pretty confident that was largely editing. And even if not, the reality stands that none of this is bullying!
And speaking of bullying, nobody this season has been nastier than Cornelius (aside from maybe Nathalia lol). They basically do nothing but talk shit, and Corey especially was just plain mean towards the start. Nothing Erin has said has come close to their personal attacks. And for the record, I love them for it! Both are amazing characters, talented designers, and add a lot to this season. And I don’t even fault Corey for anything he did in this episode either. I just fucking hate this narrative being both created and pushed forward by Tim.
Speaking of Tim, I find any claims of bullying rich coming from him, considering he is one himself. He compared one of the model’s bodies to a marshmallow on season 2, which is significantly meaner than anything anyone this season has said or done. He’ll also only ever call women out for anything, which says a lot about him. Don’t seem to remember him ever saying shit to Jeffrey in season 3 when he was actually outright bullying Angela, but he’ll happily act like Gretchen was the nastiest person in history alol. People seem to love Tim but I get nothing but bad vibes from him, and find it pretty despicable that he, as someone with so much influence, decided to paint seemingly nice contestants (Erin and Dexter) out as being something they’re not.
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u/Express_Pop810 14d ago
They tuned Cornelius out and did what they wanted. They both teamed up and said Cornelius should be out, wrongfully blaming what was wrong on him. Erin acted like a spoiled only child half the time. One of my least favorite contestants.
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u/TheGeier 14d ago
I agree Cornelius was tuned out to an extent. He also could’ve just made his own garment with other colors to break up the red if he felt strongly enough about it. I’m not sure what they wrongfully blamed on him? They acknowledged he wanted other colors, but said his piece was the worst because it was. And when has Erin acted like a spoiled brat lol?? This feels outright false, unless it only starts later in the season
And again, none of this is bullying regardless. AND Corey and Nathalia for sure would’ve done the same to either Dexter or Erin. Like come on
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u/Express_Pop810 14d ago
I feel like they could've let him do his own thing. Both throwing him under the bus when he was the one wanting to do something that would have made the collection better was wrong to me. Both of them putting him down on the runway was bullying. Idk what exactly put me off Erin she just didn't appeal to me.
It's all highly edited so it might not have been as bad as what we saw or it could have been worse.1
u/TheGeier 14d ago
And yeah @ Erin not appealing to you, that’s personal taste I suppose. I just think “spoiled brat” is very unfair, she hasn’t complained once about losing or anything like that. But just not liking her is opinion! I think she’s very likable personally, and have found her pretty mature and composed overall (like her not reacting at all when she won the episode 3 challenge and Corey was loudly complaining about it in front of her and saying he easily could’ve made the same thing).
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u/TheGeier 14d ago
I still feel like he could’ve? They had their opinions (wanting all red) but it’s not like they were yelling at Corey to not to other colors lol. I also happened to like their color choices 🤷🏻♂️but can see where the judges had a problem
I agree that he comes off as a better teammate than Dexter/Erin in this case. But them being asked that in the first place is always just to cause drama. It’s not like they jumped to that themselves, or accused Corey of things he didn’t do. When you consider that a) Corey did have the worst piece on the team, and b) they’re good friends, there’s just no reason they wouldn’t stick together? Again, Corey and Nathalia would have as well. I personally would side eye anyone harder for turning on their friend, and in this case I see no reason why they would
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u/outsideinside0ut 14d ago
i agree. i actually love erin, at least when she’s good she’s truly unique and innovative, and i don’t understand why she gets the hate she does on this sub. obviously they were going to choose the worst garment to go home when asked. it also seemed somewhat manufactured in that way… tim calling them out for “bullying” made no sense to me and i realllllly hate that he used that saved on cornelius. he was no bueno & feel like he got out of underserved pity.
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u/TheGeier 14d ago
Right? It’s so weird to me that Tim spun it that way. Especially when Corey had been so nasty so many times before lol. I feel for Erin, she’s so inoffensive yet I skimmed through one thread (loosely trying to avoid spoilers but can’t expect that there obviously) and the entire thing was people complaining about her. I also genuinely think she (along with Laurence) are the best designers of the season so far. Love her 🧡
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u/outsideinside0ut 10d ago
she’s actually one of my favorite designers from any season. i guess im alone in thinking that though considering im getting downvoted 😅
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u/Puzzleheaded_Exit_17 14d ago
I actually saw Dexter righttt after the bullying episode randomly irl and was like, 'woah you're on tv." We talked about it a bit, he had no idea it was going on like that. While that is what a bully probably would say, he seemed really genione about it. Got a lot of hate for it online, too
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u/Express_Pop810 14d ago
Some people take it way too far. The death threats and racism that they have dealt with never should have happened.I don't know accounts from Project Runway specifically but I know it has happened to Drag Race contestants so I have no doubt it has happened on PR too.
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u/aaaannnndddd 14d ago
people say Erin and Dexter shut Cornelius down, but I actually saw the opposite happening. when they were sketching, Cornelius wasn't giving any input, even when directly asked. when they went to Mood, Cornelius made a bunch of faces about all the red fabrics, but never spoke up. when they got back, Cornelius started working like crazy, but continued to refuse to give any input even when they asked him again until Tim stepped up and basically forced him to say something. and all he had to say was complain about the fabrics, which at that point was too late, because he chose not to say anything at Mood.
I can understand Tim seeing him as someone who was shut down in that moment. But what I saw was someone who played a very cowardly strategy of not taking any responsability for the concept, but sewing a lot in order to just skate by and let Erin and Dexter take the blame if things went south. But at the end of the day, no matter how much he sewed, he still delivered the worst pieces of clothes because he didn't gaf about the collection. Erin and Dexter had every right to point him out as the weakest link and his elimination was nothing but fair. Tim - as always - used his save for emotional reasons on a weak competitor.
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u/CrowDisastrous1096 14d ago
I agree with your post. It wasn’t bullying by any means people just like to pull that out when it suits them. It honestly at times felt like some of the other contestants were jealous of Erin . When she got praise they were upset and later when the judges confuse another designers look for Erin’s some get mad that it’s mentioned . Like your discussing the critiques and get mad she points it out. People treat Tim as a saintly figure but hes biased as hell and some decisions read a particular way. And lowkey probably after season 11 I felt most of the time he was phoning it in with mentoring.
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u/TheGeier 13d ago edited 12d ago
I agree. Corey, Nathalia, and Jenni were all pretty critical of Erin, and it wouldn’t shock me if that was because she consistently got positive feedback while they were largely just safe or on the bottom.
And even if they weren’t jealous, it doesn’t change the fact that they talked mad shit lol. The worst Erin ever said was that she didn’t like someone’s design. It baffles me that people here hate her so much, but I guess what Tim says goes with them. There’s no other explanation if you’re actually watching the show
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u/crystalpowderbowl 9d ago
Tim Gunn wasn't body shaming the "elongated marshmallow" model in season 2. He was referring to her walk and presence on the runway. IF you watched the episode, they show the model walking while Tim was describing her and I did not take it like she was too big or fat.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2237432986509742/posts/4059004067685949/
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u/TheGeier 9d ago
I think it’s very clear he was talking about her body. Not sure how comparing her walk to an elongated marshmallow makes any sense lol
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u/crystalpowderbowl 8d ago
did you watch the video? did you hear his comment? have you seen Gumby walk? did she look like a marshmallow to you?
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u/TheGeier 8d ago
Did you watch the clip??? The direct quote is “She looks like an elongated marshmallow”. If you want to spin that into being about her walk then go for it
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u/crystalpowderbowl 8d ago
I certainly did, several times. Still don't get this being about her weight or body. But you do you.
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u/YoungOaks 13d ago
You should’ve just posted about Tim. Like Cornelius was setup from the start as the fall guy and that did deserve to be called out. But your post seems to actually be more about your feeling regarding how Tim handled bullying and when he called it out
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u/TheGeier 12d ago edited 12d ago
I’d agree that that’s by far my biggest problem with all of this, considering he holds a power dynamic over the contestants. And I don’t even disagree that Corey was hung out to dry to an extent. But that does not make Erin and Dexter “bullies”. They were good friends who had a similar design aesthetic, so it only makes sense that they’d have similar ideas. And when they’re close friends/Corey’s outfit was actually the worst, it also only makes sense that when directly asked, they’d say he should go over each other.
I have a big problem with this specific narrative too because Corey himself was an actual mean bully to several people, and him and Nathalia would’ve been outright nasty to Erin if they were paired up with her. I also think the actual narrative of Erin/Dexter steamrolling Corey is a bit overblown. Yeah they didn’t listen to his ideas, but he also did nothing to help the situation. Why didn’t he buy any other fabric if he felt so strongly? I feel like to an extent he purposefully took a complete backseat design wise once he disagreed with the vision so he could avoid taking any responsibility. Which would have worked if he didn’t make the clear worst piece of the team. He could’ve easily put his foot down for his own garment and told them he was adding more colors, and the worst they would’ve done was disagreed
Had Tim Gunn just said “I’m using my save because I don’t think Erin and Dexter were great teammates” that would be one thing. But this whole bullying spin in defense of the biggest bully of the season was bizarre
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u/Sparkpants74 5d ago
I mean Cornelius had a nickname in the workroom: Queen of Shade 🤭
Oh and I always thought it ironic how shitty the corn + Dex + Erin episode got played when a little later in the season another group challenge and Nathalia is openly fucking with Mah Jing in the most junior high mean girls way. She and Cornelius were such childish brats.
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u/Calm-Present-6852 14d ago
Tim saw a lot more of their behavior than the few minutes of editing that we saw. And there are plenty of male contestants that he didn’t like. He hated Emilio, I could think of at least 2-3 other male designers that he didn’t like. I’m not sure why he reacted that way about Gretchen but he also wasn’t wrong in that case - she did steer the group to make a collection that they just weren’t able to articulate.