Episode Report Card Jeff Long: A- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Standing For It, He Will Not
By Jeff Long | Season 9 | Episode 7 | Aired on 09.08.2011
They get to work on their textile designs. Becky makes a print with lots of cogs and wheels. Bert makes some abstract pocket watches, which are pretty cool. Bryce is feeling a little bit of judgment from his fellow designers because he has yet to win a challenge, though I would argue it's because they have seen his designs. I mean, who the hell is Bryce, right? I still see him as the guy who makes boring, silly clothes out of pee-pee pads. Becky notes that her design is less casual than those of the other designers, which creates a lack of cohesion. Bert can't get his design to print out, but Laura wants to go ahead and vote on the designs. He's understandably frustrated -- probably a combination of technology-fatigue and having his contribution deemed inessential by her behavior. Becky's not the only one who knows people around here, folks. Well, no one helps the poor bastard print out his design and they choose which ones are going to be represented. He says, lowly, "So much for the friggin' clocks" and Josh asks him to repeat himself. He says that they fucking clocks didn't print out. Then, HELP ME, Josh interviews that people who use dirty language are not intelligent. But, I'm guessing people that find The Village People source material for a relevant, fashion-forward collection are? This shit is seriously writing itself. There's a ghost in the machine. Not touching keyboard.
Josh goes crazy. He "asks" Bert if these are the undertones that people talk about with him on the runway -- the mumbling under his breath. Bert is not trying to fight here. He tries to explain but Josh says that he Will. Not. Have it. Bert continues to try to calm him down and steps toward him and Josh tells him that he needs to back up. BECAUSE BERT IS SOME KIND OF PHYSICAL THREAT, RIGHT? I'm not sure that if I were Bert I'd want people to treat me like this in a competition, but, much like an aversion to dirty talk, which I'm assuming Josh learned from family, I was taught to respect my elders. Now, you don't have to like the man or even really tolerate aggression or whatever from him, but to take that tone with someone for whom you should at least show a little respect because they've been chugging away on this fucking (clearly I've lost the aversion to the cursing) planet significantly longer than you -- I just find it appalling. There's this whole thing in the gay community about the generation gap and how younger gays don't show enough respect for the trailblazing that folks of Bert's generation did for us regarding civil rights and just generally being able to live as tweezed and bronzed assholes out in the open. I'm not sure this Josh jag-off is even smart enough to get it, but he should be ashamed of himself. Like, Anthony a few weeks ago? He clearly was at odds with Bert during their group challenge and he spoke his mind and it even got incredibly heated, but I never felt the complete absence of respect on his part. This just really chaps my lips and I wish Tim Gunn were there to see it. Gretchen don't got NOTHING on the smackdown that needs to happen right here.