HEIDI KLUM - PROJECT RUNWAY CONTROVERSY EXPOSED

PROJECT RUNWAY CONTROVERSY EXPOSED

Top reality TV show PROJECT RUNWAY has found a new "villain" after contestant KEITH MICHAEL was exposed as a plagiarist. Supermodel HEIDI KLUM, the star of the US show, hinted that one contestant was dismissed from the programme for "something illegal", in interviews before the new season started earlier this month (JUL06). And now it has come to light that Michael was so desperate to appear on the third season of Project Runway, he submitted designs that allegedly weren't his. Fashionistas at website TelevisionWithoutPity.com raised the alarm when they realised the wannabe designer's ideas on the show were almost identical to runway photos that had appeared on sites such as Elle.com and Style.com. The 34-year-old designer won the show's first fashion challenge. Klum is thrilled by the controversy: "We have a great villain. You always hope for something like that." But the disgraced designer insists he did nothing wrong. In an email to the Blogging Project Runway, Michael stated he had submitted five portfolios to the judges and the portfolio that has landed him in trouble was "a research assignment I did for a client in which I reviewed key fashion trends".