Model Misbehavior

Gisele Bündchen probably reversed years of progress in the fashion world's efforts to get people to see models as something other than vain, superficial, narcissistic spoiled brats. Most models aren't like that, just like most members of Congress aren't corrupt, but it takes one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch - or in this case, one bad Bündchen to spoil the apples.

I am, of course, referring to Bündchen's outburst after the New England Patriots - which include Bündchen's husband, quarterback Tom Brady - lost the Super Bowl to their hated rivals the New York Giants. Bündchen may now be more hated in the New England region than the Giants. After the game she let out a tirade against Brady's teammates dropping passes and suggesting that Brady himself was not culpable for their loss. "My husband cannot f***ing throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time!" she yelled.

Okay. Last time I checked, Ms. Bündchen is not an expert on football. In fact, growing up in Brazil, she wanted to be a volleyball player. Also, the situation of your wife giving instructions to your coworkers on how to do their job causes more problems than it solves. Yoko Ono sat in on numerous Beatles sessions, and we know how that worked out. I assume Gisele Bündchen felt entitled to inject herself into the issues of the Pats' loss because, well, she's Gisele Bündchen! And there's the problem.

This can't possibly play with the fans, who must be looking at the "Brady Bündchen" (get it?) union with utter contempt. At a time when the American middle class is struggling, Patriots fans probably don't appreciate the idea of a supermodel who makes $45 million a year lecturing the team just because she's married to their quarterback - and it must seem pretty galling when they remember that Tom Brady himself doesn't exactly have to worry about his income, especially when he's been getting paid millions to lose. Some Patriots fans have even suggested that Gisele Bündchen is a curse on the team, since Brady has failed to win another Super Bowl for the Pats since his relationship with Bündchen began in 2006. (They married in 2009.) Before he started dating her, his Super Bowl win record was 3-0.

Every time a model acts like a jerk, I wince. As many readers of this blog know, I am friends with several veteran fashion models through Facebook, including 1980s model Nancy Donahue. So I know that most models aren't jerks. I'm not even saying that Gisele Bündchen is a jerk; I'm only saying she acted like one. Maybe she's not the arrogant, self-important person she appears to be; good grief, she devotes time to charity. But when people have a negative image of modeling, her behavior doesn't help the profession. Not every model marries a celebrity athlete or a rock star, not every model makes $45 million a year, and even models that do marry well and make a lot of money don't think that such distinctions make them important. But when Gisele Bündchen or any other cover girl acts the way she acted, she doesn't do the modeling trade any favors.

By the way, not too many people seemed to noticed that the biggest display of arrogance and self-importance by a woman at the Super Bowl came not from Gisele Bündchen but from . . . the halftime show headliner. :-p