Template:VFTG USA 8 Notable Events

Expansion and realignment

With the arrival of the new moderators, Passalt inheriting her father's role and the return of Hillary Matthewson joining the 14 (ten females and four males) existing moderators, the main moderator panelists and villains were realigned into eight divisions: two villains in each division in the Men's Conference with four moderators in each division in the Women's Conference and four divisions in each conference. In creating the new divisions, the producers and directors tried to maintain the historical rivalries from the old alignment, while at the same time attempting to organize the moderators geographically. Legally, two pink team moderators (Tracia Ward and Holly Everman) and two purple team moderators (Ava Zinn and Kathi Jameson) were required to be in different divisions as part of any realignment proposals; this was because Tracia Ward and Ava Zinn share the Fort Wayne market and Holly Everman and Karly Jameson share the Indianapolis market.

The major changes are:

• The Pink, Purple, Red, and Blue teams were split into two divisions: East and West.
• Thia Tola and Kendra Ray swapped divisions, with Tola becoming the fourth female moving from the pink to purple team and Ray becoming the first (with the exception of Perri Johnson and Hillary Matthewson) transwoman moving from the purple to pink team.
• New Red Team moderators Phil Allen and Kye Sanchez were placed into the newly formed Red Team East.
• New Blue team moderators Tavon Savage from Sacramento and Bill Delagatto from Milwaukee were placed into the newly formed Blue Team West.
• Holly & Perri, new duo moderator Sophia & Maci, new moderators Marti McDaniel and Breeanna Sorensen were placed into the newly formed Pink Team East.
• Tracia & Hillary, the reassigned Kendra Ray, new moderator Nadia Lorenzo and new duo moderator Ann & Kylie were placed into the newly formed Pink Team West.
• Clark Jones and Luka Runecraft remained on the Red Team and placed into the newly formed Red Team West.
• Archibald Coolranch and Glenn Swaringen remained on the Blue Team and placed into the newly formed Blue Team East.
• Ava & Kymberly, Rachael Passalt, new duo moderator Jenny & Tulissa, and the reassigned Tola (with her new girlfriend Natasha Gower as a duo moderator) were placed into the newly formed Purple Team West.
• Kathi & Karly, Lanise & Danni, and new moderators Donna Doogan and Peta-Alyce Kaizer were placed into the newly formed Purple Team East.

This season is largely intended to preserve the traditional rivals in the same division. Plans are in the works add more moderators in the future.

Assassination of Christina Grimmie

See also: Christina Grimmie and Death of Christina Grimmie (wikipedia))

Christina Grimmie (1994-2016), was assassinated following a concert in Orlando, Florida.

On June 10, 2016, Vote for the Girls supported contestant Christina Grimmie was shot by 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl while she signed autographs following her performance with Orlando-based band Before You Exit at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida. Loibl then fatally shot himself after being confronted by Grimmie's brother Marcus. Grimmie was taken to the Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition; she later died from her injuries on June 11.

The Orlando Police Department reported that Loibl did not have an arrest record in his home county, and did not appear to know Grimmie personally. A department spokesman said Loibl had traveled to Orlando "apparently to commit this crime"; Loibl had brought with him two handguns, two extra magazines full of ammunition, and a hunting knife. One theory confirmed by Ava Zinn confirmed Loibl was reportedly stalking Grimmie. Zinn said immediately the murder of Rebecca Schaeffer came as a theory the second Loibl was named as the suspect.

Aftermath, Coverage, and Reaction

Shortly following Grimmie's murder, the entire moderator panelists of Vote for the Girls anchored and reported coverage of the assassination of Christina Grimmie.

Grimmie's life and death will became the topic of the upcoming season eight premiere episode, which will air in September 2016. Grimmie's death and a brief overview will also be highlighted in the 200 Women Picked special.

However, the children's edition of Vote for the Girls is being put on hiatus in response to Grimmie's death. However, the moderator panelists except Zinn, Alvaraz, and White decided to particpate in the thirteenth season of So You Think You Can Dance (aka So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation.)

Hairstyle changes

Holly Everman, Tracia Matthewson and Karly Jameson stopped using hair straightners and began appearing on Vote for the Girls USA for the first time with curly hair. It is interesting to note that all three women were on the pink team during the third season of the of Vote for the Girls UK.

Three female moderators decided to let their hair go to a naturally curly state by the start of the eighth season. Two pink team moderators Tracia Matthewson and Holly Everman and a purple team moderator Karly Jameson all stopped using hair straightening products as Everman and Jameson have passed the age of 30.

Everman, who had shaved her head in May 2014, allowed her hair to grow to a natural state for two years before going naturally curly near the end of the seventh season.

Matthewson went on Fort Wayne CBS affiliate WTOR-FTV with curly hair for the first time in her career on July 18, 2016 as well as having her on-air name changed from Tracia Ward to Tracia Matthewson as WTOR had recently changed their news graphics, despite being afraid of what viewers might say. "I was a bit nervous as I was touching my hair to clam down the bendiness," Matthewson said during a taping of the revival of Jameson's talk show. At the taping Jameson also taped the first episode with curly hair also for the first time in her career.

WEWS-TV sportscaster Lauren Brill did the same in 2016.

Discipline for off-set incidents

Glenn Swaringen is guilty of DWI, suspended 6 shows

Vote for the Girls villain Glenn Swaringen was arrested twice on August 30 near his home in Kokomo, Indiana on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI) after failing field sobriety tests. Preliminary charges of DWI were filed against Swaringen, who was jailed overnight. Swaringen had undergone treatment for alcohol addiction previously in the late 1980s. Swaringen will return to the villain panel October 10.

On September 2, 2016, Swaringen was charged with one misdemeanor counts in the incident: operating a vehicle while intoxicated, which is a Class C misdemeanor in Indiana.

Prosecutors alleged Swaringen was under the influence of alcohol and noted an unrelated incident during the site's previous season which Swaringen was speeding through I-69 north at 100 miles per hour in an effort to save his wife after she had an allergic reaction to macadamia nuts and eventually succumbed to the food allergy. Given the charges it is likely that Swaringen will avoid any jail time. Swaringen's daughter, Cathryn (also the sister of the late VFTG moderator Ariel Swaringen), was asked to take over Swaringen's role while he was in rehab, but she declined due to her commitments at WIFX competitor and Indianapolis ABC O&O WHOO (a station Swaringen previously worked for and his wife owned and previously worked at).

On September 4, 2016, Swaringen was sentenced to one year of probation during which he is forbidden from consuming or possessing alcohol and his driving privileges were revoked for a period of six months. He will be subject to random drug testing as a condition of his probation. In addition, the judge stipulated that any subsequent DWI charge in a two year period will be treated as a felony. Ava Zinn suspended Swaringen for six shows and also levied a fine of $100,000. As a result, Swaringen will have to forefit the $100,000. He was also forbidden from doing any media interviews or making comments related to the team on social media during the suspension.

References

Footnotes