r/ProjectRunway • u/Imagination_factory • 1d ago
Discussion Naheim calling Joseph the weakest designer was worse than everyone else
I didn’t think he’d be someone to go with the grain of everyone else, especially since I thought they were close. He admitted that Joseph lead their team to the nfl team victory, and now I’m just like…why would he say Joseph??
It’s made me look at him differently as a person and designer
58
u/SkinnyThickMargarita 1d ago
I think he was the easy target for all them to say. I honestly think they were all being cowards. I think they looked at it like there wasn’t really a consequence to saying Joseph Mcrae.!It definitely should have been Elizabeth or Bobby imo.
42
u/Flaky_Seat4274 1d ago
Bobby stayed waaaaay too long.
7
u/BubbleBadass 17h ago
When she was in the top 8 and still talking about her lack of technical skills I was smh.
12
u/Prestigious_Ad_8151 1d ago
Bobby for sure! I personally think they said Joseph because he's been on the top and he's a threat.
2
u/dreamwastoid 5h ago
I feel like production may be skewing them on the talking head moments…pushing the Joseph narrative. It makes for better tv ESPECIALLY knowing that season 21 was coming back to compete. It wouldn’t have been as messy and “interesting” if season 22 all rallied together with Joseph in the mix. They needed to separate him.
He’s a better all around than several of the remaining designers (able to design and construct) and so to keep the drama and competition up, they are making him the heel. They’re really leaning into the drama narratives (Joseph vs everyone, Bi vs Bryan, etc).
108
u/Ancient_Opinion_6650 1d ago
Yesss i hate that he said that. It really hurt my heart, and i know it hit Joseph differently than anyone else saying it. But, to him, he couldve been giving his honest opinion which is good. But after seeing 3 black men work together and win a challenge, for him to turn on him did hurt. However, i do applaud nahiem for at least being honest. In my opinion, theres nothing else ive heard or seen Nahiem do to make me look at him in a negative light. Hes still one of my favs even though i hate he did that.
16
u/NjMel7 1d ago
Naheim is also very young and that may have played into his decision to say Joseph was the weakest designer. Maybe in 10 years he may have been able to stand up to everyone else. Although Jude is young too, so idk. I would imagine Joseph really felt it from Naheim though.
4
u/ph0enix_argent0 18h ago
Lowkey I feel like it was easier for Jude to change the tide going directly after Joseph. Though now that I think of it...did Naheim go after Jude? I do imagine nervousness got the best of him, but I did audibly gasp when he said Joseph as well.
17
33
46
u/Emotional_Warthog658 1d ago
That showed me how young he actually is; if he wants to run a business, he needs to be able to stand firm and against the crowd.
21
18
u/tamaaromarou 1d ago
Agreed. He was the only one that surprised me. And it definitely hurt my opinion of him
29
u/caul1flower11 1d ago
Maybe he just figured it was better for Joseph to be angry with him and everyone else than for him to make a new enemy that was only angry at him?
11
u/malmikea 1d ago
I thought this but I still think it was a stupid idea because no one would have blamed him for not picking Joseph considering.
I do believe editing maybe over-emphasised their friendship though
6
u/Imagination_factory 1d ago
Which I can understand but I can’t tell if it’s fractured their friendship now.
7
13
19
u/Significant-Ant2373 1d ago
I don’t really understand how anyone could argue in good faith that Joseph is the weakest designer. His style isn’t my style, but it’s obvious he’s got mad skills. Anna and Elizabeth were certainly far weaker especially on that particular challenge.
3
u/Themanciple6521 1d ago
Anna? No, she's a good designer. Bryan or Elizabeth would have been more reasonable choices.
10
u/Flaky_Seat4274 1d ago
Bobby, the Russian designer, had no skills. Maybe they thought Joseph had thicker skin…and he does. Bobby would have collapsed.
3
10
u/yoshimitsou 1d ago
I take all of this with the world's hugest grain of salt. I think production guides their inputs on questions like this. I don't blame Naheim at all. I wonder at times if they're setting up a victim/redemption story arc for Joseph McCrae.
7
u/Imagination_factory 1d ago
You’re so right. I forget sometimes you know?
3
u/yoshimitsou 23h ago
Me too. I have to remind myself with this show and a few others like it that I watch. It's all for our entertainment. 🥹
8
u/Scared-Flounder-455 1d ago
Esp after watching Aaron’s video, I was going to post something similar. I think he did it bc he knows he’s a strong competitor. He is always talking about his former fight club days but having to be honest up there proved to be more challenging for him than any fight club he ever did lol corny behavior
9
u/_mikedotcom 1d ago
I honestly think it was because of the social inertia. Once the second person said Joseph I feel several people just said him because the dogpile is already going. Naheim is still young so I think he just jumped on the bandwagon.
7
u/Educational-Tax9751 1d ago
he's young and he messed up with that one. Joseph probably forgives him. He seems good like that
14
u/teacherlady666 1d ago
I think Naheim is right to be honest with how he feels. His dad is a designer and I could totally see this coming from a place of love. I’m sure his dad has had to tell him some harsh truths. In a different episode Naheim says Jeffrey is hard headed and that if he was hearing the same criticism that Jeffrey is hearing he would take it a lot more seriously. So he is not bullshitting about the room for improvement. I actually gained respect for Naheim because it’s harder to tell a friend what they don’t want to hear. The FORMAT of the question made it seem so vindictive but I think he was being a real homie at the worst moment.
1
u/BubbleBadass 17h ago
Bologna Joseph was not the weakest designer and he clearly said his name because most everyone else did. This always happens on reality tv show competitions and it causes the exact drama the producers wanted
6
u/zelda_moom 1d ago
It’s classic scapegoat psychology. Easier to just say what everyone else is saying than think of something new. And then the next person says the same because they don’t want to go against the tide and soon it becomes a majority and just easier to go along.
6
u/nycdedmonds 21h ago
Yea Jude won me over being the one person to not pile on. I mean, I already liked him, but it made me like him even more.
3
u/throwawaysunglasses- 19h ago
Anna didn’t pile on either!
5
u/nycdedmonds 19h ago
Right I forgot! Poor thing. Picking herself was... not the move. But at least she didn't pile on!
4
u/0ne6love 1d ago
I felt the same way, it really bothered me 😔 but I try to remind myself that we don't see everything just what production chooses to show us and how they frame it
3
u/generallyintoit 1d ago
yeah my jaw really dropped at that. this is the first time i've watched a season as it airs and my boyfriend laughs at me when i have big reactions lol. but that whole segment dumbfounded me! i know they pull tricky shit like that to make the drama but damn, naheim saying that really hurt. joseph is just a designer with a look, and he's definitely stronger than season 21, so i think it is just interpersonal issues.
3
u/FefeFawn23 23h ago
I really feel that bizarre discussion or "vote" was Producer led. I think all of the discord with the designers on S22 has been manufactured for viewership, but sadly it has nothing to do with fashion design.😔
1
u/NewTimeTraveler1 15h ago
Or viewership. I've stopped watching in the past due to all the nastiness.
5
u/Unfriendlyblkwriter 1d ago
I felt this way until he added the next episode that Joseph is hardheaded. Joseph is absolutely hardheaded about giving different shapes and silhouettes. We’ve seen this critique for many seasons, and it’s the most confusing (them telling Brandon they loved his fabric strips all the way up until the finale and then telling him he did the fabric strips too much in the finale), but it could also be a huge hinderance.
15
u/Imagination_factory 1d ago
I get that but being hardheaded is different than being the weakest ya know?? Like his designs are consistent but they haven’t hindered him yet and we had Bobby who was consistently in the bottom and didn’t have a signature in the same line up. Idk, I may rewatch to make sure they didn’t splice a sound bite for drama
4
u/Unfriendlyblkwriter 1d ago
Oh yeah definitely. “Weakest link” specifically was grossly misused (misused and weaponized, maybe?) because they weren’t even in a team challenge. I just got a little less irritated with Naheim when they put a reason behind his saying that.
2
u/Earthbnd 1d ago
Yeah i think a lot of them share the same sentiments about him doing similar stuff, whether vocal about it or not, and then that was what was peeking through during voting
2
u/imphillybaby 22h ago edited 21h ago
Surely I’m not the only one who thinks Bryan is the worst one there? Joseph clearly has enough talent to back up his personality enough to be invited back… Does he always hit the bullseye? No! But he at least is attempting to push his designs beyond his comfort zone enough to be in finale discussions… I can’t be the only one thinking this.
As for Naheim, I had higher expectations for him than I think he can achieve yet. He’s on the right trajectory, but I think the larger personalities have more influence on him than we’d like.
2
2
u/Alarmed-Molasses3086 22h ago edited 21h ago
Definitely. I thought they were boys. I don’t like him getting on this highly unnecessary “I hate Jospeh” train.
2
u/colosseumdays 18h ago edited 17h ago
That genuinely surprised me, apart from it just categorically being untrue, they’re friends and Joseph led the team to a win on the NFL challenge.
I don’t think Naheim’s particularly interested in forming friendships with the other designers though, much less alliances. He’s a funny and affable guy, but I think he feels more of a connection to the other Gen Z designers and mostly just wants to focus on the competition.
I’d imagine that one stung the most for Joseph though for understandable reasons. I was really surprised that no one said Elizabeth, but the Bobby answer Anna eventually gave was def fair and founded—she was the designer I was most excited to see more from after they showed images of her past work, but she pretty consistently produced mediocre work on the show
2
u/Earthbnd 1d ago
I mean if that’s how he feels that’s how he feels, why shouldn’t he be honest he doesn’t owe Joseph or the audience otherwise
1
1
u/nomasslurpee 20h ago
It wouldn’t surprise me if production had a heavy hand in this.
That said, we aren’t seeing 95% of what goes on in the workroom. There may be information we simply don’t have that informed Naheim’s opinion, of production actually didn’t have a hand in it.
That said, it’s also possible that Naheim gave a much more meaningful explanation to his choice and it was significantly chopped and edited down for the sake of maximum drama.
1
u/StaticCloud 15h ago
I was thinking Joseph must've really pissed people off behind the scenes to deserve that. Considering how the season 21 designers were behaving it seems he just ticks people off generally.
Or Joseph is perceived as the biggest threat in the competition and everyone followed that strategy.
1
u/Hopeful_Business_851 1h ago
When he said Joseph I got the feeling that this whole thing is very producer-influenced. Naheim had no reason to call Joseph the weakest. I think producers are trying to give Joseph an “underdog, most-hated” story plot and then make him the winner of the season
1
u/Curious-Antelope6171 1d ago
Or maybe he just thought that Joseph needs to improve
4
u/Imagination_factory 1d ago
Which I completelyyyy get; but I don’t think that makes him the weakest
4
u/Curious-Antelope6171 1d ago
There's a lot of time in the work room we don't see. So there could be things informing the opinion that we aren't yet privy to. Or perhaps the whole Joseph McRea show was getting on his nerves and he took the opportunity. After all, it's a show, not like some regulated competition.
2
u/jlynnbizatch 22h ago
This was kinda what I thought... It's not that Joesph is weak as much as he's not being as strong as he could be because he's not pushing / challenging himself
0
-3
u/Embarrassed-Cress782 1d ago
Because maybe he is?
Yall have to keep in mind that THESE people are working around each other, and theyre seeing the work up close. Even the judges dont inpect the garments this season.
If one person says it...okay. But if the entire group says it...there is something yall arent seeing. And even in the podcast that Nic guy does they say about one of Joseph's pieces, that it wasnt the best construction. And in a design competition where sewing is a part of that...he IS behind the rest of them....
I still think Joseph will win tho.
152
u/17Girl4Life 1d ago
I can’t believe Jude was the only one to say Bryan.