The mentor is often a judge on these competition shows. Top Chef, Top Chef: Just Desserts and that hairstyling one all had a combined mentor/judge. Also, Tim Gunn served as a judge in the finale the season before last. (I know that Jennifer Lopez left them in the lurch, but there were plenty of stars in the audience, and if it was such a problem, they could have pulled one out.)
Why would serving as mentor/judge be a conflict of interest??? I just don't think it matters.
If you're suggesting it's a conflict of interest because the mentor gets to know the contestants personally, I think you're underestimating the amount of interaction between the judges and the contestants. The judging footage is edited down from literally hours of footage. The main/repeat judges know the contestants personally. Take PR, Heidi clearly didn't like Gretchen because she knew her personality.
If you're suggesting it's a conflict of interest because the mentor knows the progression of the garments and who struggled during the process, I think you're underestimating what the main judges know. They are heavily involved in the show (Heidi Klum is a producer of PR), and the main judges know what goes on in the work room.
The mentor is clearly going to interact better with some contestants than others, but so are the judges. Some contestants are simply more likeable than others and that comes through.
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