(ALMOST) Everything Missing from the America's Next Top Model Docuseries
When my brain is split open after death it’ll be all squish and blood but also memories of every single embarrassing thing I’ve ever done, a roster of all the cats I’ve loved (all of them), and just SO much America’s Next Top Model.
When I was in high school and even before, I watched most of the seasons live as they aired. Later, I rewatched the seasons on the Oxygen channel, where they played as marathons basically every weekend. I worked in hospital housekeeping, and I kept a little remote control in the front pocket of my scrubs so I could click on the TVs as I cleaned. Coryn’s harsh words to Lisa in Cycle 5 “And what are you doing- alcoholic bitch?!” Brittany’s instructions to Natasha in Cycle 8 “STOP TELLING ME NOT TO BE UPSET!” Brooke’s improvised explanations during a Covergirl commercial “I just love wearing Covergirl. It’s just sooooooo! Nice to wear!” They were the soundtrack to my tidying.
It’s been a few years since I’ve revisited any of the seasons in their entirety, but I watched a few episodes as I anticipated the release of the recent Netflix docuseries, and it alllllllll came rushing back. The quotes, the characters, the photoshoots, the outfits, the good, the bad, the ugly.
For Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, Tyra Banks sits down in front of the camera in her Inspector Gadget trenchcoat seeming nervous to speak, guarded. She extended “I’m sorry”s to a handful of contestants (some she’d already publicly apologized to but probably not on this scale) and offered justifications for some of the more shocking elements of the show. Ken Mok (co-creator of the show and producer), Jay Manuel (creative director), Miss J Alexander (judge and runway instructor) and Nigel Barker (panel judge and frequent photographer) were also featured and took turns throwing Tyra under the bus to varying degrees. But they all seemed slightly more open to questioning. Ultimately, Tyra was not vulnerable or earnest. I refuse to place all the blame for the show’s shortcomings on her shoulders, but she did herself no favors!
I’m hopeful that the former contestants interviewed and those whose stories were retold felt validated by the audience response. Shandi Sullivan (of Cycle 2 of the show) was sexually assaulted on the show, but the moment painted her as a promiscuous drunk that let an evening go too far. Danielle Evans (winner of Cycle 6) was harassed into undergoing a dental procedure to close her beloved tooth gap. And seemingly everyone in the world remembers Tiffany Richardson (Cycle 3) as the recipient of a monstrous outburst by Tyra when she failed to have the perfect response to her elimination from the show.
Countless contestants were humiliated on the show, criticized for aspects they could and could NOT control about their bodies – especially their weight. Blackface was utilized multiple times during photoshoots by (admittedly) Tyra’s design. It was a relief to hear these addressed during the Netflix docuseries, but I came away from my viewing surprised by so much I felt was omitted. I understand this was a three episode series and only so much could fit, but it really barely scratched the surface!!
Here’s (ALMOST) everything I feel was missing!
SORRY BUT NO ONE CAN MAKE ME LIKE GISELLE OR SHANNON
I understand why three former contestants from the first season of the show were interviewed for the docuseries, since the conception of the show was explained. I was genuinely compelled to hear Ebony Haith speak about her experience. As a Black and open(ish) lesbian, she was hopeful to serve as a role model for the under-represented! She described a slow descent into a pit of disappointment as she felt betrayed and unprotected by producers of America’s Next Top Model.
But in Netflix’s seemingly ENDLESS reach, how could they not secure interviews from more charming characters than Giselle and Shannon from that first cycle??? Shannon, whose storylines revolved around her virginity and refusal to pose nude (or even in underwear-on-a-technicality during her appearance on the All Stars season), I have heard from enough!
I would have loved to see Elyse interviewed, another contestant from Cycle 1 that is only shown in this docuseries in a clip when she calls Giselle the C-word (in a long rant aimed at every remaining member of the show, which I found very relatable as someone that gets grouchy and spares no one) and celebrating her excessive thinness as she says aloud pseudo-surprised “am I the lightest one?” after a group weigh-in. Yikes!
Netflix likely knows they did a disservice only showing Elyse in that unflattering moment. They did something similar to Brittany (Cycle 4) who is shown gushing about how much she loooved wearing Blackface makeup for a Got Milk? photo shoot, but it’s clear her enthusiasm was to match Tyra’s for the resulting photo.
It’s not an all-inclusive list at all, but I would have liked to hear from some more endearing former contestants– Furonda (Cycle 6), my fellow Minnesotan1 Kahlen (Cycle 4), Sundai (Cycle 13), Chris (Cyle 15), Will Jardell (Cycle 21- the only boy contestant allowed in the franchise sorry), Kim (Cycle 5), Toccara (Cycle 3)!!! Where were they!!? I would like to hear nothing else from Shannon.
THIS ONE’S FOR ALL MY MEAN GIRLS?????????
I’m glad the docuseries touched briefly on the cruelty of SO many comments extended by judges, designers, and photographers towards the contestants. Robin of Cycle 1, Anchal of Cycle 7, and London of Cycle 12 were all memorable recipients of harsh words regarding their weight. Simultaneously, Elyse of Cycle 1 and Cassie from Cycle 3 were among the contestants confronted for potentially displaying more overt signs of eating disorders. Conflicting pieces of advice from the panel of judges were IMPOSSIBLE to keep up with, but almost virtually anything could be used to justify the alienation and/or elimination of the contestants. The environment was high-pressure by design, and many of the women lashed out in response to frustration, exhaustion, or stress.
There was ALWAYS a villain.
When I watched the show live in 2006, I specifically hated Monique, the supervillain of Cycle 7 who acted so outrageously, it felt like glimpsing pure evil. Hogging the telephone to chit chat with her mother while another contestant begged for a moment to call her landlord, terrorizing the house when a bag of her chips went missing, and wiping a pair of her used underwear on a bed where another contestant lay sleeping. At the time, I thought I was witnessing a psychopath in action, but now I can’t help but wonder how much of this probably exaggerated persona was encouraged by production.
I would have been interested to hear from some of my other favorite ANTM bad girls!! Jade (Cycle 6), Melrose (Cycle 7), Bianca (Cycle 9), Alexandria (Cycle 16), Erin from Cycle 13 who elbowed fellow contestants to the ground during a foot race and complained when she won a helicopter ride instead of something tangible! A lot of these young women were merely DETERMINED to reach out and snatch the opportunities that the show promised!
I have to assume it was difficult to reacclimate or pursue jobs in entertainment with the added stigma of being a “”bitch”” on TV, but we won’t know unless someone interviews my gals in a better documentary!
ANGELEA PRESTON
Speaking of bad girls, I think the biggest gap in the Netflix docuseries was the complete absence of Angelea Preston. Her history with the show fit the somber theme of the series, but there wasn’t even a WHISPER.
I watched both cycles of the show Angelea Preston appeared on live, Cycles 12 and 17. Cycle 17 was the sole All Stars season of the show, and though I was disappointed nose-bleed-enthusiast Allison Harvard did not take the crown, I felt okay about Lisa D’Amato winning. With one finalist’s elimination not even featured, the All Stars finale was odd to say the least. When it aired in 2011, there was at least enough internet to poke around and investigate what had happened to Angelea. At the time, the web only offered the explanation that Angelea had been named the winner of the All Stars season but had been stripped of that title. Years later, after a lawsuit was filed by Angelea, the details emerged. Angelea had allegedly worked as an escort between the 12th and 17th cycles, justifying her removal as the winner.
Considering how heavily the show emphasized Angelea’s Cinderella story with ANTM positioned as Prince Charming (during her on-camera first audition in front of the show’s panel, she revealed *at Tyra’s prompting* that she’d spent the previous night sleeping at the bus depot), I was repulsed that her struggle with real poverty was turned against her! And THAT was when I thought she’d turned to sex work intentionally!
But this Bustle article explains Angelea’s story most clearly, including that she was essentially trafficked (per the article, she would NOT use this word but these words are mine) by a former boyfriend. Per Angelea, producers of ANTM (including Ken Mok!) were aware of this history before they started filming the All Stars season.
It may not be a frequent feature on Soft Earlobe, but the ‘lobe stands FIRMLY as a safe space for sex workers. I’ll advocate for safety and respect of sex workers always, and I’ll always want justice for Angelea!! I hope she’s found it.
At the conclusion of the Bustle article, it’s mentioned that Angelea may be writing a memoir. The moment it’s available for pre-order, I will be adding to CART.
MODELS ON ICE
One thing about me is I actually don’t think anyone is entitled to a modeling contract and I would not identify modeling as a job vital to the function of society. I understand that reality television is created predominantly to entertain, and the potential models didn’t necessarily need to be treated like royalty. But! At this point, we’ve heard from enough former ANTM contestants to know that their treatment and conditions on set were often poor! I was surprised, in this Netflix docuseries, to hear so little about it.
In the lawsuit Angelea Preston filed against Tyra and the show’s network in 2014, Angelea alleged that the show runners withheld food and water for hours at a time, did not provide proper rest breaks, and denied Angelea prompt medical attention when suffered a panic attack.
In Sarah Hartshorne’s book, You Wanna Be On Top? A Memoir of Makeovers, Manipulation, and Not Becoming America’s Next Top Model, Sarah details the show’s “on ice” policy which forbid the contestants to speak to each other when the cameras were not rolling. At times, when cameras were capturing judging deliberations, the models were “on ice” for large portions of time, often held in rooms in complete silence with limited access to food, water, and bathroom breaks.
In Sarah’s book, she says the “on ice” rule “had the added benefit of silencing contestants into submission and making (them) feel isolated and crazy.”
In the Netflix series, I think one person mentions that the models were overworked and underfed, but no other mentions of this!
PRANKS AND UNNECESSARY CRUELTY
In the first episode of the 16th Cycle of ANTM, Tyra Banks dresses up like Ashton Kutcher on an episode of Punk’d and preps the audience to watch a seriously sick little prank. A group of twenty eight women stand before Jay Manuel and Miss J. Alexander, vying for a spot on the show. Half of them are dismissed in mass to return home as the other women erupt with glee as they’re informed they’ve made the final cut and will be moving into the models’ house and beginning filming! The “rejected” group relocates to another room where they’re surprised by Tyra who informs them they HAVE been selected for the show after all! A weird thing to do to both groups of contestants - but I can’t help but wonder what happened to the group of women that were informed they’d be moving on in the competition, only to have the rug pulled out from under them!!2
In a widely circulated clip from Cycle 6, Tyra pretends to pass out in front of a circle of contestants, only to spring up and tell them it was all fake to prepare them for a day of acting lessons.
During Paulina Porizkova’s FIRST appearance on the show (Cycle 10), she lets the models know that they’ll have to get used to the harsh judgement of the beauty industry. Starting now! Then she queues them up and bops down the line – pointing out who has bad skin, a “smooshed” face, looks old, too masculine, etc.
And nearly every season, some secret challenge would include enduring excessively harsh criticisms from actors posing as established members of the fashion industry. A fake photographer in Cycle 4, assigned to terrorize a tennis photoshoot. A fake designer in Cycle 6. Professional models tasked with terrorizing ANTM contestants backstage before a runway show in Cycle 15. These are only the ones from my memory! I’m sure there are so many more – unnecessary twists and turns to make the contestants feel bad about themselves and also stupid. Even when the “joke” is revealed, the rude comments from the actors must still sting. And lordt help the contestants that did anything but thank Tyra and/or any of her counterparts for these valuable lessons or experience.
OTHER BAD GUYS
I was pleased to hear from Keenyah Hill (Cycle 4) in this Netflix series, who was repeatedly chastised by the panel of judges for gaining any weight while featured on the show. In Reality Check, she was also given the opportunity to tell her side of the story regarding the sexual harassment she endured at the hands of a male model assigned to costar in a photoshoot with her. When Keenyah asked to take a pause to request support, she was refused and belittled for halting the shoot. To the day the docuseries was filmed, Nigel Barker doubled down on his 20+ year old opinion that she should have internalized that discomfort for the sake of the photo. Ew.
The rehashing of Keenyah’s experience also made me think of Jaeda from Cycle 7, who was paired with a male model for a commercial shoot that straight up told her he did not like Black girls! “He doesn’t want to help me,” she explained to those at a shared dinner table with the remaining contestants and the same number of male models, all paired off. From the footage the audience sees, no one came to her aid. And everyone she explained the situation to afterwards failed to make her feel heard or safe!
Two other relevant instances came to mind! Adrianne (Cycle 1) was approached by a man that reached up her skirt while she hustled between the model “go-sees.” Kayla (Cycle 15), who was a victim of childhood sexual abuse, was reduced to tears when she was instructed to kiss a man as part of a commercial shoot for a fictious water brand! Even when indirectly the ANTM producers’ doing, women were traumatized on this show!
STRAAAIGHT UP EXPLOITATION
In response to the promises made by the show to kickstart modeling careers, many of the young women auditioning for America’s Next Top Model were desperate for an opportunity to change the trajectory of their lives! Many of them were not well-connected or supported in their home lives.
This was not unique to ANTM (other reality television shows utilize this tactic), but it was always so gross to hear a contestant describe the most painful thing they’ve endured to the camera, all backed by some sad sack music to fit the mood. Models described abusive home lives, recently deceased family members and friends, housing insecurity, and one contestant even attempted to navigate the show while Hurricane Katrina ravaged her hometown and her family was actively missing.
When I was a young viewer of the show, I figured that Tyra and/or the production must be helping the contestants off-camera. But I doubt that narrative now.
TYRA’S SUCCESS(??) STORIES
During her interviews on Reality Check, it was wild to hear Tyra champion herself as some trailblazer of inclusivity. She held up her casting of Isis King (Cycle 11), the first transgendered contestant on the show, as proof. The representation was significant, especially in 2008 when the cycle aired, but I was surprised Tyra mentioned Isis at all considering her treatment on the show! Isis quickly became a victim to transphobic idiot, Clark, and other ignorant comments from contestants. In her final photoshoot, Isis was obligated to wear a bathing suit that made her uncomfortable for an underwater photoshoot where the bathing suit was not even seen????? Unnecessary!
Tyra was also eager to hold up Winnie Harlow as a poster child for America’s Next Top Model, as though the show had much of anything to do with her massive success! Winnie, who went by her given name Chantelle on the show, received a mostly villainous edit. I remembered a scene where Winnie is confronted by a large group of contestants for fabricating details of a hook-up between her and season winner, Keith. When I sought to rewatch this episode, I realized how challenging it is to find this cycle to view! It isn’t streaming anywhere and my library has almost every season’s DVDs except Cycle 21 (when Harlow appears.) I had to text all my friends who have illegal streaming service access for help! I don’t know how to use that part of the internet!
It seems most former contestants of the show would tell you that their ANTM stint did nothing to advance their options in the modeling world, but who knows! I have personally witnessed many of them go on to find at least commercial success! Remember when Raina from Cycle 14 was in that Maroon 5 music video?? And I’ve spotted Cycle 21’s Kristin in Target ads.
WHAT ABOUT OLIVER TWIXT
Though I genuinely enjoyed the commentary provided in the docuseries by journalist Zakiya Gibbons, she was an unfamiliar face to me. I would have LOVED to see Oliver Twixt, who became well known in the America’s Next Top Model fandom after he began interviewing MANY of the former contestants for his Youtube channel in 2021. From what I understand, he has no history in journalism and was simply a guy sliding into their DMs with a dream! But he’s so charming! And many ANTM mysteries were solved during the airing of his Youtube series. He was also featured on Netflix’s reality television show, The Circle, so I was very surprised he wasn’t interviewed for Reality Check.
If the Netflix docuseries left you wanting more, I’d highly recommend watching some of Oliver’s interviews. He’s chatted with Alasia (Cycle 14) who appeared in that full butt photo that Andre Leon Talley would hang in his salon, eliminated-the-night-of-her-high-school-graduation Brooke (Cycle 7), “This is my signature walk and this is what’s going to make me famous” Camille (Cycle 2), “Did you just remove that from your ass from the last panel?” Caridee (Cycle 7), Claire (Cycle 9) who at least HAS a husband, and the photoshoot diaper pee-er herself, Lisa (Cycle 5). And so many more!
ANYTHING FUN OR STUPID
It was SO cool to hear from Bre Scullark, a very memorable contestant from Cycle 5, and I totally admire the fact that she does a lot of victim advocacy work now! But it would have been nice to hear the solution to a decades-long mystery that is WHO took her granola bar!
Towards the end of Cycle 5, with only a few contestants left and the pressure of the competition mounting, Bre discovers her groceries have been tampered with, and one of her granola bars is missing. Mistakenly, she assumes that fellow contestant Nicole, has pilfered the granola bar. Bre reacts by dumping Nicole’s energy drinks down the sink, leaving the empty cans as evidence of her revenge. Allegedly, Lisa ‘I Be Like Whoa’ D’Amato was the one that stole the granola bar just before she’d walked out the door, eliminated days before the crime was discovered.
Beyond granola bar drama was the highly manufactured absurdity of MANY of the photoshoots and challenges. Models walking water-y runways in plastic bubbles, dramatically posing through a maze of laser beams, harnessed up to tromp down a runway straight off the side of a building, mirrorless makeup challenges where the contestants are criticized for the sloppy results. Many of these things were mostly harmless and literally laughable.
ANTM was such a silly show in so many ways, I’m honestly surprised the opportunity to feature any of that was completely squeezed out.
REST IN PEACE for REAL!!
Is it unreasonable that I thought there would be any mention of those involved in the show that have passed on? Given the vibe of the series, I don’t know where it would have fit. But I couldn’t help but think about Andre Leon Talley, former judge and total angel, as I watched. Additionally, contestants Jael Strauss (Cycle 8), Kimberly Rydzewski (Cycle 10) and Mirjana Puhar (Cycle 21) have all died since they appeared on the show.
WHAT COULD HAVE GONE MISSING
The weird B roll photos they used of Tyra and Jay Manuel in the Netflix docuseries almost seem doctored to appear more sinister, but I can’t say for sure. Here’s what they looked like on my television screen. It felt cursed to pause, but I did it anyway.
I would have preferred to live longer without hearing “No. Sacred. Cows.” as many times as Tyra said it (the actual count is three, but it felt like so many more.) Apparently, the saying is centuries old, but it is new and unwelcome to ME.
It’s important to me to say that I DO think America’s Next Top Model accomplished something! It was disappointing to see Tyra select women that were not “traditionally beautiful” to feature on the show, only to insist they try their best to adhere to the standards of the industry. But when I was a young girl in a small town watching America’s Next Top Model, Tyra SAID that beauty could be more than one thing and I believed her! In many ways, you could see Tyra’s intentions. Though they were undermined by a million other statements and actions, there were many attempts to emphasize the importance of health and mental wellness discussed on the show. This was NOT as common a conversation as it is today!
And I won’t validate All of This with excuses, but I do think that America’s Next Top Model was hardly doing anything more outrageous than any other reality television show at the time (I still rewatch Big Brother seasons from the same era and WOOF.)
I refuse to defend Tyra or even pity her – she’s a household name with beyond enough money and power for several lifetimes. But she made something that compelled people long enough to stand the test of time, in its own way.
To end this, I have assembled a few graphics that highlight some of my favorite ANTM participants and moments. These will ALWAYS inspire joy in me!
Kahlen used to work at a local ice cream shop and she’s SO nice!!! AND TALL.
i can't remember so many of these women's names or faces but i fully remember the granola bar drama
as a fellow superfan growing up i was also so confused at some of the choices and lack thereof of the contestants they interviewed that i just have to assume many of them simply wanted nothing to do with the show or be involved because yeah some absolutely necessary to the narrative contestants being missing but giselle was there was random. LOVE THIS!!!!