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America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) is one of those shows that remain embedded in our collective subconscious. It was a quintessential part of what gave reality shows in the early 2000s an inexplicable quality that was just so addictive to watch.
When Tyra Banks’ hit show debuted in 2003, competition reality TV series was still riding on a high. It was hardly any wonder, then, that finding a supermodel from thousands of unknown hopefuls would seem like the next big thing — and it was. It was also the perfect time for Tyra to transition from her career on the runway to one as a talent scout and producer.
Top Model was filled with excitement and promise. And for years, it delivered on that promise. So, where did it all go wrong?
Today, there is a renewed backlash against Tyra Banks and the now-infamous show as former contestants and fans have started to speak out. Here, we’ll talk about what went on behind the scenes in ANTM and why it was oh-so-wrong from the very beginning.
Where the Problems Began
A lot of the problems with the show seem to stem mainly from Tyra and the judges’ insistence that they were simply simulating the brutal reality of the modeling industry. Here are some of the problems gaining the most scrutiny today:
Extreme Challenges
ANTM is known for coming up with “creative” challenges that were designed to push the contestants to their limits. Many of these were so bizarre and unnecessarily extra that it was difficult to believe these situations existed in the fashion world.
Take, for example, the runway walks. The show made almost every single runway challenge more ridiculous than the last. And if there’s one recurring thing the showrunners love to use, it’s the fear of heights.
In Cycle 15, the models had to walk on a transparent runway suspended four stories in the air. This didn’t do much for the fashion show’s viewers as they couldn’t even see the outfits the girls were modeling. All it did was provide some spectacle, some wow factor for the audiences watching at home, and shaky knees for the models.
Another equally weird runway challenge involved walking on a narrow catwalk in a pool, all while inside a transparent plastic ball. Not only did the girls resemble sweaty hamsters in Alexander Wang, but there was quite literally no point to the challenge other than to give them a tough time strutting their stuff.
Problematic Photoshoots
The photoshoot challenges weren’t much better than the runway challenges. One of the recurring themes in the photo challenges is racebending, a term coined after a live-action film version of a cartoon series changed the ethnicities of its characters. It has since then been used to refer to media content creators doing the same for their shows.
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In ANTM, Banks often styled the models as different ethnicities throughout the show’s cycles. For example, Cycle 2 contestant Xiomara Frans-Cuber was painted several shades darker to look like model Grace Jones. Banks then complained during the judges’ deliberation that Frans-Cuber didn’t seem to want to be made darker.
There were several other instances of racebending and straight-up blackface. In Cycle 4, a Caucasian contestant named Brittany was given makeup to appear several shades darker and given an Afro wig to portray a black woman. Cycle 13 did something similar as the models were painted darker skin tones to portray different mixed races.
Banks has since apologized for those photoshoots on her talk show. “If anyone was offended, I apologize because that was not my intent,” Banks said.
“It’s my number one passion in my life to stretch the definition of beauty. I listen to many heartbreaking stories of women who thought they would be happier if they looked different. I want every girl to appreciate the skin she’s in.”
Despite the apology, people are still offended by the way the show generalized and stereotyped ethnicity and race.
ANTM also tried to tackle other social issues in their photoshoots and fashion shows. Unfortunately, the approach was just as tone-deaf. For instance, one episode in Cycle 10 tried to bring awareness to homeless youth. The photoshoot was in bad taste as the models dressed as homeless women. They then had to model alongside real homeless individuals dressed in high fashion.
The Judges
Unfortunately, for most of the show, the judges seemed to have no problem being offensive for the sake of being “honest” and teaching the girls lessons based on their expertise in the fashion industry.
One of the most memorable instances of this was in Cycle 5. Model Kim Stolz openly discussed her sexuality on ANTM, a significant moment for LGBTQI+ representation on reality TV. But after telling the judges she was proud to be gay, Banks’ response seemed questionable.
“I think there’s a certain thing of being proud. Like, I’m black and proud. You know what I mean? But I’m not walking down the red carpet, ‘I’m black, I’m black,'” she said. Tyra’s delivery and tone made it seem like a casual remark at the time. Still, the underlying meaning in her words ended up discouraging the young model and perhaps many of the viewers watching at the time.
The show was also notorious for capitalizing on the contestants’ issues. One of the models from Cycle 3 named Cassie was subjected to rumors regarding her eating disorder. Cassie eventually opened up to Tyra about her experiences with bulimia later on in the cycle. However, that did not stop the judges from criticizing her photos by pointing out that her hips and thighs were too big.
Legal Issues
ANTM also had its fair share of legal issues. While working on Cycle 7 in 2006, the writers of the show went on strike and sought representation from the Writers Guild of America West. They protested the right to fair wages, access to health insurance, and pension benefits, all of which were granted to writers on scripted shows. Unfortunately, the strike did not result in the writers’ favor. In November of the same year, those who were part of the protest were removed from the show’s payroll.
While the working conditions behind the scenes didn’t gain as much attention, this illustrates how deep the problems went.
Models and Fans Speak Out
All of these issues with the show are being brought to light again years after airing because of its availability on platforms like Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Netflix. With people spending more time at home amid a pandemic and the resurgence of Y2K culture, watching these shows would’ve been a great blast from the past, a surge of pleasant nostalgia. Instead, fans were greeted with the ugly truth of Tyra Banks’ supposed magnum opus.
It wasn’t just fans that spoke up against the show. The contestants themselves started coming forward to share their experiences, and it only validated what was apparent on screen. In a Facebook video detailing what went on behind the scenes, former contestant Sarah Hartshorne explained that the showrunners orchestrated it so that the models would be “slightly off-kilter” at all times. They would be kept slightly sleep-deprived, hungry, or just plain unsure of what was to come next.
She wasn’t the only one. In the same video, former model Lisa D’Amato talked about how producers told her she needed to calm down after antagonizing her with past traumatic childhood events. A fan who watched the show recalled D’Amato being portrayed as a wild child when she had faced trauma earlier in life.
What’s Next?
Reality TV has come a long way since America’s Next Top Model first aired. Times have changed, and what was once acceptable on television would never be allowed to see the light of day now.
There are some shows that were simply a product of their time. After all, people perceived things differently, and this influenced the norms back then. Unfortunately, ANTM is not one of the shows that fit this description. Even as a product of the early 2000s, the show had glaring problems that were apparent on and off-screen.
Should Tyra Banks have to compensate or reach out to those affected to rectify these wrongs? Perhaps. But if her recent apologies are as genuine as they seem, it’s at least a step in the right direction. Ultimately, it is a lesson for producers and showrunners to do better and think about what they do for the sake of entertainment, especially reality TV.
