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(#1) Tyra Said A Lot More To Tiffany Richardson
Tyra Banks famously eliminated contestant Tiffany Richardson by yelling at her, shouting, "We were all rooting for you!" The supermodel claimed Richardson hadn't been taking the competition seriously and made light of all the hard work that went into it, but there was a lot more to the incident and Richardson's circumstances than we actually knew. Banks also uttered some really harsh words we didn't see on TV; Richardson said the confrontation was a thousand times worse than what was broadcast, stating Banks told her, "You can go back to your house and sleep on your mattress on the floor with your baby," in front of everyone.
In a 2017 BuzzFeed article, it became apparent that current contestants are subject to tons of stress. After the judges picked them apart in front of their fellow contestants, the women were sequestered to let the judges deliberate for hours at a time. This whole process was super-taxing, and Richardson felt really out of place in this new reality.
As a result, she said:
"Every time I did something wrong, I’d shut down a little bit more, and it just got to the point where I was over it. I felt like we were just there to be humiliated. It was like, 'What the f*ck [else] could we do to them?'”
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(#2) Cycle One Winner Adrianne Curry Was Never Paid
Adrianne Curry won the first season of America's Next Top Model. But the competition didn't live up to its promises, she claimed.
On her blog, Curry wrote. "We were promised a Revlon contract on my season and a contract with wilhelmina [sic]."
She added:
"When I met with Revlon, they informed me they never planned on using the winner, whoever she may be, for any ads. They hired me for 15k to model makeup in a room with 10 execs in it to honor said contract. Wilhelmina then informed me they didnt [sic] want me to be successful in any way to spite top model. They bragged how they’d push Elyse (also signed with them) and not me. I reached out to Tyra and Top Model, desperate to get out of my contract and get advice as I was not being given any castings, etc by an agency that wanted me to fail. CRICKETS. Phone calls ignored."
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(#3) 2009 NYC Auditions Caused A Stampede And Three People Got Arrested
In 2009, auditions for America's Next Top Model caused a near-riot in New York City. Prospective contestants swarmed the studios; one even said she had to pee in a cup and change outside.
A few thousand women were lined up in the street, some even fainting. Someone noticed smoke pouring out of a car and shouted out that there was a bomb. A stamped resulted and people fell over one another, suffocating those underneath them. The cops arrested three people and six were injured.
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(#4) Season 10 Contestants Caused $500,000 Worth Of Damages To Their NYC Loft
In 2008, ANTM contestants trashed the super-expensive loft they were living in as part of the competition. Located in Tribeca, the apartment was worth $6 million, and the girls caused $500,000 worth of damage. They irreparably damaged a $15,000 chandelier, got ketchup and coffee all over the walls, and ruined the fancy wood floors. The landlord threatened to sue.
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(#5) Angelea Preston Was Stripped Of Her 'ANTM' Crown When It Was Discovered She Used To Be An Escort
Angelea Preston won ANTM's Season 17, but producers took her title back, instead giving second-place finisher Lisa D'Amato the crown. Why? Because she had once worked as an escort.
Preston sued for $3 million and claimed that contestants are treated really poorly. They allegedly had to film for 16 or 17 hours per day without refreshment breaks. One time, Preston suffered a panic attack and no one allowed her medical attention.
Preston told The Daily Mail:
"I used to admire Tyra so much. I wanted to be like her. I don't want to be like her now. Tyra was nonexistent. The only time we saw Tyra was at panel. Tyra never came in to talk to us personally. When the cameras stopped rolling it's like she's a stranger."
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(#6) Cycle 10 Contestant Allison Kuehn Was Racist Towards A Castmate
In 2008, Allison Kuehn went home and viewers cheered. Why? She responded to a remark by Somali-American contestant Fatima Siad by padding the rear end of a Black doll and saying, "I like to take it in the back because I'm Black!"
This came after she and Siad discussed Kuehn's battles with anorexia, but that's no excuse for Kuehn's abhorrent comments. Her excuse? She claimed her words were "a retaliation," but Kuehn was rightfully voted off and viewers soon forgot about her.
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(#7) Photographer Yu Tsai Made Very Offensive Comments Towards Chantelle
In 2014, photographer and ANTM consultant Yu Tsai said something really awful. He dubbed ANTM contestant Chantelle Brown-Young a "panda" because she has a skin condition called vitiligo. Brown-Young stood up for herself and told the creative consultant just how rude he was being. He sort of apologized, but beautiful Brown-Young had the last laugh.
Now going by the name Winnie Harlow, she has become a super-successful model who has inspired countless other women with vitiligo.
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(#8) Judge Paulina Porizkova Was Fired After Complaining About Tyra Banks's Tardiness
In 2009, former ANTM judge and model Paulina Porizkova got fired from her job. Why? Reportedly because she complained that Tyra Banks was often late.
She told Access Hollywood:
“I must admit I was having a little bit of an issue with Tyra being late for every judging. It’s six hours later and I feel like I am being told my time is not as valuable as hers. They pointed out that I should shut up and be grateful for the job and that Tyra is really busy.”
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(#9) Judge Janice Dickinson Was Fired After Repeatedly Insulting Banks And The Show
The so-called "original supermodel," Janice Dickinson, was a big hit as a judge on ANTM. But she was fired early in 2005 - allegedly because she wanted a lot of money - and Dickinson insulted Tyra Banks and her TV show repeatedly. Later, she repented, saying she wasn't sober when making those remarks.
Janice told Us Weekly:
"The one regret I've had is badmouthing Miss Tyra Banks when I was not speaking with a sober mindset. I just want to take this time to apologize to Tyra, and say I'm terribly sorry for any of the antagonistic things I've said about her in the past. It was just because I was hurt from being fired from the show.”
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(#10) Contestants Are Shut Off From The Outside World With Little To No Contact
Outside of calling friends and family members in the phone room, ANTM contestants aren't allowed much contact with the outside world. That means no cell phones, no texting, no social media, and no internet! In a Reddit AMA session, one wannabe contestant wrote, "No phonew [sic], tv, magazines, newspapers, or internet. We got our phones back on the way to the airport to fly home :)."
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(#11) The Show Isolates Eliminated Models In Hotels
In an ANTM Reddit AMA, ex-contestant Sara Longoria revealed that eliminated models are sequestered in hotels. She wrote, "We're housed in a separate location :) probably my favorite part of everything now that I think of it," adding, "I mentioned before that the eliminated girls stay in a hotel until filming moves overseas and then they fly home."
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(#12) Prospective Contestants Undergo Psych Evals And IQ Tests
Prospective contestants have to undergo lots of tests. They get blood work done - AKA drug tests - and are screened psychologically, executive producer Ken Mok confirmed. Potential ANTM candidates also undergo IQ tests and get assistants who call multiple times a day to check on them.
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(#13) The Makeup Artist For The Show Left To Compete In A Different Reality Show
Sutan Amrull was the makeup artist on Top Model for nine cycles, and left the show to pursue his own career - as a drag queen. Known as Raja, Amrull competed on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3. Not only did Raja compete, she won the crown. One of her signature looks on the show was impersonating her old boss Tyra, who took the joke in stride.
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(#14) Once You're Off The Show, The Show Is Done With You
Once you get eliminated, don't expect any help from the producers, according to one former contestant. In 2016, Lisa D'Amato said once a contestant leaves the show they're basically on their own. There is no post production help with their modeling career, and all the rights to their photos are signed over to the show.
"I do think that with the connections they have, they should try to throw you a bone," she said.
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(#15) Tyra Fired Rita Ora From Hosting Because Of A Slip In Ratings
When ANTM rebooted in 2016, singer Rita Ora was selected to host the show. Tyra - who still acted as an executive producer - was not pleased, however, and after just one season of hosting Ora was out of the job. When ratings started to slip, Tyra allegedly blamed it all on the singer.
A tabloid reported Tyra was "furious" when she heard about the ratings, and used her power as executive producer to remove her. The replacement? None other than Tyra herself.
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