the rise and fall of America's Next Top Model

0:00 intro
1:53 ANTM history
16:16 representation vs exploitation
29:45 body image
39:43 mistreatment of contestants
47:45 the makeover episode
51:13 misgynoir, racism, and colourism
1:16:23 the legacy of ANTM
instagram: elle.literacy
letterboxd: letterboxd.com/elleliteracy
business email: [e-mail]
faq:
-accent: lived in america when younger, ireland most of my life
-edit: final cut pro x
-study: English Lit & Film Studies, graduated in 2022

[@elleliteracy]

things to note: I deadnamed Lio Tipton who came out as non-binary at 15:17 - sorry!! *what is your accent?* I was born in America and lived between there and Ireland until I was 7, I’ve lived in Ireland since then and my whole family is Irish so my accent’s a bit of a mix between the two *eyeshadow:* kaja bento box trio *watch:* casio *art print:* Laura Duffy - @lauraduffyart on instagram :)

[@mammoneymelon]

i was wondering about your accent! your voice is so nice to listen to

[@hypnotherapy69]

She had Marina Ann Hantzis on her show to discuss the porn industry. But it turned out to Marina trying to have a adult conversation about the women (and men) who enter the porn industry by choice and Tyra (and her audience) trying convince her that she was broken and that she was a horrible human being for doing porn. and treated her like she was stupid :( . She has always been open about how she "already loved sex, so why not get paid for it?"

[@Hollie_Gold]

I knew you had hints of Irish in that accent. I could listen to you talk all day. New subby here. ♥️

[@fotinikalogeropoulou4526]

​@@mammoneymelonτ=r😅=😅r=r===😅😅

[@fotinikalogeropoulou4526]

rc😅😅c=😅=😅😅ψ😅😅=τ😅r😅=😅=😅😅=😅cr😅r😅😅😅τ😅τ=

[@hannah-6080]

Tyra saying "the eating disorder thing is very personal to me. I've never experienced it, but." That just sums up so much about this show lmfao

[@beautifulgorgeousman]

LMAO that is a wild thing to say

[@TheInsaneBEAST1]

no it sums up how narcissistic she is.

[@tysonl.taylor-gerstner1558]

Yes, well she was regularly told she was fat. and she knew many people who went through it. Naturally, it is close to her

[@teresacox2511]

In all honesty, and I’m not defending Tyra, because I can’t stand her. But you can say that something is very personal to you, even though you’ve never experienced it yourself, because someone very close to you may have experienced it, therefore it would make that topic very personal to you. And Tyra did say that she was constantly being told that she was fat when she was younger. But because she didn’t give in to that pressure and develop an eating disorder, that could’ve been why it was very personal to her. She might’ve had to fight hard not to give into that pressure and force herself to eat less, or starve herself or not eat enough calories as her body needed, being a very tall girl, and that would certainly have made the topic of eating disorders very personal to her. She decided not to give in to the pressure and develop an eating disorder, and I say good for her. Just something to think about.

[@rheawelsh4142]

Can y'all hate Tyra for the dozens of actual real reasons and not just grab at random bullshit?

[@singer2be256]

ANTM: Shames stripping and sex work Also ANTM: Makes their contestants pose nude and sends home the ones who refuse

[@OhJasonOh]

Modeling is different from stripping and sex work, models don’t grind on men or pleasure them for money. They’re job is to look good in photos and sell the clothes they’re wearing.

[@benroebke1153]

@@OhJasonOh ...so what's the point of the nude shoot if their job is to sell clothes they're wearing?

[@OhJasonOh]

@@benroebke1153 Id say it’s more artistic and less sexual

[@jnd_jnd]

​@TheMybranson78 yeah there's nothing artistic about posing in a bowl of salad either with lingerie or with tshirt and jeans

[@reginageorge5409]

@@OhJasonOhwomen modeling naked and sexy is primarily for the pleasure of men.

[@emilyrln]

Tyra yelling at the girl who didn't cry when sent home sounds like a temper tantrum that she couldn't control her. "You're supposed to feel the way I want you to! Why won't you let yourself be manipulated by me?" Yiiiikes 😳

[@aurea.]

Tyra? More like tyrant.

[@kriblar98]

Never liked that part

[@tarolore7684]

i think the girl who didn't cry also had anger issues (? could be wrong) and she had been working with it so tyra was trying to push/trigger her into having a meltdown

[@emilyrln]

@@tarolore7684Oh, gross, that feels even worse!

[@PrincessofPower84]

She's disgusting. She's like someone who gets mad at a person who went through something traumatic/tragic for not grieving on HER timetable! Like gtfo narcissist

[@bob8mybobbob]

The pool hypothermia thing was extra infuriating because every time someone tries to back out or stop a shoot, no matter how legitimate the reason, contestants were always told they needed to “just push through”. And yet when someone did, showing the very real negative consequences for the “just push through” lessons, it’s STILL their fault and not the producers.

[@piros100]

typical abuser behaviour. you can't win eith them, whichever way you go, you are berated and told that its your fault when things go wrong.

[@TheChocorider]

I agree it's almost like someone forcing you to keep eating when your full and then you throw up which causes them to say "you should have listen to your body". So stupid

[@elly1433]

the fact that tyra put so much emphasis on her experiences in the modeling industry as a black woman and then treated the black women she brought on the show so poorly still boggles my mind.

[@TCGreen-jb4bx]

Probably unrealized self hatred regarding her race. But I'm just assuming.

[@thisisachannel.780]

it’s easy to understand, tyra hates people. she’s just a nasty person! hope this helps 🫶

[@spectre9340]

Yeah there was a lot of internalized colorism on her part

[@emilyau8023]

She doesn't want anyone to do better than her.

[@Digmer]

She almost never allowed natural hair, it was either shaved, straightened or had a weave. And that process was very painful.

[@LittleMissLounge]

Damn, if I wanted to go 10+ hours without food, water, or breaks while being punished for not smiling enough and earning $40, I would just work in retail.

[@djpegao]

And I'll bet you'll make even more money on retail....

[@sharyebethancourt3660]

😂🤣

[@hellobirdie0617]

Or nursing

[@elizafinnigan3150]

That’s serving for you 😂

[@soobindoll9561]

Ong

[@wholecarrots]

One ANTM moment I think about a lot is when Yu Tsai called Winnie Harlow his "little panda," and she asked him not to call her that and that she was often teased as a kid. Then instead of apologizing he threw a huge tantrum and told her she should be grateful for an affectionate nickname.

[@jbear3478]

This is peak abuse

[@monikabeachy778]

This is also one I think of often! I really really felt bad for her and didn’t understand why he kept insisting it was a good nickname. She even was respectful in asking him to stop (even though she did NOT have to.) and he did not allow himself the grace of not being an absolute selfish jerk.

[@Kamechan98]

Compare it to that one episode of Hell’s Kitchen where Gordon Ramsey was calling one of the guys a nickname that held some baggage for him. And when asked to stop and explaining why said nickname was a bit triggering for him, Gordon actually apologized, said he wished it had been brought to his attention sooner and stopped doing it. World of difference in their reactions

[@murasakino101]

​@@Kamechan98that's because Gordon is actually a nice person behind the scenes-if I'm not mistaken, and is usually just made to blow up at people on TV. The people on top model were terrible people in general. The lady in the video who constantly mocked the models(forgot her name even though it was said) is almost worse than Tyra

[@PrincessofPower84]

That's so many shades of ridiculous and tone deaf. How would he feel if someone called him Jackie Chan, and instead of apologizing, would only say, "YoU sHoUlD bE gRaTeFuL! iT's NoT LiKe It'S a RaCiAl SlUr!" 😵‍💫🙄

[@ladylynx9891]

Our biggest mistake was believing this show was about *"Any girl can be a model if they work hard!"* while it was actually *"You have self respect? Lose it if you want to fit in our bipolar standarts"*

[@brandonwilliams5526]

No this show isn't about empowering woman is more about tearing them down and exploitation which is truly disgusting and pathetic.

[@CurlyCrowie]

Omg you summed it up so accurately. I couldn't put my finger on why I stopped following it. I just remembered how girls who were very different and unique were made into cookie cutter versions of what was already out there. It reinforced the idea of fit in or f£#k off

[@KittyVirata-jy4yz]

Cough Rupauls fracking race Cough

[@Monica-mm2vv]

@@CurlyCrowieExactly why I stopped watching. Just all over the place. The inconsistency was so manipulative and toxic.

[@princessofjedi]

Who believed this show was about "any girl can be a model"? I knew from the start that wasn't hte case, because not a single one of those girls looked like me and the one time they got a bigger girl on there they treated her like she was "hysterical" when someone literally pinched her with a pin and that she should just accept it that they didn't have sizes for herinstaed of having a bad attitude. As if they didn't know damn well that she was not "standard" sized for a model when putting her on the show.

[@laniewytovak7328]

me and my friends call antm “fear factor for models”

[@elleliteracy]

I had the same thought when I was looking at the life-threatening runways lmao

[@Hapshetsut28]

You are so right.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@caolanochearnaigh9804]

Fear factor is televised torture. They had a girl in the electric chair in one episode, I am not shitting you. Someone should put Ludacris in prison for hosting that barbaric tv show.

[@chickofmusic001]

Perfect description.😂😂

[@cayleece7890]

Yeah lol. Didn't they straight-up do a photoshoot with a live tarantula??

[@okflowerhead909]

ANTM’s “diversity” philosophy: “I’m not racist, I hate everybody equally!”

[@jae5103]

that's literally the definition of equality...

[@espeon871]

@@jae5103they said the driving force behind the diversity of the show not equality 😭 also they had ones they hated more usually the ones banks hated

[@RecoveringChristian]

They had black models in the top 4 every cycle for 24 cycles. 9 black/poc winners out of 24, representative of the US population. They featured native American contestants, Asian American, plus size, deaf, blind, physically disabled, physically disfigured, war veteran, developmentally disabled models and models with autoimmune conditions compete/be featured.

[@losingmymind611]

​@@RecoveringChristianfunny how that didn't stop the show from treating so many people like shit. Almost like two things can simultaneously be true. Is somebody paying you to shill for ANTM in these incredibly relevant yt comments or are you just here out of the kindness of your heart? You're bizarrely committed, but I guess if that's what gets you your jollies.

[@claresherman2278]

@@RecoveringChristian And treated them all appallingly.

[@IzzyVoodoo]

At the risk of sounding like a narcissist myself - I was a contestant on the Australian version of ANTM and 12years on I STILL get sent gifs of me falling over in the ‘hamsterball in a swimming pool but make it a runway’ challenge

[@OhJasonOh]

What was your experience like on the show?

[@Monica-mm2vv]

I don't understand why you would be considered a narcissist.

[@Nekogal21]

​@@Monica-mm2vv anybody that relates to a situation and explains their story is called a narcissist for "making the whole thing about them" even when they're contributing to horror stories and it's upsetting to see

[@troubleinthevalley5884]

I watched all the seasons of Australia's Next Top Model and I totally remember that episode LOL

[@_Zaaier]

i was so rooting for you back then (and now)! wish you the best

[@emmy8526]

African-American supermodels prior to Tyra Banks include Naomi Ruth Sims, Donyale Luna and Beverly Johnson. Tyra famously struggled to be accepted in high fashion and mostly thrived via Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues and Victoria’s Secret. The latter occurred while it was owned by Les Wexner, top financier of Jeffrey Epstein, who was allowed to present himself as a model scout as part of his other methods of finding victims. All to say that Tyra broke through in an exceptionally exploitative environment, and like boarding school kids who accept their abuse on the promise that they too will one day have a younger boy to torment, she perpetuated that toxic pattern of classifying and degrading women to the teenagers on her show. I enjoyed the first couple of seasons where it had some connection to reality. After that Tyra realizes the industry gatekeepers like Anna Wintour will never accept her graduates, and just lets it devolve into standard cranked hostage-situation reality show conflict and drama. The first season of fictional reality show drama Unreal captures all this very well. And in case anyone thinks high fashion is any less vile in 2023, just this week had reports of modelling agencies recruiting young African women who fled war zones from refugee camps, having them do runway shows in Europe, then depositing them back in the refugee camps within days or weeks, often laden with debt.

[@omemaskema9012]

omg whaatttttt

[@sunnyadams5842]

(1/28/24) It has just been revealed today that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in charge of those places the women were taken from. The Queen had it right: Pure Evil.

[@yaimerievargas]

Jesus

[@Skye_Writer]

Yeah, the show just became one big hazing ritual. And I always thought it was hypocritical of Banks to present herself as this groundbreaker like she was the first ever African American top model when she definitely was not.

[@Pepper-sg5rc]

“Embrace your racial identity” “Not like that though”

[@slenderman2741]

I think Tyra really resented the idea of another black woman not doing what she felt she had to do to get where she was. I think she hated white and Asian women because they’re the representation of the models she thought had it easy in her professional career. Tyra went through a lot in her life but instead of that stuff making her wiser or kinder it made her very resentful and very angry towards other women

[@mammoneymelon]

Tyra was the perfect example of people who think the younger generations should have to go through the same pain she did. For example there's the hair. Most of the black women on the show ended up with weaves, relaxers, etc. and I personally think a big part of that is because Tyra had become jaded towards the industry and didn't truly believe there would ever be a place for black women that don't appeal to white Americans (aka women that don't "act white"). I could always be wrong but I really think a lot of marginalized people decide at some point that fighting for real inclusivity and representation isn't worth it

[@slenderman2741]

@@mammoneymelon there’s the possibility that she also came to despise natural black hair, or maybe herself for liking her hair straightened and relaxed. The psychology behind this woman is astounding

[@jessicasmith5728]

Some feel Tyra was the hardest on other black female contestants. With the Asian contestants including the one who was Eurasian, she just told them to express their Asian heritage a little more. Or so it seems.

[@jessicasmith5728]

​​​@@mammoneymelonTyra talked a lot about race on her talk show back in the '00s. She even had a whole episode called biracial backlash where all the guests hated one side of themselves. Kimberly Locke was a guest speaker, but advocated for everyone to love all of who they are. I personally don't think that message was a bad one especially since I'm biracial myself. But, I feel like you shouldn't dwell on who you are ethnically even if you are biracial or multiracial. I learned this lesson the older I got. Anyway, Tyra has advocated for diversity, but in her own way. It's just that nowadays different vloggers on KZbin have called her out on unethical things she did on her talk show or competition show ANTM. Yes, some of these things were not politically correct by 2020s standards. But, the 2000s were more liberal than the '80s or '90s even when Bush was in office.

[@slenderman2741]

@@jessicasmith5728I respect your opinion. You definitely have real life experience backing it. My real life experience is being bullied for years and being gaslit into believing it was my fault because said bullies would “be so against that” but then.. did it, to me. An actual experience I have is being SA’d by a boy named Jamie from my school, and every girl in my class saw, but when I went to my dad. Who went to the cops, who then interviewed my entire class, they denied it because they were his friend, then they go on to create projects on it for school, make social media posts supporting other victims, mostly high profile, or dead, victims. It is very hard to comprehend that, because you can’t call them out without tarnishing the message, and the message is important, but it’s often times the same women spouting off verbal vomit about a cause with victims when they themselves are perpetrators to victims in that cause . In short, she says a lot of things; but I tend to err on the side of her actions, which directly contradict what she says she stands for. We’re all allowed to have our opinions though, I can admit I’m not for fact saying she’s x y and z, it’s just how I feel, and what I decide to believe. You are free to believe what you chose to believe

[@roselol7398]

I’ll never forget the episode where that one contestant was dressed as an elephant. The camera zoomed in on her stomach and a ‘boing’ sound affect was edited in afterwards. I was, idk, a teenager, and it really really stuck with me throughout my life because she looked healthy and normal

[@EnchantedTooWell]

I'm pretty sure that same contestant had spoken about how self-conscious she was about her weight gain🥴

[@Nicolesid1]

Tyra's apology of sorry you feel that way is so insane

[@skippycoulter]

I'm sorry in less 12 minutes your chronology has traced the evolution of the show from a reality show to Tyra Banks becoming a cartoon supervillain to hapless model victims 🤣

[@elleliteracy]

she is a cartoon!! the level of villainy is out of this world

[@mutantsupremacies]

I will never forget the moment when Tyra had Shei, an Asian contestant, have her hair half dyed bleach blonde. When she got to the go see episode, a designer even said that she couldn’t use her because the look was too extreme. It’s not about giving a model look, because model looks are supposed to be versatile. it’s about creating a reaction

[@ratsimbaharivoatraloic95]

Exactly! Sometimes the makeover seems more like a shocking moment than making the models look more professional

[@margarethmichelina5146]

The worst part is, they're not only bleach her hair but also her eyebrows! Also, her makeover hair looks like a poor imitation of Cruella DeVille.

[@litshittys8079]

​@@ratsimbaharivoatraloic95😮😮😮

[@gateetafeliz4483]

They also effed up her hair so badly it broke off and fell out in chunks. Like how do you have people who don't know what they're doing posing as "salon experts"!?

[@bulbasaur232]

Lol but I love how you conveniently forgot the designers in LA loving Shei and booking her for future shows ON TOP OF giving her the win that episode and letting her open for them that runway show. How convenient of you. Also the big executive yahoo who visits them during that group photoshoot challenge, he specifically singled out Shei as being his favourite, look wise. Again, convenient of you to "forget". Also you're wrong. Earlier cycles yes, versatile chameleon blank canvases, they repeated this rhetoric. But later cycles, it was about branding. Vogue beginning in 2018 had day in the life of models videos showcasing current top super models like Indira Scott who is booked high fashion runway SPECIFICALLY for her signature long dreadlocks. As well Shei is half asian half white.

[@danaterry2247]

As a woman of color who has always had natural hair or locd, I appreciate you for bringing up how our hair was changed to fit "white standards of beauty ". I appreciate the time you took to mention this because I always felt bad for these women even as a teen watching. My parents always taught us to love our differences so I just wished someone was there for these women to affirm them they are already gorgeous 😍 Love the video! Great research, editing and commentary

[@lisamendis5886]

I can't remember what season, but her name was Jade and they made her shave her head and she was so upset and yelled, "I'm a bald negro woman!" Like damn, let her have her natural hair. She looked good in both styles but yeesh.

[@razzen88]

I still to this day have to fight the feeling that my hair has to be straight or I’m not pretty. Back then I would straight iron my hair so much that it started to fall out

[@shadyjoanneboots]

If you haven't, I recommend everyone watch the Oliver Twixt interview of Alisha from cycle 18. She is someone whose mental health was severely damaged by Tyra (who she can't even refer to by name) and the show and it's had a lasting impact on her life. Oliver has also done other interviews with many former contestants. These girls' stories deserve to be heard.

[@belinus7180]

Look at Renée from Cycle 8.

[@zoobie002]

another thing that always bothered me was when models would mention they wanted to be anything except for a model. the judges always wanted them to be one dimensional with no future plans.

[@elleliteracy]

one girl got ELIMINATED after saying she wanted to work in fashion merchandising after modelling and the judges went "oh so you don't ACTUALLY wanna be a model? goodbye!" i-

[@heatherjackett931]

What’s even dumber is later Tyra wanted girls to have brands and expand outside being a model, because it didn’t last forever! Basically, no girl could do anything right, it was all based on the moment.

[@joannamarieart]

Right?? Even the most elite, in-demand models can only do it for a certain amount of time and then you age out. And the vast majority age out within 10 years - they SHOULD have a backup plan!!

[@kamilareeder1493]

​@@elleliteracyrip Julia. She was gorgeous and smart, I bet she's doing fashion merchandising right now

[@malkam.7543]

My favorite was the college cycle when a girl was like, "I want to go back to Harvard and finish my degree" and they treated her like she was giving up on herself. Like, she's going back to HARVARD!? she'll be fine.

[@andimoz]

don’t you just love how caridee was chastised for not speaking out about how cold it was in the pool and yet if she *did* say something you just *know* they would have been criticizing the hell out of her for not being able to just suck it up and continue🙄 there was no winning when it came to things like that in this competition and it’s so frustrating to watch especially as an adult now

[@RecoveringChristian]

Michelle, the remaining twin, was skinnier than Caridee, much less body fat. She didn't have hypothermia. The narrative so far, was that Caridee was too driven to win, that she would do anything to win that it became "scary", and that the week prior she "offended" the judges, and felt compelled to redeem herself in the competition. "I wanted to stay" she laughs, implying she would have said anything to keep from getting booted in her livestream with Oliver. The poolside talk was definitely liabilty pr bs from Tyra, Jay and production.

[@hannah-6080]

For real bro this combined with Naruto being my main media consumption as a preteen.... horrendous psychic damage

[@DrawciaGleam02]

@@hannah-6080 Narato and ANTM? That's interesting. ...but why is naruto bad????

[@hannah-6080]

@DrawciaGleam02 I still love Naruto to this day don't get me wrong but. A lot of what I took from it as a kid was that there is no excuse to back down from a challenge, always be willing to push yourself beyond your limits to meet a goal, giving up makes you a coward, etc... It's very bootstraps-y. It influenced me to set unrealistic goals, and burn myself out bc I was so ashamed by the thought of giving up. Especially when you consider Naruto works so fucking hard to please people and win their respect, but never questions why things were hard for him in the first place. Like the 3rd hokage basically told everyone to discriminate against naruto and not tell him about his real parents, Jiraiya left him to eat dirt alone for 12.5 yrs despite being his actual godfather, Kakashi too was MIA for all those years. But they're somehow still his father figures and we're supposed to cry when they die 😭

[@amieenwabuike4801]

@@hannah-6080 Well shoot. I never thought about it like that. 😦

[@lizgreer6888]

Thank you for mentioning the rights and treatment of adults with disabilities. Unfortunately in the adult world there is an attitude that if you can't do the job or if you're too difficult because of your disability, your out of a job

[@sunnyadams5842]

Why should someone who can't do a job, be hired to do that job in the first place? And once hired, under false pretenses I'd imagine because unless the applicant claimed to possess the skills necessary to DO THE JOB, how could they have been hired to DO THE JOB to start with, Why should a lying applicant who isn't qualified be retained??

[@MsSPrescott1]

None of the contestants noted in the disabilities section lied about their disabilities (most notably legally blind, deaf, and autistic/adhd). They were very open about it during the show. I’m not sure what exactly you’re arguing but you sound like a bitter boomer lol

[@DimaRakesah]

Tyra came across to me like the girl who worked hard to get on top so that she could look down on and control other models while pretending to be "one of the girls".

[@caminandoyflotando]

It also bears mentioning that Nhenas makeover in cycle 6 where she had her head shaved was very traumatic for her because in her culture a woman’s head is shaven when a death in the family occurs. The last time she had to do that was when her mother passed away. Furonda talked about it in her Oliver Twixt interview.

[@RecoveringChristian]

She kept that look for a long time post show. How traumatic.

[@Perceptionreflection]

@@RecoveringChristian Its incredible how people can recover and face things that give them trauma. That doesn't erase that they were hurt. If you wound someone and they recover, you still hurt them.

[@RecoveringChristian]

@@Perceptionreflection Nnenna was amazing, she was so kind to her fans on MySpace. I think she had bigger things to contend with at the time, while choosing to appear on Tyra's talk show with her controlling emotionally abusive long term bf, seen multiple times on cycle 6. She has had a shaved head for years now in her career.

[@entirelybonkers8832]

@@RecoveringChristianthat doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic

[@RecoveringChristian]

@@entirelybonkers8832 doesn't mean it is, either. NDAs have expired. Furonda is a godsend on her livestrean interview. But I would reserve final judgments until we hear from Nenna herself or another girl who was there in cycle 6 to corroborate that story. Gina and Jade were closest to Nenna. Neither, esp Jade who is spilling all the tea, have mentioned this.

[@RhiannonSmudge]

Fun fact: they were shitty to the clothing providers and collaborators too :D In the 2010's, my mother ran a steampunk clothing store for a short time. In 2011 for cycle 19, she was actually approached by ANTM and asked to provide some of her Victorian steampunk dresses and corsets for a modelling shoot. It was legitimately cool to see my mom's products displayed on the show, especially since I used to watch the show regularly. HOWEVER, when the cloths were returned to my mom, they weren't washed, they were returned as an unfolded wrinkled heap, and some of the articles were damaged, as in she couldn't sell these clothes in her shop. Needless to say, she was pretty damn pissed and I have no idea if she was compensated for the damage

[@justcommenting1590]

That is so terrible of them, sidemote I loved the corsets in that episode

[@RhiannonSmudge]

@@justcommenting1590 The corsets were indeed pretty cool. I'm kinda sad that the store closed before I was old enough to wear any of them. There was one that had part of a ribcage printed onto the centerpiece that looked super rad. I forget if it appeared on the episode or not.

[@lavose8709]

The fact your mom use to own a steampunk store is so cool! I hope she’s able to bring it back

[@RhiannonSmudge]

@@lavose8709 That would be cool but unfortunately not likely ^^" After steampunk was no longer trendy she decided to distance herself from the fashion industry and started up a board game and nerdy stuff store. Said store is still going strong today

[@lavose8709]

@@RhiannonSmudge Well I’m glad the board game and nerdy store is doing well and I hope it continues to do so^^

[@defenderofmen11]

It seems like Tyra wants to punish the models or make them suffer how she perceives she suffered coming up as a model. Her dystopian/bananas novel, Modelland, is a further glimpse into her psyche. If you distilled all the weirdness of ANTM (orientalism, exoticism, bizarre challenges suffered by the models for no real reason, unhinged perception of eating disorders), you would get Modelland. And she must not have real friends, because a real friend would have told her a long time ago to not start some of her weirder projects.

[@VampireSexGoddess]

I tried to read that book. I didn't get very far.

[@popoling9982]

The amount of times my jaw dropped watching this just thinking "this went past writers, directores, editors, sound, effects, marketting and no one thought maybe this is a bad idea?"

[@YoSoFunnyx3]

For the people who do not know: Janis was specifically paid to come on the show and be the “mean girl”. Janis said she would just say whatever popped in her head and it was so Tyra would look like the “nice judge”. It’s easy to talk bad about Janis (and valid in this case) but Tyra is production and chose Janis for that reason. It all comes back to Tyra. Lol

[@tarotsushima3332]

Basically pulling a Cowell. Having a mean judge to balance reactions and be an antihero of sorts was pretty common in competition style reality tv but I think both her and Tyra should get as much flack for the bs she spewed on her dime

[@RecoveringChristian]

Yes and she had her fired after cycle 4. Janice does it all by herself unprompted on her own show. Many girls also acknowledge how kind and considerate she was off camera.

[@agwarddd]

Thats the thing about Janice Dickinson. She’s genuinely a tough critic and is very fierce in nature, but behind the scenes was a much more helpful and considerate judge for the girls who really wanted to model, even if she was brutally honest at points and being willing to say “give that up, try this instead”. Tyra was the “nice” judge who didn’t really care, where Janice was the tough judge who actually tried to help.

[@YoSoFunnyx3]

@@agwarddd I think Janice is probably a really nice person of camera. I don’t even think she was a touch with critics. On panel she would say a lot of very not constructive criticism but I also think that’s because she straight up admitted that she was just spewing BS because she got paid to do it lol

[@YoSoFunnyx3]

@@RecoveringChristian Yaa I think it was just for the TV. Based on off camera testimonies she seems like she’s probably not that bad IRL.

[@charlottewillis5653]

Adult Me: I wonder why I have such huge insecurities about my skin, my weight, my body image... ANTM: Your hormonal breakout is literally repulsive. 15 year-old Me: Makes sense.

[@the_katerina]

No but for real, I remember sneakily using my mother's eye cream at age 14 after watching these girls be roasted for having the most minimal dark circles at the unretouched episode💀

[@EmJeClFr]

​@@the_katerinaomg that unlocked a core memory for me of asking an aesthetician about when to start eye cream at 15. I don't remember her response but it was for +25year olds

[@the_katerina]

@@EmJeClFr We all really did live the same life 🤣

[@sugar_-]

I always thought that my eating disorders were just a me problem, that they somehow just appeared within me, but I just realized watching this video that they must have come from this show

[@lepa2863]

@@the_katerina This was a MODELING show, to get in the MODELING industry of what was back in the day. Social media has and ANTM has open doors now of 'beauty' can look like! ANTM let PETTIE GIRLS, PLUS SIZE GIRLS, GUYS all WIN this competition, which was never out there before social media. Using your mothers eye cream (1) was stupid of your mother not keeping an eye on what you watch (2) there are FAR WORSE things on TIKTOK now days influencing people to do and say real bad things - your stupid eye cream whinning senior is as lame as your comment!

[@avsambart]

I don't remember her name but I remember the cycle where Tyra wanted one model to get the gap in her teeth closed, and she was super reluctant but ended up allowing it to be somewhat closed. I'll never forget watching that and thinking "damn girl loves her gap, let her keep it. It's not that deep." 1:01:10 YES DANIELLE! That's her!

[@sammeh769]

I always found this kinda upsetting especially when modelling agencies in the modern day seem to like models with those kinds of unique features. Maybe not in high fashion, but I've seen such models for ad campaigns and even magazines

[@taytaygurl09]

As a former ANTM girlie myself, I loved this analysis so much, very accurate!! Also spit my food onto my laptop at 6:51 when she talked about Blackface being one of the themes 😂😂💀💀💀 as a Black woman I didn't realize just how problematic it was until yrs later

[@OhJasonOh]

It wasn’t a big deal then and it’s not a big deal now. The only people outraged about it is Twitter stans

[@candygir87528]

@@OhJasonOhit is very much a big deal now

[@OhJasonOh]

@@candygir87528 nah

[@DonDivaBitch]

@@OhJasonOhIt’s Not A Big Deal To Racists Who Dont Know The History Behind Blackface

[@OhJasonOh]

@@DonDivaBitch my guy I’m black and I don’t see anything wrong with it

[@shannahbaudelaire]

Tyra isn't a MLM girl boss, she is a SHE-e.o.

[@elleliteracy]

omg you are too correct

[@ahanamallick312]

Sas 18:51 aaa 18:59 19:01

[@omgmo1962]

Took my way too long to figure that out .. sheoo? shoe? 😂

[@avavavaa]

@@omgmo1962CEO 😂

[@JenELeeP1]

😂😂😂

[@GaiusGear]

The Nyle situation was so hard to see. The other contestants would also steal his phone so they could play on it since they were not allowed to have theirs. So Nyle would literally have his only means of communicating in the house stolen by the other people he was living with. It was so awful watching him sit there, upset but not wanting to rock the boat by taking his phone back but also unable to contribute or even connect to the others.

[@margarethmichelina5146]

Honeslty, Nyle, Will and Corey are the only shines for Guys and Girls theme. Will and Corey for make it further even as gay men and they both are succesful till these days even Will was on Amazing Race with his husband and I see Corey in runway. Nyle for not only winning ANTM but also Dancing With The Star in the same year! Showing that being deaf isn't a curse but is a gift. He and Peta, his dancing partner on Dancing with The Star also showing good chemistry. He currently becomes spoke person for deaf community.

[@janehopke878]

@@margarethmichelina5146a disability is not a gift. Are you really going there? 🙄 Stop marginalizing and downplaying disabilities by calling them gifts are superpowers. We have medical conditions that make it more difficult to navigate an ableist society, but we have something to contribute (I personally make sure that hospitals remain open by ensuring that Medicare funding continues to flow, thanks to the annual regulatory reporting I prepare, by the way…a bit more important than looking pretty for a camera), and deserve to have accommodations made for us so that we can navigate the world more effectively and have a more equitable playing field. So stop glamorizing disabilities. It’s not cute and we deserve better than your ableist bullshit.

[@user-mb4sd4fp3x]

Nyle,left because of the ethnicity challenge. One depicted his wifes ethnicity. He was furious at that. Mr. Jay,came out and told his truth. Tyra,is a monster. Janice,wasn't lying. Tyra,is NARCISSISTIC and has a god complex.

[@brandonwilliams5526]

Yes this show was toxic

[@tymikiajackson7880]

ANTM truly showed the toxicity of reality TV, especially in a EXTREMELY TOXIC industry. I pray that all of these models have healed from any trauma they’ve experienced while filming.

[@carolynr570]

I was obsessed with this show as a kid. Pretty sure it’s at least 75% responsible for my current body dysmorphia and eating disorder

[@OhJasonOh]

If a show is influencing you to starve yourself fhen it’s probably not a good show for you to watch

[@whitneyhendrix8075]

I remember one girl who didn’t want herself to be labeled as the Asian girl and she had long wavy hair and Tyra gave her a “china doll” haircut with straight across bangs

[@doubleh333lix]

that is literally evil

[@skip031890]

​@@doubleh333lix 😂😂😂

[@dragonquestV]

The way that the inability of photographers/hairstylists/costumers/etc to work with the contestants of colour or with different body shapes is treated as the failure of the contestants bodies instead of a failure/knowledge gap of the professional infuriates me

[@dragonquestV]

Also the way black contestants are often framed as being aggressive whenever they show any emotion at all 😞

[@shcdemolisher]

@@dragonquestV Yeah that is just gross on the framing. Having emotions makes us HUMAN no matter what race or ethnicity you are. I guess those professionals just want emotionless drones.

[@quinnzyker6521]

@@dragonquestVit’s so fucked up.

[@margarethmichelina5146]

Also, if you look at Gigi Hadid or Kendall Jenner or even any models in Victoria's Secrets, have you ever seen them dyed their hair with crazy colors? NO! It was just Tyra's stupid Idea!

[@esm82ify]

36:55 Watching this I was thinking how stupid it was that the "Fashion Director" didn't already have a rack of size 14 clothes since they have a contestant who would need them. It is LITERALLY the same level of poor planning as having a deaf person posing in the dark. I've only seen total of one episode on my own and the rest has been Mondo's reactions to the makeovers. Did they not have someone in charge of safety? Or anyone to go "Hey you can't do that"

[@ursaursae9848]

I will never forget when she tried to girl one girl to get dentistry to close her gap but she was proud of her gap and got in trouble for not having a permanent changed done, for a show.

[@OhJasonOh]

Are you talking about Danielle?

[@AdelineJones]

​@OhJasonOh I believe she is. I remember that episode and was so annoyed with it.

[@irelandcook8298]

Then in a later cycle they wanted a model to get a tiny tooth gap. Like wtf?

[@crumpettrashgoblin]

I still resent the fact that Allison Harvard lost three times.

[@elleliteracy]

literally how

[@ruliak]

Won my heart 3 times 😭❤️❤️❤️

[@sebastiancano7058]

3?... Oh right she lost Allstars twice THAT'S SICK

[@shimmerandshineee]

FR THEY DID HER SO DIRTY AND FOR WHAT

[@meggomyeggo431]

EXACTLY

[@agwarddd]

Danielle Evans is my favourite case of Tyra being wrong on the show. Dani stood her ground and refused to let them strip away what made her unique, and she ended up having the longest running contract with CoverGirl and was still walking runways up until around 2019 (to my knowledge, I haven’t followed as much since) when she was very much into her 30s. And part of this was bc of her likeable personality and gap tooth smile helping her to stand out and look beautiful no matter what. Tiffany Richardson also now runs a care facility for disabled people and for all of Tyra’s negative rhetoric toward her, she’s proved that she’s a deep, complex and wonderful person and not just this girl who gives up when the going is tough, just bc she dared to take her elimination in stride. Unfortunately, I don’t think Tyra will acknowledge this as mistakes and insist that it’s entirely bc of her own hard work in making these girls succeed in life, despite dropping them as soon as the cameraman yells “cut”.

[@PrincessofPower84]

I love Dani and Tiffany, and I never knew that about Tiffany! That is so sweet. 😘

[@lavedadavis818]

Tyra would have NEVAH yelled at Lauren Hutton, (whose gapped mouth made her very popular) the way she yelled and bullied Dani Evans. SAD!!! Tragis!!!

[@kari4048]

The fact that they used homeless people on the photoshoot as extras…

[@makking6895]

Thank you soo much for this video. My mom and I binge watched (almost) every cycle over covid and we call it "The Me Show" (because it's Tyra's show and she makes everything about her) One of the moments that really stuck out to me was when they had this one girl (who I can't remember the name of atm) who was very soft spoken and the judges went at her for being insecure so when she spoke and said she wasn't insecure and just wasn't as outgoing as the other contestants, the judges went at her even more for being "insecure, having an attitude, and yelling at the judges" and sent her home after telling her how great her photo was.

[@craftwhimsy4776]

It’s so crazy that they kept telling that one girl she was gaining weight and then dressed her as an elephant 💀 Tyra was literally so inconsistent to the point of insanity. From episode to episode and even moment to moment. And the way there was NEVER any rhyme or reason for the makeovers, it was literally just her whim and mood at the moment. You could always tell who she idealized and who she just hated, was jealous of, or wanted to torture. Only for the models to not even wear their makeover hair in the shoots and be stuck with wigs anyway!

[@OhJasonOh]

A show about modeling…BODY SHAMES????? 🤯

[@dietlindvonhohenwald448]

Soo much jealousy over beautiful hair

[@jbear3478]

And to go back to their regular hair a year later when we see them reappear on the show (Melrose, Laura)

[@arielfurman4218]

My mother worked at an advertising agency in the 80s, and went to A LOT of on location catalog photo shoots. It was FASCINATING to watch ANTM with her. My two favorite comments from her (paraphrasing obvs): 1) they have these girls taking over a hundred shots?? For one photo?? In the days of film photography, if you couldn’t get the shot in 24-36 pictures (2-3 rolls of film), you weren’t going to get it! I retorted that they were shooting digitally so they didn’t have to worry about film, and she agreed in that respect, but it was also about time! Photo shoots are expensive! She simply called it unrealistic for a real life photoshoot. 2) when they would review the final photos, and they would criticize the model for a bad photo, she would always defend the models. Like, a bad photo isn’t always the models fault! She would go OFF on stuff like lighting, art direction, hell she didn’t think half the photographers in the show were actually very good. ANTM was actually better with her commentary bc she would cut through the shows bullsh*t.

[@honeyreyes4384]

Love this, thanks for sharing! These are the perspectives I was searching for in the comments section. (Although many others are very educational as well.)

[@allasperans3984]

Shit, I'd rather watch it with her commentary 😅 I have some amount of nostalgia, the want to return to childhood when I watched this a bit, but I wouldn't want to see actual show, I know I'd hate it

[@craisins95]

I am SO GLAD you brought up Keenyah in the body image section. As a fat kid, I was shocked and upset by how they treated her gaining weight. I was bullied for my weight all through elementary school and it still affects me today as a 30-something. Seeing shit like this did not help. The fact that Whitney was the only plus size model to win a cycle of ANTM reminds me that the same is true of RuPaul’s Drag Race. This is really a reflection of all competition, look-based reality shows but still worth highlighting. A “big girl” (as earlier seasons of the show referred to them or as contestants referred to themselves) has only won once: Lawrence Chaney in Drag Race UK season 2. So a) it was an international season, not a main season and b) Drag Race’s main show has gone for 15 regular seasons and there are at least ten international iterations. (If I missed another winner from an international season who is fat, please let me know but as far as I know it’s just Lawrence rn).

[@angelcitygirl]

2:55 Beverly Johnson appeared on more than 500 magazine covers, including the August 1974 issue of Vogue, becoming the magazine's first African-American cover model for the US edition, after Donyale Luna's 1966 British Vogue cover. Her appearance on the cover changed the beauty ideal in US fashion, and by 1975, every major American fashion designer had begun using African-American models.

[@Kauaimon]

I went to a live taping of America's Got Talent where Tyra was the host and there was this little girl who sang a tribute to her dead dad. She was crying and Tyra asked her what she wanted to say to her dad if he were here. She cried even harder and said "I love you dad!" and Tyra immediately switched her voice from being sympathetic to being an announcer and very upbeat and perkily announced the next contestant. A few minutes later, we were told there were audio issues and they redid the shot to have Tyra act more somber and sympathetic. It was wild. Like I can't describe to you how jarring it was to see a little girl crying and Tyra being like ":( this is so sad,,,, :(.....:D UP NEXT IS ____!! :D :D :D :D WOOHOO!!!" Tyra seriously has something going on up in that brain...

[@dietlindvonhohenwald448]

Probably bipolar

[@MichElle-py8lk]

She sounds like a Sociopath

[@lolinontot7642]

@@dietlindvonhohenwald448 nah, more likely just narcissism, or mayybe ASPD, or both.

[@danielabackstrom]

Wowwww

[@paolacarmichael611]

@@dietlindvonhohenwald448 I think you're referring to her mood switching as bipolar. But bipolar mood changes usually last at least a few days. It's not that instant. And BPD, it is that quick but the change of mood is caused by something minor that's triggering. This was just straight up not caring about this little girls dead dad

[@kylalyk]

There was also ageism on the show... with women at the age of 25 being told they are too old. I don't recall which cycle, but they had a gorgeous 42 year woman on the show; & she was constantly berated for being so old, looking so old & having audacity to be 42.

[@taniamayer5125]

Makes you wonder why they had a 42 year old on the show if they claim 25 is to old. Obviously so they can degrade her on the show for ratings. Don't worry about the poor woman's mental health. Tyra is an evil witch!

[@sunnyadams5842]

Modeling is/was a job with requirements just like any other job.

[@marychocolatefairy]

@@sunnyadams5842 It was weird though when they critiqued the contestants for physical things that were true when said contestants were picked for the show. Like Celia Ammerman from cycle 12, who was the oldest girl on that cycle at 25. They said nothing against her age in her audition, saying she was fresh. But later in the show they kept saying she looked too old, and used that as an excuse to eliminate her. If she really looked too old, why did they cast her in the first place?

[@sunnyadams5842]

@@marychocolatefairy aHHA!! I SEE now. Like TV Entrapment and Exploitation?!!But you Ssaidddd!" Is the weakest position and Narcissists use it ALL THE TIME! COMbine those little nasties w gaslighting, starving and a little sleep deprivation and you've got an easily manipulated victim... I seem to recall feeling Tyra had become mean and a bit irrational. After all, there must have a reason why I stopped watching the show. eh! Thanks for the reply

[@JenJHayden]

@@sunnyadams5842that’s a silly take because they are the ones that put her on the show. If it was such a problem, she would have never been on the show to begin with.

[@fc7307]

One of the models said the prizes were misleading. For example the centerfold feature for Cover Girl. While it is true that you get the photoshoot it will not be published or used, but it fulfills what the contract says.

[@kaylamatters]

The fact that Nyle wasn't given an interpreter is positively mind boggling...I stopped watching the show years before his season but I truly just assumed that was a common sense accommodation

[@Eponine_Sandon]

People always make fun of Natasha for her comment about having war in their countries but I want you to remember that she was coming of age during the collapse of the Soviet Union and came to the United States as a refugee and it was insinuated that she was “purchased” as young mail order bride.

[@jadeterrain4771]

As a woman who's struggled with an eating disorder, I'd be BROKEN if someone talked to me the way people on ANTM talked to the bigger models. Even little comments like that can fuel your self-hate for months if you're already vulnerable. As a gay woman, hello Toccara 👋🥰

[@dionysus_adores]

Right like wtf two sizes too big that one girl was already thinner than anyone i knew. They knew she had an eating disorder too.

[@dionysus_adores]

How are any of these women plus size!?

[@ksenlovesbears]

I think I totally absorbed those types of comments while watching ANTM in middle school. Honestly after watching this vid, I can see this show being one of the biggest catalysts of any body issues I developed 😮

[@A.Light33]

I respect you for diving deeper into these issues especially about colorism and harsh criticisms of Black women’s personalities. We are often misjudged. As an introverted African American woman, I have always noticed people are quick to judge or dismiss me as stuck up or mean instead of being empathetic towards my obvious shyness and awkwardness. But when other women who are not Black, present themselves in the same way, people are kind and even gush about how adorable they are. I had to deal with this constantly in the workplace. I’m so grateful to work from home now. I always like Camille from cycle 2 was ganged up on unfairly. She had her faults but she didn’t deserve all that.

[@singer2be256]

I remember Keenyah said she couldn't stop eating. Wonder if the 15-18 hrs without food contributed to it.

[@coops9597]

When anyone grows up food insecure, they get really anxious when they feel like they can't get food if they need it and tend to go overboard when they get food again (overeating, hoarding, etc) I didn't see that cycle so I don't know her story but that's what I thought of :(

[@Beargeek616]

Eh now we know why she kept Janice for as long as she did. Janice's antics, villainy, rudeness, made Tyra look sweet, kind and pleasant.

[@Chuuzus]

it's the way every year someone discovers a new problematic thing about Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model 🤣

[@elleliteracy]

I don’t think it will ever end hahahah

[@malkam.7543]

We should have an annual holiday where the new list is posted

[@RecoveringChristian]

It helps when over 90 percent of people who are offended have never actually watched the show, so it helps when finding things to be outraged by.

[@caoisekamay1175]

@@RecoveringChristian you are everywhere in this comment section, you really need a hobby

[@RecoveringChristian]

@@caoisekamay1175 maybe I should devote a couple hours and hundreds of pages words to create a deep dive youtube video on antm like---- oh wait. Are there mirrors in your house?

[@leiakasta7602]

The person who got angry and went “stop! If you’re sporting a gut, you turn to the side and hide it” is absolutely wild to me.

[@maddymac7146]

the "they all know me, I'm Sophie, I'm the one they talk about mostly" absolutely SLAYED when I was a kid and I would repeat it to myself all the time it stayed living rent free in my head

[@jstew512]

It's apparent that Tyra viewed the show as a proving grounds/torture porn/hazing type of thing. Having them walk the runway in those crazy heels and pose with tarantulas is just wild AF. I think she's a sadist at heart on some level.

[@DimaRakesah]

I am honestly shocked no one got seriously injured from one of those ridiculous runway stunts

[@stacys8729]

Well, as it goes, the tarantula challenge is probably one of the safest ones since they are non-venomous and rarely aggressive- they were setting the girls on fire, putting on sides of buildings- crazy.

[@stacys8729]

@@21cormorants Well - technically yes - but it doesn't hurt humans like a brown recluse or balck widow. More like a just a little sting. I have a great fear of spiders but not tarantulas - they're very gentle and big enough to easily see. I remove them from my porch and walk them a ways off to release them. (don't want to step on them) But i use gloves and a container to move them.

[@iheartblock3792]

@@21cormorantsthey do, but it’s not really dangerous to humans.

[@quinnzyker6521]

I mean. That’s basically her book, Model Land.

[@thestorygiver6217]

Tyra heard Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss and she took that personally.

[@obnoxiousnesli]

i think the saddest part about this whole thing is the fact that these women have purposely been starved, disrespected and discriminated to a point where they start mistreating eachother. i think most of them are not transphobic or in any way shitty people but the circumstances make them behave in the worst way possible which additionally gets taken out of context. i truly hope theyre all doing well and grew from all of this.

[@anxiousbluebird1327]

My younger sister got into ANTM for awhile, so sometimes I’d be lounging with her while she watched and have to witness some of the specific scenes you mentioned. I grew up overweight, and developed disordered patterns with food because of this- so imagine my shock when Tyra and the others are lambasting this stunning woman for being plus sized, and when the weight shows up… 130lbs. Not even, it may have been more like mid to high 120s. Around my weight- also being much shorter than these models- and I’d had to fight and cry and starve and exercise half to death (DO NOT do that, just an example of how much I suffered to get to such a weight). Irreparable damage to my psyche and probably my body, just for a number. And this girl who, in my opinion, was incredibly slender, was being sneered at for being the fatty of the group. I wish I could remember her name. I was so horrified that I paused the show right then and had to have a talk with my sister about how damaging these ideas about weight and what a woman’s body “should” look like are. For the record, I don’t care if it’s what’s considered “plus” in high fashion. Referring to thin women as “plus sized” has ripple effects. Both for smaller girls, bigger girls, and all in between. I distinctly remember thinking to myself how if they’re considered plus sized at their heights, what does that make me? When in reality I am a perfectly normal sized, athletically built young woman. Comparison is the death of joy, and ANTM lived for that death.

[@Pepper-sg5rc]

Talking about accents, Natasha was white and her accent was so thick they literally had to put subtitles when she talked, smh. the mistreatment of black women is the most telling part of this. This is all so well done.

[@shined70]

I'm an African American and I just really appreciate the way you did this topic with a high level of awareness and cultural sensitivity. You havw a new subscriber ❤. Great job!

[@elleliteracy]

thank you!!!

[@electricrainbowskull]

the amount of times they tell the girls to "take control" but when they did try to get control or voice how they are uncomfortable with the planned shoot they get shut down and told you have no choice this is what's happening Or are told to just keep going with like no chance to voice that something is wrong

[@OhJasonOh]

The show will use any excuse possible to eliminate a girl regardless if her photo looks good or not. It’s all rigged so certain girls get booted to fit the narrative they’re trying to present.

[@SirAsdf]

My favorite "Tyra's Ego Monster" moment was in one of the "Models with no writing or singing experience having to write and sing a song" challenges. Most of the contestants went with generic, forgettable pop songs, as usual, except for one. One of the girls actually wrote a sincere, heartfelt ballad to her father who had passed away. So what does Tyra do? She makes it so that all of the girls have to jackhammer the lyric "Pot Ledom" (get it, it’s Top Model backward AIN'T WE QUIRKY!?) Into their songs. Then she forces it so that she and some kid, who the show says was a viral sensation, but I genuinely have no idea who he was, MUST be in the music videos. So we have this sad video with a girl singing about how much she misses her dead dad and suddenly Dingus and Dumbass show up dancing around in brightly colored 80s exercise outfits, acting like the most insensitive assholes to ever exist.

[@riceish2369]

1:00:30 the fact that they thought this was so horrible unretouched is crazy to me. You can barely see the difference from the retouched photo.😭 They were really just hating on her, that girl’s skin was flawless.

[@thelightscoming]

the part about the girl telling the judges about the male model that touched her inappropriately reminded me of something that happened in antm. in cycle 24 there was a model named khrystyana that told the judges about a SA that happened to her when she was younger. (idk if it was while she was a child) almost everyone was either crying or tearing up. ashley graham was bawling and comforting khrystyana and even TYRA teared up. but a couple episodes later, there was a challenge that had the models in gold and pose with guys. basically everyone was doing good except for khrystyana who was scared to be next to the guy because of her being SA’D. when it came to the elimination, she explained how she was scared of being next to the guy to the judges mainly tyra. it seemed like Tyra didn’t even care EVEN AFTER SHE CRIED WITH KHRYSTYANA EPISODES BEFORE and put her in the bottom two an disregarded her whole problem and came across like she wanted her to get over it because “it’s what they do in the model world” 🙄🙄

[@johnpoole3871]

Yeah she should be receiving help for her trauma, not being on a reality TV show. They probably exploited it for the drama.

[@ValyTraveler]

OMG, that reminds me of the first cycle when - Mr J, and the ANTM crew were acting like a p__ps and prost. the women. Telling them - you have to do this - if you don't no telling what will become of your career...

[@threesugarssevensugars2113]

She was my favourite on that cycle, she really deserved to go so much further, she had what it takes to win and to be a very successful model

[@margarethmichelina5146]

In Cycle 15, there's also Kayla who is a lesbian scared to pose with male model in Rollerblade commercial. She even spoke up to Mr Jay about it and cried but Jay just told her to suck it up. She nailed the commercial however but do they realize that how much traumatize she is for doing that?

[@caolanochearnaigh9804]

Ashley Graham? From Resident Evil 4?

[@tinygh0ul]

I can't help but think about how much this likely fed into my (and many others) micro aggressions as a young person growing up watching this show. It really makes people feel like they are okay treating others in this way because Tyra and everyone else on the show were doing it too. Awful. I'm glad I was able to unlearn and educate myself and I hope the same for everyone else who watched ANTM. Great video!

[@missnoble89]

I have to commend you for this video. Your particular attention, sensitivity, awareness and self education to all of the topics discussed are worthy of more than praise. I really appreciate the time and careful consideration you took to produce this video. Thank you again.

[@shirleyanne6573]

Something I found interesting was that as a high school teacher, i was forced to acquaint myself with signs of eating disorders - something I had to deal with more than once. :( I watched an episode of Canada's NTM where a girl raised her arm, revealing that it was covered with fine down. The host (blond guy, forget his name) freaked and called for it to be shaved. I freaked because what that was was lanugo, a down the body produces in cases of emaciation. He didn't know what it was. Considering who the contestants were, this was unacceptable.

[@paolacarmichael611]

I'm sorry but whats fine down?

[@shirleyanne6573]

@@paolacarmichael611 'down' is the fluff you see on baby ducks, for example. Down is what's in a feather pillow. When people get really thin, their bodies go into protection mode and grow fine hairs all over. It's a sign of anorexia

[@longlivebeans]

Tyra’s one woman hate campaign against sex workers is so wild lol it’s almost like she’s projecting something. Like girl why are you so consumed by it? What’s with the fight or flight response? Seriously her interview with Karrine Steffens had me dying. Like Tyra was PERSONALLY OFFENDED by this woman’s existence and was lecturing her with the fury of a fire & brimstone preacher lol. You’d think Karrine kicked her granny & shot her dog.

[@emilybarclay8831]

She realises her job is 100% based on her sex appeal, making her a form of sex worker, so she has to do whatever she can to distance herself from it

[@LlamawithHat]

Your last sentence 💀😂

[@iwakeupandboomimarat]

literally it isnt even like. actual critiques of the industry and how it harms people shes just like "ur slutty 👎"

[@maddieb.4282]

As an SW this is such a hard hitting comment, I will never understand why people take my mere existence that doesn’t interfere with their lives so personally

[@emilybarclay8831]

@@maddieb.4282 I once asked some dudebro how working a physical warehouse job is any less ‘selling your body’ than sex work and they got SO mad lol

[@JMwhocares]

I’ve worked with both Tyra and Janice Dickinson (separately and not on ANTM). Can confirm that they’re both monsters.

[@sondragramse1770]

I believe it

[@ChangesOfTomorrow]

I feel that Tyra internalized the worst of the fashion industry and turned it to 10 against the contestants instead of trying to do better. I think she genuinly couldn't imagine another way

[@HeyLetsDoAThing]

The fact that they crowned Angelea, stripped her title, and then STILL DIDN’T FIX THEIR MISTAKE AND CROWN ALLISON is the most insane production decision in the history of reality tv.

[@brandonwilliams5526]

So disgusting.

[@brandonwilliams5526]

So disgusting.

[@EmiL_from_NieR]

Fun fact; my auntie was on the show. She was actually a new mom when she was on the show, I think she even mentions pumping her breast milk since my cousin was just a baby but her husband was supportive. She was in cycle 10, and actually WAS a part of the infamous “homelessness” photoshoot. She didn’t say much about Tyra because she wasn’t really around, but said they were always taking way too long to film. She was probably GLAD she hurt her neck in the fuerza bruta shoot and had to go home because she missed her family. She said they edited stuff to make you look weird or mean and it was crazy how they twisted things around, and that the producers would like move things around LITERALLY like personal items to get the girls to start arguments. Just thought I’d add her personal experience since this show was unhinged 😅

[@tylerwestbrook2392]

You mean to tell me that your aunt is Clair from cycle 10? That's awesome 👍

[@bulbasaur232]

Editing aside, some of Claire's reactions and behavior were kinda odd and cringe. Can't blame everything on the edit, it can only do so much.

[@tamcar04]

They had your Auntie lookin a FOOL that season!!! 🤦🏿‍♀️🤦🏿‍♀️🤦🏿‍♀️

[@LaurenOliviArt]

Claire was awesome !

[@Estassi55]

@@bulbasaur232 so fucking weird how you’re talking bad about someone you don’t know to someone who does personally know them.

[@mariondi]

I am a 50 y/o mixed race woman fr Europe and i must say i am extremely touch by your sensitivity. Girl you're amazing! thank you from the bottom heart. ❤❤❤

[@tenderw1lderness]

I clicked on this expecting some mess because I vaguely remember seeing this as a child but WHEW... There is SO MUCH more mess than I remember! The hair section really hits home when we know now how toxic those perm chemicals are. My hair was so thick, and at the time all my mom knew was to get it permed just so she could braid it. I always got scabs and sores from perms though, so I had to stop doing them. I'm glad I did, Just for Me is Just Nasty.

[@tekkie7445]

"Caridee you're from Fargo come on!!!" Tyra says when Caridee can't handle the coldness of the pool. But when she starts shivering and has hyperthermia, Tyra says "It's your responsibility to tell us when your body can't handle it..."

[@AJ-we3fw]

On the topic of the hair cutting and makeover section: Im somebody who went from shoulder length hair to a buzzcut by MY OWN CHOICE. Despite the fact that i wanted it, it was still an incredible shock and it took me weeks to adjust. I cant imagine what these girls who might not have wanted their hair cut even one inch shorter must have felt. Hair completely changes the way you look. I shudder thinking about trying to do photoshoots and competing during that shock.

[@jbear3478]

Ive always been the one to just cut off my hair yolo but the last time I did it I actually felt some regret and shock.. and I wanted it. So for these girls it must be insane and horrible. Hair dressers won't cut off your long ass hair into a pixie, they'll do it in sessions to make sure you're not upset

[@emmmmmmmm603]

This deep dive was INCREDIBLE to listen to. You are so well spoken and informed :) thank you so much!! ❤

[@AllisonMiller30]

“People have war in their countries” was Natasha’s way of saying “I don’t give a fuck about your problems.”

[@angelinanichols4282]

Love this deep dive! I'm glad you pointed out how strange it was that they'd do a petite season but not a plus size one,. Although considering how they treated the few plus size contestants I'm sure a full season would have just been a nightmare of fatphobia.

[@joannamarieart]

The way they treated girls who weren't even close to overweight, but happened to be slightly larger than the other contestants!!!

[@justinwatson1510]

Hey now, it's not like young women will just develop EDs on their own. Social media hadn't really taken off when the show started, so we needed some way to make them insecure. How else do you expect plastic surgeons and diet product companies to stay in business? This is America, goddamnit, somebody has to think of the bottom line.

[@RecoveringChristian]

@@joannamarieart cycle 5, she said Regina would be stunning if she gained weight and became a plus size model. Cycle 1 had the "iconic" rant from Tyra lambasting the other judges regarding their harsh comments about Robin and the full figure market. As far as girls who were in between, it took the show (by extension the fashion industry) many cycles/years to accept "real size girls" who were neither thin or full figured.

[@TheNormExperience]

@@justinwatson1510😂😂😂

[@Souten66]

@@joannamarieart I just remember one cycle where the single plus size girl who was not by any normal standards plus size was called “Fiercely Real” all the fucking time and even as a young adult with zero media literacy, it felt disingenuous

[@tacotae4955]

the fact that they sent one girl home ON HER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION because she was too innocent in her photo when she was A CHILD

[@MaxAmillion-qs4ct]

Wtaf is wrong with these people

[@susanandrews2294]

I absolutely love how candid and mature you are! Seeing creators like you break down shows like ANTM is just great. I am guilty of having watched most of the episodes, but always enjoyed the photo shoots for the technical sides - I paid more attention to the lighting and set than the finished results lol. The last couple episodes were usually pretty boring. Keep up the great work!

[@KarmaWorlld]

I remember there was an episode of antm where they forced the girls to get these insane haircuts and even forced a girl to shave her head, and she literally almost dropped out of the show, they later shaved her head while she was balling her eyes out, I can’t remember if all the girls heads where shaved or if it was just her, all I remember is it completely traumatized me, I still don’t want to shave my head because of that

[@slangoognals]

Did... did Tyra not parade around in lingerie every step of her tenure as an Angel? Is she really that much better than a Playboy model? Also I looove how when Tiffany said she can't change being eliminated, the judges were like "Yes you can" lol what??

[@katiethechef]

I think the thing that always infuriated me watching this now and as a 12 year old was that they had plus sized models .. they would specifically bring in these models and then NEVER accommodate them. Always bash them. It was just so blatantly wild. Like … why are they even here if you hate them so much. The episode where they don’t have any clothes for her just drives me nuts !

[@vogelvrouw]

And then blame them for not looking as good, if those plus sized models actually got the same chances as the others they'd have done so well

[@holsmarie4814]

Really enjoyed this! Thank you for all the effort you put in. I like your editing style and also the narration. ❤

[@xiomarakuhn6985]

I needed to take a break during the 'race, misogynoir and colorism' segment because although I watched a couple of seasons of ANTM I didn't knew the extent of Tyra's abuse. Just sickening and despicable behaviour.

[@katarzynaszajkowski8394]

Katarzyna saying “I just want to tell you… some people have war in their countries.” Will FOREVER be iconic. Also we share a name so she was always my fav. Hated that they boxed her into being “too sexy”

[@the_katerina]

That was Natasha, but yeap, absolutely iconic!

[@katarzynaszajkowski8394]

@@the_katerina NOOOOOOO I’ve done my Eastern European queens wrong 😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@margarethmichelina5146]

It was Natasha from Cycle 8. Katarzyna from Cycle 10 and Tyra kept bullying her by butchering her name. I know her name is hard to pronounce for non European but Tyra not only butchering her name once but many times even though Katarzyna told her many times! Even they tortured her on makeover by giving a long black hair at first only to cut her hair later after see how she nailed a short black hair wig in one photoshoot.

[@msrain1235]

​@@margarethmichelina5146 I spoke, to Lauren, and she said that Tyra didn't seem to like her.

[@pfft8858]

That was Natalia

[@WannabeDancer72]

If you view ANTM as Tyra trying to get revenge on Naomi Campbell, the show makes a lot more sense. Tyra pretty much used the show as an excuse to become a bully and make young hopeful girls into neurotic messes like her.

[@youtube.handle69]

Tyra literally has one of Naomi's hair styles to a t in one of the cycles

[@caole88]

Preach🙌🏽

[@hannahadams5059]

theres so many takeaways but the widening of the gap is absolutely INSANE

[@jebipop]

i've actually never watched antm but i am a HUGE drag race fan and now watching this and hearing it get broken down i see the inspiration more than ever

[@Perceptionreflection]

Sheena is a legend, a real queen of our hearts for standing up for Isis and for speaking up for trans people in an era of pretty ubiquitous ignorance. I adore her so much and I hated that they saw her as a stereotype instead of as a worldly woman in a cast of mostly children. We love you Sheena!

[@PHSDM104]

Sheena for president!!!

[@margarethmichelina5146]

Sheena, Analeigh (Curently becomes Lio) and McKey are the only nicest contestants in Cycle 11. Let's not forget the time Sheena speaks up to Elina (who are from Ukraine) and Marjorie (who are from France) about cultural problem or something as those two European women complains about how hard is it living in America.

[@rge9992]

Wow, this threw me back to when I was like 12/13 watching the German version (GNTM) and all the “girls” and Heidi where like “ewwww” when a girl had some black discolourations on her underarms and were like “learn to shave”. As someone with dark hair who still has black spots after shaving, this affected me for literal YEARS to the point of stopping swimming as a hobby….

[@triloization]

For things like this I will hate this bi... until the end of time. Heidi Klum is a Anti-Human. I can not see her for 30 seconds without getting into a bad mood.

[@the_katerina]

Menschh ich dachte ich bin die einzige die noch daran erinnert! 2000's Heidi war manchmal richtig asocial 💀

[@rge9992]

@@the_katerinahaha, hat mich damals hart mitgenommen. Heutzutage gehe ich auch unrasiert aus dem Haus, kenne auch niemanden mehr der noch Topmodel guckt 🤷‍♀️

[@poketchiken7343]

Heidi ist halt immernoch unglaublich respektlos und gemein zu den Kandidatinnen 🥲 aber kann mich auch erinnern als sie die Kandidatinnen auch bloßgestellt hat vor der Gruppe zb die eine Lisa (kurze, bleach blonde Haare) weil sie ‚keinen Style‘ hatte

[@carolineweaver343]

this was such a blast from the past, im binging you while I paint today. love it!

[@rajaune]

Elle, this breakdown was everything we didn't know we needed. The context, research, commentary, and references were DEAD ON! Thank you!