During the first lockdown in March 2020, many of us were a loss for what to do with our lives. I started revisiting old TV shows and America’s Next Top Model was one of them. I had seen a lot of discussion on YouTube about how it really hadn't aged well. Watching it as an adult gives you a completely different perspective. It is unbelievably toxic. Professional photographer and YouTuber Jessica Kobeissi does a great series where she reacts to clips from the show.
There were so many times where the judging panel were unbelievably harsh to the models. It really feels like they can’t say or do anything right. If they’re asked a question and they give an honest answer, the judges tell them they have an attitude problem, or that this is just the way the modelling industry is and they need to get used to it. Tyra brings up her own struggles as a model to justify the same bad things happening to to the girls. She could have used the show as a way of educating people about the flaws within the industry, and could have tried to have a positive impact instead of reinforcing the same horrible things.
Mr Jay trying to look empathetic lmao. I doubt production didn't already know about this.
If a contestant is introverted or quiet or doesn't pander to Tyra and the judges, they’re told that they have no personality or “We don’t know who you are!”. In Season 9, Twiggy told Victoria: "You'd never know from that photograph how shy and insecure you are" which is an incredibly rude and insensitive thing to say to someone. This was Victoria's response:
I may be soft spoken but I'm not insecure.
The judges immediately piped up because it seems like they couldn't stand it when someone stood up for themselves. Nigel told her she should say that with a smile, because saying it with a frown will make people dislike her. She doesn't need to sugar-coat what she's saying to appease people, especially when they're making assumptions about her. It was such an unnecessary attack of her character, just because she was a bit nervous. Another week, she was assigned a 'cactus' concept and Twiggy said: "It's quite interesting you were given a cactus which is quite prickly..." and before she could finish her sentence, Victoria said: "Can I get one thing straight? I don't have a prickly disposition" (yesssss, let them know). In true reality TV fashion the dramatic music kicked in. She stood up for herself, and they eliminated her in that same episode.
The way Janice Dickinson treated some of the girls was horrendous. She was a bully and seemed to genuinely enjoy stirring the pot. In Season 6, Janice went out of her way to humiliate Gina. She asked her who in the house was giving her a hard time, when Gina told her Jade had been treating her badly, Janice then told her she shouldn't rat people out and said: "You're dead in my book." When Kim told the judges that she was gay and proud, Tyra claimed she was making her gayness too much of her identity: "I'm black and proud, but I'm not walking down the red carpet all like "I'm black! I'm proud!". When Yaya expressed that she was proud of her African heritage, she was scolded for it. The girls had to pick accessories for one of the judging panels, and she chose a cowgirl hat. This is what one of the judges said her look was "half African, half cowgirl, looks like you're about to ride a giraffe" (what). Another one of the judges said "you have this intensity to prove your Africanness, and I think that sometimes it's overbearing, it's too much." Tyra looked irritated by this comment, but she still didn't stand up for Yaya, and told her: "You're being very defensive and it's not attractive".
There are too many problematic photo shoots to name. There was also the time where they did a 7 Deadly Sins inspired shoot and made Kahlen who's friend had recently died, pose lying in a coffin 8 feet under ground. Keenyah gained some weight during the competition and was assigned 'Gluttony' as her Deadly Sin, and later was given an 'elephant' concept for an animal themed photoshoot. In the freezing cold swimming pool episode, when Eugenia got in the pool she commented on how cold the water was and like always, Tyra launched into one of her modelling anecdotes: "Try shooting Sports Illustrated laying in the snow!" then added "I didn't do it but other models did." (what was the point of telling that story then? Lmao). The models spoke up about how cold it was many times, were visibly shaking and their teeth were chattering. Tyra continued to downplay it, until it became apparent that CariDee had hypothermia. They never listen to the model's concerns. Another thing Tyra did constantly was try to 'one up' the contestants. Jaelle told her that she had a fever during the photoshoot and didn't feel her best, but wouldn't let it affect her again in the future. Tyra tells her "You need to pull it together." and said has been ill many times while filming the show but has to push through it. Again, this isn't healthy and just because Tyra has had unpleasant experiences, doesn't mean everyone else should have to endure it too. When she doesn't get the reaction out of a model that she wants (for example, crying when they're eliminated) she gets angry. When Tiffany was eliminated, she told the other girls not to be emotional, she was comforting them. Everyone deals with emotion differently, but Tyra screamed at her in front of everyone and it became a massive viral moment.
Racial Discrimination and the Normalisation of Blackface
The photoshoot concepts are highly questionable. It becomes more and more ridiculous and distasteful season after season. The amount of times blackface was done is astounding. Especially considering Tyra herself is a black woman. The fact that they would attempt to mash together different cultural identities and ethnicities was completely tone deaf and offensive. Tyra said that some of the outfits from the photoshoot maybe aren't exactly what someone from a certain culture would actually wear but it's a "fashion interpretation" of said culture. The fact that Tyra referred to these appropriated biracial identities as 'hapa' a Hawaiian word used to describe mixed race people (It's also used a lot in the Philippines), it's just another thing that's randomly thrown in with no real significance or meaning to anything that's going on. Jaeda was discriminated against by a male model while they were shooting a commercial in Barcelona. She became emotional during the shoot and it affected her performance. At judging, she explained what had happened and in classic cold, unbothered ANTM fashion Miss Jay and Tyra told her that someone being racist to her should not have affected her ability to do the job well. As Jessica Kobeissi said in her video, that male model should have been asked to leave the shoot.
Why people are made fun of for a feature like gap in their teeth is beyond me. I think it's unique and gives them an edge.
The amount of hypocrisy on ANTM season after season is almost laughable. Tyra asked Danielle: "Do you really think you can be a Covergirl with a gap in your mouth?". Danielle was pressurised to the point where she ended up going to the dentist to get it partly closed, despite the fact she really loved her gap. In a later season, they sent a girl to the dentist to get her teeth shaved down to create a wider gap! This mockery reminded me of those 'Get the London look' memes of Georgia May Jagger, making fun of her for having a gap. To this day, one of the top results that come up when you google her is 'georgia may jagger teeth'.
Transphobia
Isis, the first transgender woman on ANTM experienced a lot of discrimination from other contestants. Clark and Hannah had a conversation about how Isis made them uncomfortable because she's trans, and how they justified their "warped view" of trans people: "You walk around like that in a small town you get shot. It's not so much a close minded view, it's more traditional." Actually no Clark, it is close minded. In one of Clark's one-on-one interviews with the camera, she said: "Coming from a good Southern family, I was really thrown back by Isis" and referred to her as a "he-she". The truth is, Isis was a massive threat to these girls. I think they couldn't stand that a woman that wasn't born biologically female was outperforming them in the competition. While she was posing in one photoshoot, the other models were allowed to stand nearby and make comments to throw her off. They said things like: "Isis you need to shave" and "She needs some heat to burn off all that hair". Not all the girls were this close-minded, but many of them were.
Disregarding Mental Health
Unfortunately, the mental health of reality show contestants often suffers. Jaelle struggled with a meth addiction and sadly passed away in 2018. Renee was from the same season as Jaelle, and also had problems with addiction. She served 5 years in prison for felony burglary, vehicle theft and possessing a firearm. The lack of aftercare and the lack of compassion in general for reality TV contestants is a massive problem. 2 contestants from Love Island (2015-present) Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon committed suicide, and many more contestants have spoken about how their experiences on the show negatively impacted their mental health. There are Ofcom complaints every year about Love Island. This year, there was a massive problem with misogyny, to the point where I thought I might need to stop watching. Jacques, Luca and Dami were the worst for this.
If you look at reality shows from the 2000s, for example Big Brother which aired on Channel 4 in the UK in 2000, or even The X Factor (2004-2018) you can see how outdated people's attitudes were. There was so much casual racism, homophobia and misogyny. A former member of the band Steps Jo O'Meara, as well as Jade Goody and Danielle Lloyd, were incredibly racist to their housemate Shilpa Shetty, an Indian actress. I wasn't aware of at the time because I didn't watch the show, but it became a massive talking point on British news. My friend recently brought up the TV show 10 Years Younger which aired in 2004, where middle aged women would have their so-called flaws picked apart, they would then undergo extreme cosmetic surgery and dental work. I can't imagine the impact this had on them afterwards. People telling you what they think is wrong with your physical appearance, and then altering your looks to the point where you'd hardly recognise yourself surely would have an impact on your self-image.
The same people who put #BeKind in their bios leave hate comments on Instagram and Twitter. Tyra and the other judges, producers, photographers and people involved in ANTM received massive backlash online, and honestly it was warranted. The amount of times I would say things out loud like "What?" while listening to critiques from this show. They used their position of power to manipulate, gaslight and humiliate these young women and broadcasted it to millions. Now we can look back and see how awful the treatment was and hold those people accountable. Twitter can be a really nasty, negative place, much like many other social media platforms, but it's also a platform for meaningful conversations to take place about real issues. I think it's important to keep the discussion going, and TV networks and producers need to take better precautions going forward.
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