America’s Next Top Model Contestants Who Have Spoken Out Against The Show

Over the course of the show’s 24 cycles, numerous models claim they were underpaid, faced unethical treatment and were even put in dangerous situations during filming.

Many viewers who have rewatched the show in recent years have also expressed criticism of “ANTM,” saying that host Tyra Banks and the other judges were incredibly cruel to contestants. On top of that, the series featured many controversial moments — from forcing models to wear blackface to having them pretend to be homeless.

While Tyra hasn’t offered an official apology to models who feel that they were mistreated during their time on the “ANTM,” she has expressed some regrets for a few moments from the show.

“Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you,” she tweeted in 2020. “Looking back, those were some really off choices. Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending you so much love and virtual hugs.”

Find out what these models claim happened during their time on the show…

1. Lisa D’Amato

Lisa D’Amato may have won her season of “ANTM” but she claims the whole thing was like a psychological experiment that caused her to experience “insane amounts of trauma.” In a shocking post on her Instagram account, Lisa encouraged other models to speak out and be honest about their negative experiences.

“The light is coming through and more and more, the fandom are on our side. Speak up and speak freely. Remember this is your life to [sic]! Fight for it! Do you know who is going to stand up for you if you don’t? Do you know who is going to save your life if you don’t? You also have my support. That s–t was the Stanford Prison Experiment to many of us. Google that s–t,” she wrote.

2. Winnie Harlow

Winnie Harlow has found massive success after appearing on “ANTM” but she says how well she’s done in the modeling industry has nothing to do with the show. In fact, she says her reality show experience actually hindered her ability to progress in her career.

“[My success] started after the show, ’cause that really didn’t do anything for my career. Which, it doesn’t do anything for any model’s career, realistically. A photographer from London hit me up — major photographer Nick Knight — and he was like, ‘Hey, I’ve seen your photos online, and I want to do a shoot with you.’ It went viral, and I got campaigns from there, and it hasn’t stopped since,” Winnie said on “Watch What Happens Live.”

Despite getting backlash, Winnie later shared that she stands by her comments — although she was grateful for the experience and there was no “shade” towards Tyra intended.

3. Jeana Turner

Jeana Turner, who competed on cycle 24, talked about “ANTM” during an Instagram live stream where she called the show a “traumatic” experience. She said that during her time competing, she was manipulated into revealing that she posed for Playboy — and then was made to feel guilty for taking part in the provocative magazine. Behind the scenes, she claimed that she was not compensated for her time, often had to pay for her own groceries and her dietary restrictions were ignored. Jeana also said that she was lied to about what kind of makeover she was going to get and shaving her head brought up a lot of childhood trauma dealing with her alopecia.

“I wanted to block it all out just because it was so horrible and the only thing I could remember were the good things which weren’t a lot,” Jeana said during the live stream.

4. Sarah Hartshorne

When Sarah Hartshorne took part in “ANTM” as a teenager, she alleges she was only paid a  $38 daily cash stipend that was supposed to cover her food — and wasn’t even given a microwave to heat things up. She says she was also kept “in the dark” about almost all aspects of the show and the “power dynamic on set made it very difficult to speak up or leave.”

“Production kept us in the dark about almost everything because they wanted to keep us on edge. Us being confused, tired, stressed, sleep-deprived and hungry just made for better TV,” she told the NY Post. “We never knew where we were going at any given time. They would transport us from place to place in a windowless van and we’d have to face every situation totally clueless and out of sorts.”

5. Tiffany Richardson

Tiffany Richardson has become known around the internet as the model who Tyra yelled at during cycle 4. During her elimination, Tyra went on a rampage, yelling at Tiffany and telling her that “we were all rooting for you.” While the moment seemed harsh on television, Tiffany claims it was actually a lot worse. While Tiffany later told Buzzfeed News that she didn’t mind if people “go in hard on” her, she would have appreciated the criticism to be constructive.

“We’d get picked apart for like 15, 20 minutes each. If you say something back, you’re going to be up there for a minute — and sometimes they’d be going at it, like roasting the f–k out of us. Back to back to back,” Tiffany said, adding, “I don’t really care if you go in hard on me — go in on me, but help me.”

As for what didn’t make the final edit during Tyra’s viral moment, Tiffany alleges it was “1,000 times worse” than what aired. She added that one comment that stayed in the back of her mind was when Tyra told her she could go back to her “house and sleep on your mattress on the floor with your baby.”

6. Aminat Ayinde

In 2009, Aminat Ayinde was a contestant on cycle 12 of “ANTM” but she says the show ended up being like “psychological warfare.” She claims that at one point she was even forced to use a hair product that she was allergic to that left her with a bald spot. Looking back, she says she believes Tyra “doesn’t give a f–k” about contestants.

“The whole thing really left the most disgusting taste in my mouth,” Aminat told Business Insider, adding that she’s now “lost all respect” for Tyra.

7. Eugena Washington

During Eugena Washington’s time on cycle 7, she says she felt that she put her life on the line for the sake of the show. During one challenge, she had to walk on a runway made of a narrow plank of wood over a pool while wearing six-inch heels, which she says was an “impossible task.” In the end, Eugena did fall, cracking her knee and almost falling into the water.

“I felt like my life was being put on the line for ratings,” she told Business Insider. “We were all nervous, because we didn’t know what the f–k was going on. It was dangerous.”

8. Angelea Preston

Angelea Preston won cycle 17 of “ANTM” and went on to also take the top prize on the “ANTM: All Stars” in 2011. Following her win, Angelea claims she was set to sign a $100,000 contract with Covergirl — that is, until another contestant allegedly told producers she had previously worked as an escort during a very low moment in her life. According to Angelea, she was promptly stripped of her title; she later sued the show for breach of contract.

“It was already traumatic going through the sex-work stuff, and now to add insult to injury, they were punishing me for the rest of my life. I was gutted,” she told Bustle, later adding, “Back then you didn’t talk about [sex work] because it was shameful, and I felt ashamed. And [‘Top Model’] made me feel even more ashamed than I already was.”

In her lawsuit she also alleged that contestants were paid less than minimum wage and were denied rest breaks as well as food and water for hours at a time. She also alleged that while once having a panic attack on set, she was denied medical care for 10 minutes “so as to make for better television.” She later dropped the lawsuit because she “realized [she] wasn’t going to win.”

9. Adrianne Curry

Adrianne Curry may have won the first ever cycle of “ANTM” but she says she didn’t get anything she was promised from the show. While writing about her experience, Adrianne says she was supposed to get a contract with both Revlon and Wilhelmina but it didn’t pan out.

“We were promised a Revlon contract on my season and a contract with Wilhelmina. They did voice overs on the actual aired show and changed what was being said to us while filming,” she alleged. “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.”

She also alleges she was never paid and on top of that claims Wilhelmina refused to help her advance her career because they were annoyed that “ANTM” had partnered with IMG Models for cycle 2. When she tried to get the show to help her get out of her contract, she claims she never heard back.

10. AJ Stewart

AJ Stewart took part in cycle 7 of “ANTM” and she says it was the first time she experienced panic attacks. Looking back, AJ says there were no bathroom doors in the house where they stayed during filming and curtains were only installed after some contestants complained.

“I don’t want to say it caused my anxiety disorder, because I have no proof of that, but I can tell you that the show was the first time in my life…when I started having panic attacks regularly,” AJ told Business Inside. “It was not good for my mental health, and I saw it affect other girls in similar ways.”

11. Hannah Kat Jones

While reflecting on her time on “ANTM,” Hannah Kat Jones says that she and the other girls were treated “like extras.” She added that she felt that if she didn’t act appreciative enough, she was going to be sent home at any given moment.

On top of that, she says the entire group of models in her cycle were tricked on the first day of filming. The group was split in two and half were told they made the cut and the others were told they were going home. Hannah was part of the eliminated group and says she and the other girls were subjected to interviews where producers were “pushing” them “to be pretty upset.” But just moments later, they were shuffled into another room where Tyra told them they had actually been selected, sending many of the women on an emotional rollercoaster.

“The other girls who were told they were in the competition, they were sitting on a bus for hours and had no idea. And then some producers, some, like, you know, stage handler, comes into the bus and is like, ‘That was all for television. You’re not actually on the show. You’re gonna go home tomorrow,'” Hannah claimed in an interview.