14 of the most controversial and cringeworthy moments on ‘America’s Next Top Model’

On more than one occasion, the models were asked to wear makeup that was supposed to make them look like a different ethnicity.

One contestant’s skin tone looked significantly darker during the photo shoot. The CW

In Cycle 4, which aired in 2005, multiple white contestants posed as Black women while wearing makeup that was significantly darker than their own skin tones. Since then, many have said that this was an obvious example of blackface and highly offensive. 

While one of the contestants was getting her makeup done, she said she looked like “a Black woman with a nose job.” 

In Cycle 13, which premiered in 2009, the models were asked to pose in a “biracial” photo shoot in which they wore makeup and costumes that were supposed to indicate two different ethnicities. Multiple contestants wore thick makeup that darkened their skin tone.

The incidents have since come under fire for being racially insensitive. 

“how the hell did tyra banks get away with some of the s— in antm like the LITERAL ‘changing of the models race’ which just meant putting some of them in blackface,” one Twitter user wrote in May 2020. 

The photo shoot’s creative director Jay Manuel also addressed the backlash, saying it made him uncomfortable at the time.

“Many times when you’re working in an environment like that, you have to listen to your executive producers, and ultimately the two voices at the top were Ken [Mok] and Tyra [Banks],” Manuel told Variety in May 2020. “I was so, so, so uncomfortable with this. […] I was basically told that I had to execute the creative, and it made me very uncomfortable.”

In a now-deleted tweet addressing the controversy in May 2020, Banks said, “Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you. Looking back, those were some really off choices. Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending so much love and virtual hugs.”

The show’s co-creator, Ken Mok, also apologized to viewers in May 2020, tweeting, “I look at some of those moments and cringe. Just a FYI – the entire creative team made the choices on those shows – not just Tyra.”

Manuel disputed this in his interview with Variety, saying Mok and Banks made the final decisions.

Insider reached out to CBS, the studio that produced “ANTM,” for comment, but didn’t receive a response.

In another photo shoot, the models were dressed up like “homeless women” while actual homeless women posed in the background wearing high-end clothing.

Models posing in one of the photo shoots on “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

The Cycle 10 photo shoot, which aired in 2008, tasked the contestants with posing in clothes that were supposed to make them “look homeless.” One of the actual homeless women in the shoot, Isis King, was scouted to apply for the following season, after which she became one of the franchise’s most famous contestants. 

In one scene at the photo shoot, contestant Fatima spoke about living in a shelter when she was younger.

When asked what she was thinking about during the shoot, she said, “She’s wearing beautiful clothes,” pointing to one of the background models. “I’m homeless, wishing I was in her shoes.”

Viewers have since described the photo shoot as “out of touch” and disrespectful.

Contestant Jael Strauss suffered through one of the worst makeover mishaps in “Top Model” history when she was given a weave over eight hours and then had it removed.

Jael cries during her makeover on Cycle 8 of “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

It’s no secret that many of the “America’s Next Top Model” contestants had to undergo extensive, and sometimes painful, makeovers at the start of their seasons.

Jael, a contestant on Cycle 8 of the show in 2007, was given a brown weave. However, after having the weave installed in a process that took eight hours and was extremely painful, she was told they would be taking it all out and cutting her hair short.

“As my hair is being cut off, I just feel kind of traumatized,” she said in a scene from the show. 

“I have never had to go through that ordeal of getting my hair done,” Whitney, a Black contestant, said of the makeover. “Having to get it taken out the same day you get it put in — that’s absolute hell.”

In one made-for-TV moment, rapper 50 Cent pushed Jael into a pool because she was annoying him at an event.

Jael gets pushed into the pool. The CW/Hulu

While at a star-studded event challenge, Jael appeared to be pestering the rapper. He then pushed her into a swimming pool, while other contestants criticized her for being unprofessional.

While the interaction was no doubt cringe-inducing, it was also a lighter-hearted moment as she could be seen laughing it off afterward. 

Jael was also told she would be modeling in a death-themed photo shoot a week after learning her close friend had died of an overdose.

Jael during a photo shoot. The CW/Hulu

After learning that her friend had passed away from an overdose, Jael took part in a photo shoot where the models had to depict different ways of being murdered, from strangulation to having their organs forcibly removed. 

Jael struggled to get through the photo shoot and was even criticized for allowing her emotions to “overwhelm” her to the point where she couldn’t get a good shot. 

Some viewers have since called the photo shoot offensive and have said it glamorizes violence against women.

Tragically, Jael passed away in 2018 following a battle with stage 4 breast cancer.

Another contestant in Cycle 4, Kahlen, also had to pose in a grave shortly after learning a friend had died.

Kahlen posing in a grave during the “deadly sins” photoshoot. The CW/Hulu

The same week that Kahlen learned a close friend had passed away, the models were asked to do a photo shoot in which they portrayed the seven deadly sins. They were lowered into graves in coffins, which was unsurprisingly difficult for Kahlen to process after receiving such heartbreaking news. 

Before the photo shoot, Kahlen was seen breaking down and struggling with the idea of the photo shoot.

“Don’t act it, be it,” Manuel told her as she was posing, screaming, and looking visibly distressed while portraying the sin of wrath. 

“It was really hard, but I’m glad I stuck through it and didn’t just give up on myself,” Kahlen said after the shoot. 

In one infamous moment from Cycle 4, Tyra Banks yelled at a contestant during the judging panel.

Tyra Banks infamously yelled at one contestant on “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

In one of the most talked-about scenes from “America’s Next Top Model,” Tyra Banks raised her voice at an eliminated contestant, Tiffany, whom she accused of being too flippant and seeing the competition as a joke.

“I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you! How dare you?” Tyra yelled at Tiffany, who had previously spoken about how much her family had sacrificed for her to make it to the competition. “Learn something from this! When you go to bed at night, you lay there and you take responsibility for yourself. Because nobody’s going to take responsibility for you. You rolling your eyes … It’s because you’ve heard it all before.”

“You don’t know where the hell I come from,” she added. “You have no idea what I’ve been through, but I’m not a victim. I grow from it and I learn. Take responsibility for yourself!”

The incident has since become a pop-culture meme, although the scene was likely uncomfortable for the other contestants and viewers alike when it aired.

In Cycle 5, Tyra Banks implied that gay contestant Kim should tone down her sexuality.

Kim in a scene from “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

“I’m gay, and I’m really proud of it,” Kim Stolz, who is a lesbian, told Banks and the other judges during her audition.

Banks replied, “I think there’s a certain thing of being proud. Like, I’m Black and proud, you know what I mean? But I’m not walking down the red carpet: ‘I’m Black. I’m Black.'”

“No, I certainly won’t walk down the red carpet and try to kiss girls on the way. That’s not what I’m going to do,” Stolz responded.

Jay Manuel later criticized the incident, saying he felt uncomfortable about Banks’ remarks.

“I was in the room, and I was sitting right next to her. I remember feeling a little uncomfortable with the statement,” he told Variety in May 2020.

“I could see Tyra trying to draw the parallel and what she was trying to illustrate, and I was confused by it. Because we ask these girls to come in the room and the producers remind the girls before they come in, ‘Tell them who you are. You’re not just a pretty face. You have to have a discussion about who you are.'”

Cycle-6 winner Danielle Evans was encouraged to close the gap in her front teeth.

Danielle in a scene from “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

However, when Evans was sent to the dentist, she refused to close the gap in her teeth. Banks later asked why she chose not to, telling her that a gap tooth wasn’t “marketable.” In the end, Evans did end up partially closing her gap.

Banks has since received backlash for the incident, with social-media users criticizing how she and runway coach Miss J. Alexander handled the situation.

Evans also spoke about the incident in an Instagram video in May 2020, saying, “I want to address all of those young girls. I’m gonna take this time to build up and to speak to all of my young queens who saw that episode and were truly affected by Tyra’s words … It doesn’t matter if you have a gap, stacked teeth, straight teeth, it matters not. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black, brown, white, indifferent, other. What makes you beautiful is in here.”

Jay Manuel applauded Evans in the comments, saying, “Yes … speak your #truth!” 

On an Instagram Live, Miss J. Alexander also called Evans’ statement “brilliant”.

Eight cycles later, a white contestant named Chelsey was asked to widen her gap tooth.

Chelsey on “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

Some viewers said encouraging Chelsey to widen her tooth gap was hypocritical and had racist undertones considering their past conversations with Danielle about her teeth.

“It’s definitely not coincidental that the fashion industry seems to love gap teeth on a white girl and find them ‘ratchet’ on a black girl,” one Reddit user commented.

Another contestant on Cycle 11 came under fire from another contestant for calling herself a “stereotypical white girl.”

Hannah on “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

Hannah White, who came from a small town in Alaska, came under fire from another contestant who took issue with her calling herself a “stereotypical white girl” and for pushing away fellow contestant Isis King in a hot tub after she felt like her personal space was being invaded.

She was then asked by another contestant if she was prejudiced, causing her to break down in tears and relating her feeling attacked to “gang violence.” She denied being racist, calling the accusations “not very nice.”

White is also now a political and community activist, with a focus on the problem of skin bleaching and other issues in the fashion industry. 

Insider reached out to White for comment but she declined.

The show received backlash after runway coach Miss J. Alexander showed how his hands could completely wrap around Cycle-15 winner Ann Ward’s narrow waist.

Miss J wraps his hands around contestant Ann Ward’s waist on “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

During her season, Ward received comments on her thin, tall frame. She was over 6 feet tall and, in one scene, runway coach Miss J. Alexander showed how his hands could completely wrap around the model’s narrow waist. Tyra Banks also commented on Ward’s body, saying, “You have the smallest waist in the world. Look at that waist,” upon first seeing Ward.

Banks later said, “There’s something about her I quite like,” which some took as the judge condoning “overly skinny models.”

“As a leader in celebrating and promoting healthy body image, I must admit that I regrettably didn’t see this clip before it was released to the public,” she said in a statement to People magazine, according to a 2010 ABC News report. “But on behalf of the Top Model team, these were not the intentions, and we truly apologize for any confusion, anger, or disappointment it may have caused.”

Some criticized the show for being ableist and insensitive after its first and only deaf winner, Nyle DiMarco, was made to do a photo shoot in pitch darkness.

Nyle during a photo shoot on “America’s Next Top Model.” The CW/Hulu

DiMarco, who relied on a translator and writing on his phone to communicate with the judges and his fellow contestants throughout the competition, had no idea when the photo was being taken because he couldn’t hear the director calling out when to pose.

Even using a flashlight to signal when to pose didn’t work, as Nyle said he didn’t always know the order and the flash of the camera left him blinded. In the end, the director had to bang on the elevated platform DiMarco was standing on in order to alert him when to pose. 

Nyle ended up in the bottom two in the episode, with some calling the episode exploitative of his disability. 

“This shoot only existed so they could create drama around Nyle’s disability and then put him in the bottom two for suspense,” one Reddit user commented. “Nyle was competent and deserved to be there, and they tried to always give him more obstacles to ‘overcome’ instead of just treating him like a human and giving him reasonable (actually useful) accommodations. Everyone did badly, and the ableist gimmicks this season are so upsetting.”

DiMarco admitted that not being able to use American Sign Language with the other contestants and those around him was difficult throughout the season.

“The competition, and especially living with the models in the house, was undoubtedly a lot of fun, but it was also pretty tough. The inability to use my language, American Sign Language and the lack of communication, information access, and the general connection to the world was difficult,” he told People in 2015. “It truly did take a toll on me mentally … I even cringe now when I watch myself on ‘ANTM’ being all alone.”