Curse of: America’s Next Top Model – "Psych Up" (October 7, 2025)

Podcast by iHeartPodcasts & Glass Podcasts • Host: Bridget Armstrong

EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode, "Psych Up," dives into the little-known world of psychological evaluations (psych evals) that every America's Next Top Model (ANTM) hopeful underwent as part of the casting process. Through revealing interviews and first-person accounts, host Bridget Armstrong unpacks how these tests were meant to ensure contestant safety, but often functioned as both a tool for risk management and a mechanism to mine personal trauma for reality TV drama. The episode grapples with questions of bias, fairness, and the lasting legacy of these evaluations on contestants’ lives, setting the stage for darker revelations to come.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. The Dream and the Gatekeeper: Jaslene Gonzalez’s Story

• Jaslene’s Journey (06:12-12:20):
  • Jaslene Gonzalez auditioned for ANTM with high hopes, only to be cut at the final hurdle. She later learned it wasn’t her talent, but what she disclosed during her psych eval—her experience in an abusive relationship—that got her eliminated.
  • "[ANTM's therapist] had overruled Tyra Banks decision to put me into the house because I was in an abusive relationship." – Jaslene Gonzalez (13:02)
  • Producers promised her a spot if she left her abuser and got therapy; after six months of work, Jaslene returned, won Cycle 8, and considers the experience life-saving.

2. What Were the Psych Evals? The MMPI and Beyond

• Purpose and Process (19:00-29:30):
  • All potential contestants underwent a battery of psychological tests, usually including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2)—a massive, often perplexing test of over 500 questions, plus scenario-based assessments and a face-to-face interview with a licensed psychologist.
  • The tests claimed to screen for issues like depression or aggression to prevent potential harms during the show’s stressful, isolating filming days.
  • "The psych evaluation...was basically to make sure we were like mentally able to go with like, extreme… mind games. Can you handle it?" – Brittany Brower, Cycle 4 (25:22)

3. Who Were They Really Protecting?

• Safety Versus Liability (33:45-35:40):
  • Armstrong raises the central question: were psych evals truly about contestants' welfare, or more about the show protecting itself from liability and scandals?
  • Dr. Steven Stein, reality TV psychologist, confirms casting also seeks “good TV” personalities, noting most successful contestants were high in narcissism:
    "If you're gonna be on a reality show, chances are about 90% you're gonna score high in a narcissism scale." – Dr. Steven Stein (38:41)
  • Some models said the evals’ repetitive, almost intrusive questions felt more about risk mitigation than genuine care.

4. The Racial and Subjective Bias in Evaluations

• Anger versus Aggression—And Who Gets Flagged (45:30-57:40):
  • Examples like Angelea Preston and Tiffany Richardson, both Black contestants, were flagged as “too angry” and told to attend anger management classes before being allowed on the show—experiences not mirrored for white contestants who had angry outbursts on-camera.
  • "When you come from a different culture...they may take how you say things as being angry or aggressive." – Angelea Preston (48:18)
  • The MMPI-2 and evaluators themselves are critiqued for implicit bias, particularly against marginalized contestants.

5. Gaming the System: Lying to Get Cast

• How Contestants Adapted (01:00:00-01:08:00):
  • Having learned what answers got them flagged, some contestants (like Gina Turner and Angelea) knowingly lied on their psych evaluations to avoid disqualification.
  • "I was lying on the psych eval like, I can't let these motherfuckers think I'm crazy." – Angelea Preston (01:06:20)
  • Both contestants and psychologists acknowledge the tests can reward “the right answer,” not truth.

6. Mining Trauma for TV

• Psych Evals and Storyline Engineering (01:09:30-01:18:20):
  • Even as trauma was framed as a disqualifier, contestants recount how what they shared privately in psych evals was later wielded to generate dramatic storylines—sometimes against their will.
  • "Like, the very first time I walked out, they were like, tell us about your abusive relationship. I just wanted to be me and not have that be a part of my story." – Courtney Davies, Cycle 13 (01:14:45)
  • Marvita Washington’s childhood abuse, disclosed in confidence, was leveraged by Tyra and producers in confrontational on-screen interviews.

7. When the System Fails: False Safety & Tragic Outcomes

• The Uneasy Legacy (01:19:00-end):
  • Multiple contestants reveal how easy it was to give the answers producers wanted, casting doubt on the evals’ effectiveness as true safeguards.
  • Armstrong sets up the next episode’s focus: disturbing cases where the psych evals missed warning signs, sometimes with devastating consequences for contestants after the show ended.

MEMORABLE QUOTES & TIMESTAMPS

• Jaslene Gonzalez, reflecting on the value of her painful journey
  "I think that shows to all young women if you have that drive, keep going... To this day, I feel like being on America's Next Top Model actually saved my life." (15:45, 16:40)

• On reality TV’s narcissism quotient
  "If you're gonna be on a reality show, chances are about 90% you're gonna score high in a narcissism scale."
  – Dr. Steven Stein (38:41)

• On bias in the system
  "When you come from a different culture and you're interacting with people who don't come from that culture, they may take how you say things as being angry or aggressive."
  – Angelea Preston (48:18)

• On realizing the psych evaluation’s intent
  "I was lying on the psych eval like, I can't let these motherfuckers think I'm crazy."
  – Angelea Preston (1:06:20)

• Exposure of trauma as a plot device
  "I just wanted to be me and not have that be a part of my story. Like, they wanted me to be the victim and like the damaged girl."
  – Courtney Davies (1:14:45)

TIMESTAMP HIGHLIGHTS

• 06:12–12:20: Jaslene Gonzalez’s audition story and impact of her psych eval.
• 19:00–29:30: Overview of MMPI and reality TV psych eval process.
• 38:41: Dr. Stein on narcissism in reality TV contestants.
• 45:30–57:40: Race, anger, and who gets flagged.
• 01:00:00–01:08:00: Contestants admit to lying on their evals.
• 01:09:30–01:18:20: How personal trauma shared in psyche evals became on-air storylines.

FINAL THOUGHTS

"Psych Up" interrogates the myth that psych evaluations are implemented purely in contestants’ best interests. Instead, Armstrong exposes the dual function of these tests: protecting the show’s reputation and liability, while also serving as a strategy for harvesting contestant backstories for emotional exploitation. The episode leaves listeners with an unease about the true cost of reality TV fame, especially for those whose vulnerabilities became fuel for entertainment.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which promises to delve even deeper into the unintended—and sometimes tragic—consequences of ANTM’s psychological screening.