The Blueprint

Summary

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Curse of: America’s Next Top Model

Episode: The Blueprint
Host: Bridget Armstrong
Platform: iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts
Date: September 23, 2025

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Episode Overview

In "The Blueprint," host Bridget Armstrong kicks off the investigative series by exploring the very first season—Cycle One—of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM). The episode sets out to uncover how a seemingly glamorous TV show that promised modeling superstardom instead established the infamous “curse” now spoken of by many contestants. By tracing ANTM’s humble and chaotic origins, Armstrong demonstrates how the show's foundational practices—body shaming, manufactured drama, under-delivery on career promises—became a blueprint for both its success and controversy, establishing a legacy that impacts reality TV and participants to this day.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Spark: ANTM’s First Winner and Broken Promises

• Adrienne Curry’s Experience:

  • Armstrong recounts the finale of Cycle One, where Adrienne Curry was declared the first ANTM winner (02:09). Instead of receiving a true modeling career, Adrienne faced empty promises:

    “Those prizes never materialized, and neither did her modeling career.” (03:49–04:10, Armstrong)

  • Quote:

    “Adrienne's an Avon lady living in rural Montana. And according to her, she never got that Revlon deal. And the Wilhelmina contract was an empty promise. She says the agents completely ignored her.” (05:35, Armstrong)

• Industry Perception:

  • The show didn’t serve as a leg up in fashion, but a “black mark.” (05:55)
  • Armstrong references Curry’s own words:

    "It's certainly not a show that anyone in the fashion industry wants to touch you if you've been on it." (05:22, Armstrong quoting Curry, 2022 interview)

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2. Building the Blueprint: Casting, Budget, & Early Production

• Humble Beginnings:

  • ANTM had a $500,000 per episode budget for the first season—a shoestring for a reality series (06:07).
  • Tyra Banks called in favors from industry friends (Kahmora Lee Simmons, Janice Dickinson, Jay Alexander, Jay Manuel) to staff the show (06:54–09:57).
  • Iconic low-budget decisions, like Tyra buying bed linens on her own card and models wearing her own clothes for the poster shoot (21:21).

    “The girls on the first poster have my clothes on... Those are my clothes that I put in a trash bag for the airplane... I was scared that it would get lost and then we'd have no clothes for the poster child.” (21:21, Tyra Banks, 2018)

• Casting Tales:

  • The show originally operated under the alias “Supermodels.” Giselle Sampson recounts being discovered at Disneyland, auditioning before Tyra herself, and being cast only after a tearful, nerve-wracked audition (10:23 – 14:54).
  • Contracts were aggressively pushed on hopeful, often underage contestants without legal review:

    "I was 17 years old... they threw legalities at me... I didn't know what I was signing... being a star right in front of my face. I'm gonna sign anything, you know?" (14:26, Giselle)

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3. Cultural Climate & Media Analysis

• Perez Hilton on Early 2000s Reality TV:
  • Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton discusses the era’s hunger for escapist, humiliation-based reality (17:43–20:51).

    "Viewers enjoy watching others be humiliated and tortured and going through difficult things. That's why shows like Survivor and the Amazing Race and America's Next Top Model were popular." (19:47, Perez Hilton)

  • ANTM stood out despite its budget because it offered voyeurism and transformation when audiences craved "easily digestible escapism" amid world crises (20:24, Perez Hilton).

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4. Behind the Scenes: Manufactured Drama & “Dramality”

• Conflict as Content:

  • Giselle describes how interview approaches shifted from professional reflections to stirring interpersonal conflicts—producers prompting contestants to comment about each other for a “dramality” effect (33:18):

    "...they would sit down and do our one on ones... later it started becoming more like, 'Well, how do you feel about that girl?'... That's kind of like where the shift happens." (33:18, Giselle)

• Early Reality TV Tricks:

  • Introducing last-minute contestants to stoke tension became an industry standard, pioneered in Cycle One (24:12).
  • Even mundane drama (like bikini waxing) became “never before seen” TV moments (25:45–26:49).

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5. Body Shaming and Harmful Standards

• Deep Dive: ANTM’s Damaging Legacy

  • Warning: Section covers eating disorders and body dysmorphia (36:12)

  • Early inclusion of plus-sized models appeared progressive, but the show and judges routinely undermined this by shaming contestants for body size.

    “...I saw it on the show, which is like a shock to me, which means now you're putting it into everybody's head all across America that I have a wide ass. So clearly, I'm not good enough. Clearly, I can't be a model. So how do I get rid of this wide ass? Oh, maybe I should stop eating..." (39:56, Giselle)

  • Robin, the "curvy" model, was repeatedly humiliated by judges:

    “Robin's out as far as I'm concerned.” (41:12, Janice Dickinson)
    “I think next, America's Top model is not a plus size model. I'm sorry, that's my opinion.” (41:20, Janice Dickinson) “She's huge. She's not going to be a top model.” (41:47, Janice Dickinson)

  • Contestants’ eating habits were policed and speculated on in front of camera for supposed authenticity, but there was a lack of real support:

    “While Elise denied having an eating disorder on the show, other contestants from cycle one say their eating disorder started after the competition ended.” (39:44, Armstrong)

  • Tyra’s stated goal was to challenge standards, but the show perpetuated industry harm:

    "...while there may have been questions about Elise's size, she was rarely talked about as negatively as Robin... What message does it send that the girl we've been led to believe has an eating disorder is also the girl who's most ready for high fashion, the girl with the best body?" (41:51–42:38, Armstrong) "...if Tyra really wanted to make this a learning experience, why didn't she bring in an expert to talk about healthy eating and body image?" (43:49, Armstrong)

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6. The Cinderella Story – and Its Ugly Aftermath

• Transformation & Exploitation:

  • Adrienne Curry’s working class background, relatable struggles, and apparent transformation made her an ideal "Cinderella" for reality TV (45:32–48:39).

    “She may not have been as refined as some of the other girls or as Runway ready as Elise, but she did want it bad. And she had the best story.” (48:39, Armstrong)

  • The reality: Promised modeling contracts and industry support never materialized (49:36).

    "She never got the prize... the Revlon contract turned out to be a $15,000 job to model makeup in a room... she never even got the $15,000 and the Wilhelmina contract..." (49:36, Armstrong)

  • When Curry reached out for help, the production was silent—except to discourage her from joining another reality show, The Surreal Life.

• Contestants After ANTM:

  • Many ended up in debt, couch-surfing, and struggling to capitalize on their brief fame:

    “I was in debt after the show. I was getting billed for the testing, I was getting billed for the dresses. So now I'm having to pay and I'm in debt and I don't have a place to stay.” (52:48, anonymous contestant) “It was a very stressful time because Tyra owned me for that year.” (53:04, anonymous contestant)

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Janice Dickinson’s Bluntness:

  "Tyra hired me to be like a female Simon Cowell, to be feeding in a negative fashion things about the girls." (08:10, Janice Dickinson)

• Ms. J’s Motto:

  "My motto is walk like it's for sale. And the rent is due tonight." (09:28, Ms. J / Jay Alexander)

• Giselle’s Audition Breakdown:

  "I freaked out... I started crying because I was so self conscious because I have S curve scoliosis. And so I had a total breakdown." (11:40, Giselle)

• On Religious Tension:

  “Do you believe in anything, Elise? — Like, I’m an atheist.” (29:46, Robin and Elise)
  “Robin actually showed me this Bible verse... when I read that, that made me think of you.” (30:10, Robin)

• Body Image Harm:

  “I walked into that show with a lot of confidence, and then I ended up having anorexia issues after that. Bulimia issues after that. Have never overcome my own body shame that I have.” (39:56, Giselle) “I think next, America's Top model is not a plus size model. I'm sorry, that's my opinion.” (41:20, Janice Dickinson)

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• 00:02: Cycle One’s Finale and Immediate Aftermath
• 03:49: Adrienne Curry and the “Curse” Begins
• 08:10: Janice Dickinson on Being the “Simon Cowell” of ANTM
• 10:23–14:54: Giselle Sampson’s Casting Story
• 17:43–20:24: Perez Hilton on Escapist Reality TV
• 21:21: Tyra Banks on ANTM’s Low Budget
• 24:12: “Surprise” Contestants and Reality TV Conflict
• 25:45–26:49: Bikini Waxing Scene
• 33:18: Producers Stir Interview Drama
• 36:12: Transition to Body Image and Eating Disorder Discussion
• 39:56: Giselle’s Struggles After Show
• 41:12–41:47: Judges’ Body Shaming Robin
• 43:49: Tyra’s Stated Defense of Industry “Realism”
• 45:32–48:11: Adrienne’s Cinderella Story
• 49:36: Aftermath—Broken Promises for the Winner
• 52:48: Contestant in Debt After the Show

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Conclusion

"The Blueprint" exposes how ANTM’s very first cycle set patterns of exploitation—manipulative production, humiliation, empty promises, body shaming—that not only defined the show’s legacy but echoed across reality TV for decades. Through interviews, industry context, and behind-the-scenes accounts, Armstrong reveals that the supposed fairy tale of aspiring models was, for many, a cautionary tale. In the next episode, the series promises to dive deeper into contestant contracts and ANTM’s most notorious scandals, continuing to unravel the cost of reality TV’s dreams.

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Transcript

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[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Would Adrienne and Shannon come in please?

It's July 8, 2003 and America's Next Top Model is about to crown its first ever winner.

The judges have reached a decision. One of you is about to be a star.

After weeks of watching 10, then nine, then eight, and finally the last two women be transformed into poi supermodels, the most deserving young woman was about to have all her dreams come true.

Let me remind you what's at stake. A contract with Revlon, a fashion spread, Marie Claire magazine And representation by top modeling agency Wilhelmina.

The two finalists, Adrienne Curry and Shannon Stewart, were standing there because they desperately wanted to become top models. They were, of course, both tall, thin, and pretty. But Shannon, with her blue eyes, blonde hair and tan skin, had a more obvious beauty that gave all American supermodel. Adrienne, with her pale skin and dark hair, had a more gothic look, a bit like her early 2000s Angelina Jolie minus the. Shannon and Adrienne were Both so young, 18 and 20. Shannon had never traveled without her family before. And for Adrienne, this opportunity was her ticket out of a small dead end town.

The winner's picture is hanging behind me. And when the cloth is dropped, it will reveal who will be America's Next Top Model.

They had no idea the show they had just spent nine weeks filming would launch a global phenomenon.

The decision is made. And America's Next Top Model is. Adrienne. Yes. Congratulations.

But after the cameras went down, Adrienne would become the first contestant to fall victim to the curse of America's Next Top Model. She thought when she stepped off that set, she was stepping into a career as a top model with a beauty contract and agency representation to give her a head start. But those prizes never materialized, and neither did her modeling career. Welcome to the curse of America's Next Top Model. I'm Bridget Armstrong. For a lot of ANTM fans, cycle one was just a dress rehearsal. They say the show didn't really get good until season two. But cycle one was the blueprint for what ANTM eventually became. So on this episode, we're going back to the origins to explore how this low budget Tyra Banks passion project became a cultural phenomenon. We'll talk about how the season came together and explore how from the very beginning, the show's popularity overshadowed the body shaming, manipulation, and false promise ANTM was built on. Adrienne's win in cycle one helped launch the top Model machine that grew into a global franchise. The problem is it didn't produce a top model. And these days, Adrienne has been very candid about the show failing to live up to its promises. Here she is talking from an interview with intouch weekly in 2022.

It's certainly not a show that anyone.

[Sephora Advertiser]

In the fashion industry wants to touch.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

You if you've been on it and.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

Season one, you don't know that.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

We knew as much as Kelly Clarkson.

[Sephora Advertiser]

Knew going into American Idol.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

But unlike Kelly Clarkson, Adrienne didn't become a superstar. She didn't sell 87 million records. Or win three Grammys. She certainly doesn't have a talk show. Adrienne's an Avon lady living in rural Montana. And according to her, she never got that Revlon deal. And the Wilhelmina contract was an empty promise. She says the agents completely ignored her. In fact, once she left the show, she discovered that no one in the modeling world took her seriously. When it came to fashion, America's Next Top Model wasn't a leg up. It was a black mark. From the beginning, the show seemed to prioritize making great tv, not great models. But that may not have been Tyra's goal at first. So let's pick back up where we left Tyra before she even had a team or models to disappoint. Once America's Next Top Model was greenlit, UPN wanted to start production almost immediately. And for the first season, they gave them a tight budget of $500,000 per episode. Now, that might sound like a lot of money, but Top Model is an expensive show to make. There are at least 10 models who have to be housed. An international trip, 10 on location photo shoots, and 10 challenges that all have to be paid for, as well as a full production crew, makeup artists and stylists, a panel of judges and experts, and Tyra Banks herself, who all have to be paid. To put it into Context, by cycle 10, the episode budget was well over $1 million. To make cycle one work, they had to find a cast and crew quickly. So Tyra called in some favors, People who would do the show not for a big paycheck, but for tyranny. She was friends with former model and baby fat director Kahmora Lee Simmons. So she got her to be a judge on Cycle one. Also joining the panel of judges was Beau Quillian, who at the time was the fashion editor at Marie Claire, the magazine that would give the winner a spread. And of course, rounding out the panel was supermodel. Excuse me, the first supermodel, Janice Dickinson. And that's literally how they introduced her on the first episode.

Listen, Janice became one of the world's first supermodels in the 1970s, and her face was. Was featured everywhere. I've been in this industry for quite a long time, making me probably the most opinionated person on the panel. All right, next we have Bo Janis.

Became known for her less than gracious opinions, but according to her, she was just doing her job. Here she is in 2022 talking about her role on the show.

When I was hired to do America's Next Top Model, Tyra Hired me to be like a female Simon Cowell, to be feeding in a negative fashion things about the girls.

And as we know, Janice did her job well, Maybe too well.

There's so many teeth in her mouth.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I mean, it's like maybe she should.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Have a few removed. Gotta work on the thighs. Got the booty thing. Your ass was going, you know, wiggle, woggle, wiggle, woggle.

A scathing vitriolic judge. Check. Next. They needed some fashion experts to transform these scrawny, confused teenagers into supermodels. So Tyra brought in somebody who trained her when she was a scrawny teenager.

I have the one and the only top Runway trainer. I have known him since I was 17 years old. His name is Jay Alexander. Come out here, Jay.

Jay Alexander, or Ms. J, was well known in the industry as the go to person to teach young models how to slay the Runway. In 2003, it was a big deal to feature a queer black man who went by Ms. On a mainstream show. And from the beginning, Ms. J was his authentic, fabulous self. On episode two, he taught the girls how to walk while wearing nothing but a black shirt, draws, and heels.

Jay walked out a little black, like, underwear or something, and high heels. Jay's legs look a lot better than mine do.

So, yeah, my motto is walk like it's for sale. And the rent is due tonight. Next, there was Jay Manuel, or Mr. J. He eventually became a judge and the show's creative director. But on cycle one, he first appeared as the makeup artist on the makeover episode. Here he is wiping away a lot of dramatic tears.

Don't look so sad.

[Straight Arrow News Host]

Models are canvases.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Yeah, I know.

[Straight Arrow News Host]

They're canvas, and they're also chameleons.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Wow. This was before Jay's iconic silver hair. He was still a brunette here. So they had their judges, they had their J's, and now they needed their models. They began a nationwide search, and despite not knowing what this was gonna be, young women showed up and sent in their audition tape. At least one contestant was cast the fairytale way, literally at Disneyland. Giselle Sampson was working as a dancer at Disney when her co worker approached her.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

He came up to me, he was like, what are you doing here? You should be modeling.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

And then he said something that would change Giselle's life forever.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

My ex girlfriend, she's in casting, and there's this show called Supermodels. Originally it was called Supermodels, or maybe that was the alias that they were using.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

She gave her coworker her headshot. He Passed it along to his ex, who was working in casting for A and T M. Giselle didn't hear anything for a while. Then a few months later, she got a call about that supermodel show.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I got the phone call on New Year's Eve Eve, December 30th of 2002. They were like, hey, can you come in right now and meet with our producers? I literally changed, got in my car, went to CBS studios, an office, and I walked in and I was just, you know, thinking I was just gonna meet a couple of producers. And then there was Tyra Banks sitting right there in front of my face.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

As I've heard over and over on the first seasons, Tyra was extremely involved in every aspect of production, including casting. Giselle remembers Tyra asking her to lift up her shirt to show her stomach. She wanted her to do a Runway walk right there in between the cubicles. The idea terrified her.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I freaked out. I freaked out and I was like, I'm gonna lose the opportunity. I started crying. She was like, oh, my God. That's probably what got me the damn show. I started crying because I was so self conscious because I have S curve scoliosis. And so I had a total breakdown. And she was like, oh, my gosh, girl, we all. We're tall. We all have that. Don't worry about it. And I was like, okay, cool. So she boosted my confidence at the time, and so I did my thing.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

You know what? Gisele might have a point about her breakdown getting her cast. Her entire storyline was focused on her supposed lac of confidence. In her callback, Tyra asked Gisele one more thing, how she would feel if she became famous.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I lost my shit again. And I just started crying because I could just. I got this overwhelming, like, sense of, like, this is my time. This is a sign. Like, I'm gonna be famous now. Like, this is it.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Gisele, like many women I've talked to, thought this was her big break, that she had been discovered. The next day, casting director Michelle Mock, no relation to EP Ken Mock, called Gisele. They wanted her to come back in for a meeting with the network execs.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

She was like, I'm gonna drive you. So I got in her car. I was like, oh, my gosh, Cassie director driving me in her Mercedes Benz and all this stuff.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

The meeting didn't take long, and afterwards, Michelle Mock came up to her and.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

Said, I'm so sorry, but you're gonna have to figure out how to get warm clothes because you're going to New York. And within 24 hours, I got the gig.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Just want to point out Giselle made it onto the show because she knew a guy who knew a guy. In later seasons, thousands of people would show up to casting calls and wait in lines for hours for a small possibility of just being seen. Gisele's casting happened so fast, she wasn't even prepared. She didn't have a passport, a requirement in case she stayed on the show long enough for the international trip. She and her mother had to rush to get her one. She didn't even have winter clothes. Her entire wardrobe on the show was borrowed from a friend. Getting on the plane, Giselle barely knew what the show's format was going to be. Here's what she was told.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

They said, you're going to have cameras on you 24 7. They'll go down when you guys go to bed, and they'll be up when you guys get up. But that's all I knew. And then we were going to go do some modeling things, and then we were going to be judged on that and hopefully make it to the next round. But there wasn't really much said.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Giselle quit her job and took a semester off college. But before she could officially join the cast, there was one teeny, tiny piece of business. She was handed a stack of papers and told to sign.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I was 17 years old just 5 months before I got this competition show, and they threw legalities at me. You know, you need to sign this. You know, the releases and everything. And I was so excited to be on the show. I didn't know what I was signing. And I didn't even have time to, like, have my parents look over it, have a lawyer look over it. Nothing. I just was like, oh, I'm so excited. And they're dangling fame and fortune and television and, you know, being a star right in front of my face. I'm gonna sign anything, you know?

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

So she signed those papers and was cast on the very first season of Tyra Banks new modeling show, UPN. Tomorrow, 10 women go head to head.

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For the ultimate prize.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

A modeling contract with Revlon.

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Meet Gisele.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I hate to be bothered. Seriously, when people are like, you need to do this or you need to wear this, I just. I'm like, will you leave me alone?

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Spoiler alert. Cycle one did not make Gisele a star, but it did make America's Next Top Model a hit. With a Revlon contract at stake, America's Next Top Model premieres tonight after Buffy on ups.

Get.

We'll get into that after the break.

[Straight Arrow News Host]

Straight Arrow News Find facts and context you've been craving. Quickly find trusted information you need to understand the news. Watch what you want when you want. Catch up on the news at home or on the go with your own news queue. Dive deep into the topics that matter to you and the world around you. Navigate everything you need to know about the topics shaping your world. Understand how every side of the political spectrum is reporting on a story so you get a full picture of the news. Welcome back to trustworthy journalism. San.com this episode is brought to you by Uber Eats.

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Facing a beauty emergency? Need a last minute gift?

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Well, don't panic. Sephora is now available for delivery on Uber Eats.

[Sephora Advertiser]

You can now get all your beauty essentials delivered in as little as 25 minutes for the same price as in store.

[Uber Eats Advertiser]

Plus treat yourself to $10 off when you spend $50 or more on your phone. Offer Sephora order on the Uber Eats app.

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Order Sephora on Uber Eats today.

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Offer ends October 30th. One order per customer. Additional terms apply SIAP for availability. Delivery fees may apply.

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[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Check us [e-mail] America's Next Top Model premiered on May 20, 2003 to an audience of nearly 3 million. It quickly became one of the most successful shows on upn, and there are a lot of reasons for that. I wanted to call up someone who could explain the pop culture climate back in 2003. Someone with insight on what made ANTM and shows like it such a hit.

[Perez Hilton]

I am the original influencer. In fact, that word didn't even exist when I began back in 2004.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

That's Perez Hilton. He made his name terrorizing anyone who had the misfortune of being famous in the early 2000s.

[Perez Hilton]

And back then, people weren't really talking about celebrities online. The websites for the magazines, people.com, usweekly.com, they were just placeholders. Go to our website to sign up for a subscription to the magazine. Nobody was breaking news on the Internet. And then I come along and that's all that I'm doing every day.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Back in the day, Perez was messy. Honestly, messy is an understatement. He was accused of outing Lance Bass, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jodie Foster. He constantly mocked celebrities appearances and weight by featuring unflattering paparazzi photos. In one of his posts, he linked to a possible upskirt photo of an underaged Miley Cyrus.

[Perez Hilton]

The insider did a segment on Hollywood's most hated websites and they reached out to me and said, what if we made you number one? Then for the longest time, for years after that, I called myself Perez Hilton.com.

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Hollywood's most hated website.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Besides being an expert on early 2000s culture, Perez was a guest judge on ANTM in its later seasons. So before I talk to him about the early aughts, I wanted to know what he thinks about all the contestants who've been trashing Tyra in the show.

[Perez Hilton]

I encourage everybody to speak up and share their story, and I don't have to agree with it. If you hated it that much, you could have quit. You could have stopped.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

I might not agree with Perez on this one, but I'll say this about him. As a person who made his career out of embarrassing celebrities. He knows what audiences really want, at least at our most base nature.

[Perez Hilton]

Viewers enjoy watching others be humiliated and tortured and going through difficult things. That's why shows like Survivor and the Amazing Race and America's Next Top Model were popular.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

ANTM certainly got the humiliation part right, and viewers loved it. Perez has a theory about the early 2000s being ripe for reality TV, especially the kind where people made fools of themselves like Top Model. He thinks it was a reaction to the very real and very scary things happening in the world.

[Perez Hilton]

We were coming out of 9, 11, we were coming out of American troops at war, and that's real life. So when you translate wanting to see celebrities being real, flaws and all, once again, for me, it's escapism, you know, easily digestible escapism.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

People must have really needed that escape because compared to the other big reality shows at the time, ANTM was low budget. Survivor had almost quadrupled the budget, and they flew an entire cast and crew to a remote country for weeks. The Amazing Race flew teams of people all over the world. Tyra, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how to get enough bed sheets for the models rooms. Here she is in 2018 reminiscing about cycle one.

[TiVo Advertiser]

What do you remember most from when that show just started?

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

A cheap budget, like not being happy with how the beds looked and me going to linens and things in Bed Bath and Beyond and shopping on my own credit card to fill out the rooms. The girls on the first poster have my clothes on. Yes, These Victoria's Secret little like bandeau tops and skirts. Those are my clothes that I put in a trash bag for the airplane because I didn't want to put it in a suitcase because then I'd have to check it and I was scared that it would get lost and then we'd have no clothes for the poster child.

These people were broke. And remember the iconic judging panel? Well, on Cycle one, the judging room.

Was actually blue drape all around the rooms. But that was a hotel room where we moved a bed and stuff out. That was a hotel room. The first judging room.

You know what, that makes sense because Tyra and the panel were squeezed in at that table like the models on Cycle five during that phone booth photo shoot. In fact, Giselle told me that the so called penthouse was just a bunch of regular hotel rooms.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

What they did is they took the top floor and they took all of the rooms and they like took the doors off and then they combined it. There was no penthouse or anything like that.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Ken Mock struck a deal with the hotel to house the models and crew in exchange for promotion on the show. That's why there are so many shots of the hotel signage in this season. And we're not talking about the Ritz here. It was a small, low key New York hotel that's now out of business. I'm telling you, these people were making it on a hope and a prayer.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

Using bread bag, you know, those little ties to like hold curtains together. And I guess we were, you know, the guinea pigs. So it was more of like a free for all and let's figure it out as we go sort of thing.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Cycle one didn't have the budget for the over the top photo shoots and stunts that became synonymous with ANTM in later seasons. Instead, the models did Runway walks, a bikini photo shoot on a cold rooftop. They went to casting calls, did a mock commercial, worked with PR people and did a magazine interview. The most shocking things they did were a mostly nude photo shoot where Robyn uttered these iconic words. Last week it was bra and panties. I probably would never do that. This week is two strands of ribbon and thong. What is it gonna be next week. And they did a beauty shot with a snake. From the beginning, ANTM loved an animal prop. I wonder if they had a deal with an exotic animal agency or something. But my point is, in the absence of death defying photo shoots and ridiculous challenges, they had to use what they the judges, experts, and, of course, the models. When Gisele was brought onto the show, she and another contestant named Tessa were the last to join the cast. The other girls were already in New York at the hotel, and they used Gisele and Tess's entrance to stir up some conflict on the very first episode.

You guys, you know, are eight finalists, but I like very round numbers, so what I did is I did a nationwide search for two more. Oh, my word. I was like, what? I had literally just said a minute before. Girls, I'm glad it's the eight of us. So come on in here. Tessa and Giselle. I noticed them checking me, like, from up and down.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

You know, just.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

I don't know if I like this girl.

There were already two girls in the house who kind of resembled Tessa and Giselle, which automatically put them at odds. Giselle and her doppelganger Katie, both had long, dark hair and a I can't quite place your ethnicity kind of look.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

Katie and I are very, very similar. So, I mean, if they're looking for that exotic type look, there's a major competition between us, but that's okay. I think she's beautiful. I know that she's older than me, so that's okay.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Did you catch that shade? This unexpected twist of bringing in new castmates is something we see over and over again in reality TV. The Traitors does it. RuPaul's Drag Race has done multiple seasons where there are two cast who initially know nothing about each other. America's Next Top Model didn't invent this trick, but they were one of the first to do it in this way. And while not sinister, it was clearly done to throw off the original eight and pit them against the newbies. Rewatching Cycle one made me feel older than any of the others, not just because it happened the longest ago, but because the drama feels so dated. I couldn't believe. These are the things that riveted me in 2003. There was the bikini wax. On episode one.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I felt extremely uncomfortable with the bikini wax. You know, there's only two people that's been out there, Myself and my gynecologist, and I give him crap.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

I'm scared.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I told everybody in my whole life, I said, I will never get a bikini wax.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Oh.

Oh.

I was too young for bikini wax in 2003. But this must not have been a widespread thing back then because these models freaked out. The waxing scene was. Even the clip they showed on Tyra's late night appearance with Conan o' Ryan when she was promoting the show.

[LG XBoom Advertiser]

Is that something that a model has to get?

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Well, it is. New models are always told by their agencies that they have to show up at a shoot, clean hair, clean face, and clean shaven. And a lot of models don't really understand what that is. They think, okay, clean shaven, clean shaven. And then they get to the shoot and it's like, ah, you know, they forgot a spot. So.

[LG XBoom Advertiser]

So, ha ha. But this is something that I don't.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Think has ever been seen on tv.

[LG XBoom Advertiser]

And I was looking at the clip today.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Never seen before on TV is wild. Of course, from the beginning, the makeover episodes were a built in day of drama. Although compared to later seasons, these were pretty reasonable. Most of the Girls just got 2000s highlights and elevated versions of the hair they already had. But that didn't stop the tears.

Giselle cried. Giselle whined. Gisele moaned, Giselle groaned.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I'm just used to the way I had my hair, so I'm kind of concerned about the length. Robin's been frustrated with her. I don't feel that this color is right for me, so it's kind of like just having, like, hair color from.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

He double hockey sticks. The one person they did wrong, Ebony Haith. Ebony was this gorgeous, striking black woman with very short, almost no hair, except for a bit at the top. There wasn't much to change about her look, so Tyra decided to cut that off. It was really just frustrating. The people did not have the correct clippers. Everybody basically sat and they didn't know what to do. While it may seem like a simple task, the hairstylists were these white women who were honestly looking at their head like they never touched a black woman's hair before. They had the wrong clippers. They were making jokes and shaving in the wrong direction.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

So we leave a little tough.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

I didn't even like the way the woman was cutting my hair and the way they were having conversations in front of me. Should we write her name in there? Yeah. As a woman who also has very short hair, who recently let her boyfriend cut it and ended up bald, I feel her pain. But despite being made the butt of the stylist jokes and getting a terrible haircut, she later had to fix herself. Ebony reacted to the whole thing very well, better than I would have. I don't know if it was intentional, but this botched haircut mirrors a dynamic Tyra encountered in her early career. Showing up on set and there's no one there who can style black hair.

You know, the white girls and the Asian girls and the Latina girls, they would come to set just with their little purse empty handed child. I came with a suitcase. I had to have the pressing comb and sometimes the pressing comb and the hot plate. If the pressing comb that plugged in wasn't working, I had to have my vitapoint grease. I had to have my edge toothbrush to comb down my edges.

Supermodels Ducky, Thot, Jordan Dunn, and Anakii have all talked about this. Maybe the show was trying to give Ebony a taste of what she'd experience in the real world. But giving a contestant a bad haircut in a competition that's all about looks seems unfair. Overall, though, the makeovers on this cycle were pretty tame. But the drama in the house was a little more spicy. America was a lot more religious 20 years ago, and ANTM really played into the conflict between Team I'm a Christian, I.e. robin, Shannon, and Kizzy versus Team Atheist, whose sole member was Elise.

Do you believe in anything, Elise? Like, I'm an atheist.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

An atheist. When I found out Elise was an.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Atheist, I had extreme reservations about her. I really felt sorry for her.

Robin, of course, qualifies every statement with, I'm not saying that you're going to hell, but you're going to hell. Robin actually showed me this Bible verse. Foolish. And who says there is no God?

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

Like, when I read that, that made.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Me think of you.

To Robyn, Elise might as well have been an alien. I genuinely think she'd never met an atheist before. But the Christianity conflict didn't end there. Ebony, the one who got the bad haircut, was queer and one night wanted her girlfriend to come visit the hotel. When she asked the other girls if they were cool with it, the Christians, Robin and Shannon, were not feeling it. I wanted to know if it's okay if my girlfriend come over for about an hour or two today. Ebony's a lesbian, and I find this offensive.

My beliefs on homosexuality, I think that definitely it is wrong. It says in the Bible that it's an abomination to the Lord.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I don't personally, like, agree with it.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

But instead of making this moment about these two models and their bigoted beliefs, producers pivoted and focused on Ebony's Visit with her girlfriend. They hugged and talked about Ebony's new haircut. Ebony braided her girlfriend's hair. It was sweet. I might as well take it off.

Do you see?

I am so bald. The girls were very nice, you know, they came and introduced themselves.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

Where's the introduction?

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

This is.

Introduce yourself, Harris. Everyone except Robin and Shannon, of course. You know, it really let me know that she's okay. And she's in this for the long run. For everything A and TM did wrong. This one moment on cycle one they got right. This was 2003. Same sex marriage was still illegal. And for a lot of viewers, this was probably their first time seeing a loving black queer relationship on cable. Ebony ended up getting eliminated on episode four. Justice for Ebony. Today she's a fitness instructor in Brooklyn. I found her on Instagram and it seems like she and Kai are still in each other's lives as friends. Religion and sexuality weren't this season's only source of drama. Let's go back to Elise, the self proclaimed atheist. Her whole Persona was about how smart she was. She wanted to be a doctor, and she really struggled with being on a show with people she thought were dumb. Perhaps her most memorable moment was her confessional. Crash out.

Adrienne, stop interrupting me. Stop quoting Jay and Silent Bob right next to my ear. I've had enough of you, Jay. You offended me today. I know that. Medical school is hard work. How could I possibly not be aware of that? Katie, I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth. You're the most insincere person I've ever met. Giselle, you worthless. You are so wasteful, Bitchy, stupid. You're worthless. Your parents must be ashamed of you.

Damn, that's harsh even by today's standards. Elise made it to the final three, which might have something to do with the fact that she was a source of drama. Gisele told me that around the time of Elyse's rant, the show started to feel different. It became what Tyra and Ken Mott called a dramalody.

[LG XBoom Advertiser]

This show, this is a reality show that you're doing.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Dramality.

[LG XBoom Advertiser]

What was that?

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

A dramality. My co executive producer says dramalody.

Okay.

[LG XBoom Advertiser]

It's drama.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Reality.

[LG XBoom Advertiser]

It's dramality.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Yes. Here's Giselle.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

We all got along at first. Then I started realizing that when we would sit down and do our one on ones with the producers, the interview format started to change. First it was very like, how do you think the photo shoot went, what did you learn? What's your experience like? Then later it started becoming more like, well, how do you feel about that girl? And did you know that this girl said something about that one? And did you hear that these girls are saying all of this about this one? That's kind of like where the shift happens. And then, you know, she called me a cunt and that my parents should be ashamed of me. And I was like, okay, this is a whole different ball game here.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Giselle's right. This was a whole different ball game. It certainly wasn't the modeling competition she signed up for. More after the break.

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[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Goodbye.

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[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Spend the whole episode dissecting cycle one because it's the blueprint, the bare bones image of Tyra's initial vision. And from the beginning, Tyra talked about psy's inclusivity.

All colors, all shapes and all sizes.

Before we go on, I want to flag for listeners that we're going to discuss eating disorders and body dysmorphia in the next section. Before Tyra filmed the first episode of ANTM, she was a 90s Runway model at the height of the heroin chic era. Tyra said in interviews that she was repeatedly told she was too big for Runway.

I was told that I wasn't good enough. They said your butt is getting too big.

But Kate Moss body standard simply wasn't possible for Tyra. So she made her own lane found clientele who appreciated her curves and she worked it. Tyra knew what it was like to be told you don't have the right body. So she decided to embrace different body types on America's Next Top Model. From Cycle one until the end of the show, she always included at least one and for a long time only one plus sized or curvy model. But despite featuring plus sized models, ANTM still trafficked in dangerous body standards. Contestants and fans have talked about how the body shaming they heard on the show made them feel bad about themselves and caused dysmorphia and eating disorders. And that body shaming was a part of the show from the very beginning. Elise was 5'10 and 114 pounds. We know this because in the first cycles of the show they weighed the contestants on screen and read the number out loud. We were living in some dark times, y'. All. Alyse weighed the least of all the girls. And rumors of her eating disorder started when the other girls said they noticed how little she ate and her frequent to the bathroom. Now we have to say this. Elise vehemently denied having an eating disorder on the show and after. But whether she did or didn't, it was a huge part of her storyline. Here are some of the girls speculating about her after a dinner with J. Manuel and Tyra.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

It's kind of an issue right now whether Elise has some eating disorders or not, but we're kind of confused. We don't know what's really going on with her.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

I'm really worried about Elise. She's a smart, smart girl, but she's not fooling anybody. And even Ms. Tyra sees it.

Elise ate like a whole plate of stuff. She mentioned to somebody that it was because Tyra was there. And when asked during a judging panel which of their fellow models should be eliminated more than one girl, said Elise.

I think this time she is struggling through unhealthy eating habits, and that could harm her in the future. I don't want to be the one to judge Elise because I'm very worried about her health.

And here they are speculating again at another dinner.

All of the girls are concerned about Elise. When we were eating at pizza place, she got oat milk. She doesn't really eat as much as I would care for her. To.

Keep in mind, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Yes, it's classified as an eating disorder and mental illness. But the closest the judges ever came to addressing it was this moment when they asked Elyse, are you naturally that thin, or is that something you can work towards?

No, I'm naturally this thin. I love it. I'm not so against thin if it's natural.

Well, you have no body fat on you, so there's no insulation. It's a little bit thin for me. While Elise denied having an eating disorder on the show, other contestants from cycle one say their eating disorder started after the competition ended.

I like Gisele because it just seems like she wants this, but I think.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

She needs to tighten up.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

She's got a wide ass.

It's kind of wide.

Here's Giselle, whose ass Tyra just called wide on national television.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I saw it on the show, which is like a shock to me, which means now you're putting it into everybody's head all across America that I have a wide ass. So clearly, I'm not good enough. Clearly, I can't be a model. So how do I get rid of this white ass? Oh, maybe I should stop eating. And then when I eat too much in one setting because I get so hungry. Oh, now I feel guilty. How about I go throw that up now? I walked into that show with a lot of confidence, and then I ended up having anorexia issues after that. Bulimia issues after that have never overcome my own body shame that I have.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

And it wasn't just Giselle. Robyn, the only curvy model on Cycle one, got it the worst. Now I have to pause and say this. I'm sure I thought Robin was beautiful when the show first aired, but rewatching, Oh, I was gagged. Robyn is a baddie. She has the type of body people go get a BBL to have. And this is how the judges talked about her.

Robin's out as far as I'm concerned.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

About being a supermodel.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Because I think next, America's Top model is not a plus size model. I'm sorry, that's my opinion.

That's, of course, Janice Dickinson, who was especially outspoken about Robyn's body. But she wasn't the only one.

Now, are we shooting for the large size category?

Um, yes.

Robyn would represent a plus size model. One problem that I do have with Robin, I think on the top she's not plus size, and on the bottom she is.

[LG XBoom Advertiser]

Robin, first of all, is too old to be starting model.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

She's huge. She's not going to be a top model.

[TiVo Advertiser]

She won't.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

Let's get out of here.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

She's a car toppling company.

Did she say a car toppling company? What does that even mean? Imagine being invited to a show where you've been told your body type is welcome and even celebrated as a representation of real women, and then going home and hearing the judges say this nonsense. While there may have been questions about Elise's size, she was rarely talked about as negatively as Robyn. In fact, Elise was actually praised for having the most high fashion look. When I look at Elise, I think the body's ripe for clothes. She's just real thin.

[Perez Hilton]

I love it.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Elise, I thought, had a really good look for the Runway.

Very thin and very pale. Irving Penn Avedon would love her.

We don't know if producers actually thought she had an eating disorder or if they kept the questions about her eating habits in the edit for a dramatic effect. And I don't know which one is more disturbing. What we do know is that it was such a topic of conversation, it made us believe that she was struggling with eating. Some of those clips you heard earlier are from an episode titled the Girl who Everyone Thinks Is Killing Herself. What message does it send that the girl we've been led to believe has an eating disorder is also the girl who's most ready for high fashion, the girl with the best body. A girl who made it to the top three. While we were told that there was no place in the competition or industry for plus size model Robin, I don't have a market here for Robin.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

You know, there's no market for plus sizes in France.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

I know ANTM didn't invent these standards. A lot of what we heard on the show about bodies and weight were a reflection of the actual modeling world. And that's been Tyra's defense against the criticism.

We were trying to be as realistic in the modeling industry, not trying to embarrass anybody. It's just what is done. So we're pulling back the curtain.

Tyra Said she wanted to challenge the rigid beauty standards of her industry. That's why someone like Robyn was even on the show. But it doesn't seem like much of a challenge if the judges spend the entire season calling Robin fat and then justifying it by saying they're just being realistic. And why even cast and keep a girl with an alleged eating disorder until the end if you're not going to really address it? Tyra did come to the Models Hotel to have a heart to heart about insecurities. She used that as an opportunity to talk about eating disorders. And occasionally Tyra would counter Janice's insults. But if Tyra really wanted to make this a learning experience, why didn't she bring in an expert to talk about healthy eating and body image? Remember, this is a season that brought in a guest acting coach, a guest stylist and a guest trainer to weigh the girls on camera. We could almost forgive ANTM for degrading women's bodies on national TV to an audience of young women if they would have learned the lesson and changed after the first season. But we all know the body shaming continued for a long time after that. When it was all said and done, cycle one ended with Adrienne Curry wearing the crown. After passing all the tests production threw at her, Adrienne became the show's first ever winner. The very first episode of America's Next Top Model was titled the Girl Wants it so Bad. As Tyra laid out in the first 30 seconds of the premiere, she was looking for someone who wasn't an obvious winner.

I want to make a top model in eight weeks. I want to take someone from obscurity to fame.

A person she she could transform into a top model. She wanted a diamond in the rough.

Some of these girls you would not look at twice in the street. But I'll know when I can make them into some boy. You coming to la? You're a semifinalist. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, a life changing opportunity. What I'm looking for is a star. That's all.

And that star turned out to be Adrianne Curry. She was the embodiment of everything Tyra was looking for. She was different and edgy. A self proclaimed tomboy with a history of teenage drug use. She had a habit of quoting the movie Jay and Silent Bob. A perfect candidate for Tyra to showcase her ability to find and make a star. And Adrienne took on the competition with a self assured but laid back attitude.

I'm funny, I'm pretty, I got perfect teeth. What do you think makes you special? I'm like a really big tomb.

I mean, she genuinely bought into the dream the show was selling. She took the competition seriously. There was a time she got food poisoning and was threatened with elimination if she didn't leave the hospital to make it to the judging panel.

I would never cut Adrienne for being sick. But unfortunately, the judges came to the decision that if she was not present during the judging, she would be eliminated because it wouldn't be fair to the other girls that would be present. The doctor told me it was a severe case of food poisoning. I faked being better to get out of the hospital. I'm not gonna miss elimination. There's no way.

The one time I had food poisoning, I could barely lift my head, let alone put on a bunch of makeup and get judged in front of a panel for hours. But Adrienne left the ER and showed up at the judging panel, which again was a curtain drape hotel room with bread ties holding back the fabric. Here's what Janice said to Adrienne that night.

The fact of the matter is that you showed up is what it takes to be a model and a supermodel. Well done. I applaud that.

The fact that they encouraged her to leave the hospital and celebrated it was, at the very least, irresponsible. But this was just a small part of Adrienne's storyline. By far, Adrienne was the girl who tried the hardest, seemed the happiest to be there, was the most cooperative, complained the least, and had the biggest transformation. Tyra said as much when she crowned her the winner.

Adrienne, you have transformed like Cinderella. When I looked at you in la, in our semifinals, I was like, I don't even think she'll make it to the finals. Then you got here first week. I was like, I don't think she'll make it to the second week. And you're standing here.

Adrienne came from a working class background, and her mother had gotten scammed out of a bunch of money by Pay for Play modeling agents. She'd been trying to make her daughter's dreams come true. But it was money the family couldn't afford to lose. Adrienne didn't just want to win. She needed to win. And you could tell, I don't want to leave neither.

I win and my life drastically changes and for the better. Or I lose and I fall more and more into the hole.

She may not have been as refined as some of the other girls or as Runway ready as Elise, but she did want it bad. And she had the best story. And this isn't an insult. She isn't in denial about why she won. A few years ago, in an interview, she said, quote, did I deserve to win? No. I just gave the producers what they wanted to make a dime and get a show going. I say that to point out that from the very beginning, ANTM was about selling a Cinderella story, making a nameless but seemingly deserving young woman's dreams come true by propelling her into supermodel stardom. Cinderella is a happily ever after kind of story. She got her prince and her castle, and we heard all season what ANTM's winner would get.

A contract with Revlon, a fashion spread in Marie Claire magazine, and representation by top modeling agency Wilhelmina.

But here's the thing. After we closed the storybook and went to to sleep, we never came back to make sure Cinderella really got that happily ever after. Because if we found out the prince was a jerk and the castle was a rental, the story wouldn't be a fairy tale. That's true about all Cinderella stories. We never get to see what happens next. And for Adrienne, ANTM's first winner, her fairytale story ended abruptly as soon as the cameras stop rolling. According to her, she never got the prize. She's stated publicly in multiple places going back to 2007 that the Revlon contract turned out to be a $15,000 job to model makeup in a room for some execs. And according to her, she never even got the $15,000 and the Wilhelmina contract. Well, Adrienne said when ANTM replaced them with another agency, IMG Models, on the next season, they sidelined her as a retaliation. According to Adrienne, when she reached out to Tyra and the producers to get advice about navigating her contract and getting paid by Revlon, she was met with crickets. In fact, she said the only time she ever heard anything from Top Model after her win was when she decided to do the reality show the Surreal Life. Then the agency reached out to let her know Tyra and Top Model execs didn't want her to do the reality show. She ignored them. But by the time she spoke out to tell her truth about her ANTM experience, we had already moved on to new models and new drama. ANTM became bigger than Tyra's original vision. As the challenges got wilder and Tyra got more eccentric. It stopped being a modeling competition designed to give contestants authentic modeling experience and became a Tyra Banks circus, complete with acrobatic photo shoots and clownish makeovers. We weren't paying attention to what happened to last season's winner. Cycle one was the blueprint for everything we love and hate about antm. Cycle one walked so moments like we were rooting for you in terms like smize could run. But it's also the cycle that laid the blueprint for body shaming. Exploiting people's pain for a storyline and selling a lie to to a bunch of people with a dream while getting us, the viewers, to look the other way. After Cycle one, the show took off and the America's Next Top Model machine was up and running. There was a growing supply of new models who happily signed up to reveal their secrets and trauma and go through grueling 20 hour long production days for little to no money. They signed up to temporarily give up their autonomy and have their most embarrassing and difficult moments witnessed by us all for the chance to be America's Next Top Model, thinking they would be the one who would actually make it. On the next episode, you'll hear more from the models. They'll tell you what they thought they were getting when they signed on the dotted line and what it turned out to be. We'll explore the ANTM contestant contract and talk about how it enabled one of the biggest controversies in ANTM history.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I was in debt after the show. I was getting billed for the testing, I was getting billed for the dresses. So now I'm having to pay and I'm in debt and I don't have.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

A place to stay.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

I'm living on a couch and everywhere I go people are wanting my autograph.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Taking pictures with me and it was.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

A very stressful time because Tyra owned.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Me for that year.

I have got receipts, I have got names, I I've got stories. I know more about this show than I ever willingly wanted to because of my own experience and hearing other girls experiences. I was like this can't be real.

[Contestants/Interviewees (Various Models)]

A week or two later somebody from the network production called me and was like they want to have a meeting with you in New York City. And they basically told me we can't air you as the winner because you violated your contract.

[Narrator/Host (Bridget Armstrong)]

Thanks for listening to the Curse of America's Next Top Model. We really appreciate the support. We'd love for you to really show your support by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts. And don't forget to leave us a five star rating and review. If you love the show, tell your group chat, your co workers, your friends, your mama to check us out and if you don't, maybe keep that one to yourself. Thanks again to all of our listeners. The Curse of America's Next Top Model is a production of Glass Podcast, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with iHeart podcast. The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass, hosted and senior produced by me, Bridgette Armstrong. Our story editor is Monique Laborde, also produced by Ben Fetterman and Andrea Gunning. Associate producers are Alicia Key, Kristin Melcuri and Curry Richmond. Consulting producers are Oliver Twixt and Kate Taylor. Our iHeart team is Ally Perry and Jessica Kryjnczyk. Audio editing and mixing by Andrew Calloway and Matt Del Vecchio. The Curse of America's Next Top Model theme music was composed by Oliver Baines Music Library provided by My Music. Special thanks to everyone we interviewed for this podcast especially especially the models for sharing their stories and for more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Also check out the Glass Podcast Instagram lasspodcast for Curse of America's Next Top Model behind the scenes content and more.

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