America's Next Top Model promised its contestants a chance to shine, but the reality competition's reputation hit rock bottom after a pandemic-era binge-watching led to a viral dissection of how the hopefuls were treated by host Tyra Banks, her fellow judges, and sometimes each other during the show's 15-year run. Critics accused ANTM of being toxic AF while proclaiming to be all about inclusivity and expanding the modeling industry's narrow definition of commercial beauty.
It wasn't just TikTokers with 20/20 hindsight who felt that way. A number of former contestants have alleged that they were traumatized by the show, whether behind the scenes or on camera for all the world to see. "There was this level of cruelty at that time that you wouldn't be able to get away with saying in this moment," Cycle 2 winner Yoanna House said in the first of two March 11 episodes of E!'s Dirty Rotten Scandals, which delves into the show's alleged dark side. "It really kind of messed with my self-esteem."
Cycle 17 winner Lisa D'Amato echoed these sentiments in the docuseries, stating that she came back for ANTM's all-star season for "revenge" after, she alleged, "Tyra made me look absolutely crazy, on purpose," during her initial run on Cycle 5. "I went back for redemption," Lisa explained on Dirty Rotten Scandals. "I went back to change my life."
Tyra Banks, however, has struck a defiant pose when it comes to the show she created. "I have dedicated my life to expanding the definition of beauty," the 52-year-old said last March while accepting the Luminary Spotlight Award at the 2025 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood celebration. And when ANTM premiered in 2003, "you guys have no idea how hard we fought to bring the diversity to that television show at a time when it didn't exist." Over the years, "we struggled, but we made it happen," she continued. "Did we get it right? Hell, no, I said some dumb stuff. But I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the internet, when there were 24 cycles of changing the world. We all evolve. We all get better together."
Meanwhile, there are ANTM alums who would argue that no one who competed on the show really got to be on top—and that was by design. "In all honesty, the show is about Tyra Banks," Cycle 8 winner Jaslene Gonzalez said on Dirty Rotten Scandals. "And I don't think she's gonna try to make you more famous than her."
