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Watch Reality Check Inside America's Next Top Model Season 1 Episode 1 online in HD on Dailymotion (2026).
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00:00:07Tiffani I'm extremely disappointed in you this is a joke to you do you know that all of America
00:00:14is rooting for you do you know that you come in here with a defeatist attitude I don't have a
00:00:19bad
00:00:19attitude I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this when my mother yells at this is
00:00:29because she loves me I was rooting for you we were all rooting for you how dare you I have
00:00:34never in my life yelled at a girl like this I was rooting for you we were all rooting for
00:00:38you how dare you you have no idea what I had to do to get from where I was to
00:00:45where I am now
00:00:52I'm a cover girl mommy I'm a cover girl Tyra Banks set out to create a space for people that
00:01:01were not the ideal weight not the ideal height to show beauty in a different light to be on America's
00:01:08Next Top Model it felt like my dreams were coming true my life was forever changed I felt like I
00:01:15was part of something so big
00:01:16the only reason the door was open to me was because of Tyra hello my fears Mr. J I revered
00:01:24her
00:01:24it was just so cool to me to watch queer people on a show like that
00:01:29gay darling yes
00:01:31it was so huge 10,000 girls turned out for America's Next Top Model
00:01:37that time in television was just crazy
00:01:39it can make you or break you
00:01:43real thin teenage girls being told you're too fat
00:01:46it was a reflection of the time
00:01:47she looks pudgy
00:01:49that's exactly how it was
00:01:51girl you've walked like you were on crack
00:01:53baby girl baby girl
00:01:55when we look at how these people were treated
00:01:57it raises a lot of concerns
00:01:59around exploitation
00:02:01they dress like homeless people for a shoot
00:02:03we are actually going to switch your ethnicities
00:02:06what is happening right now
00:02:07it's not about empowering women
00:02:09no this is not America's Next Top Best Friend
00:02:12look at my teeth
00:02:13I'm not prepared
00:02:14I'm not mentally prepared
00:02:16we were crushed
00:02:17one girl almost got hypothermia
00:02:19but I guess it made for good TV
00:02:21you'll be able to survive this
00:02:23no one on the show knew what we were signing up for
00:02:27why are we filming this
00:02:29this show wasn't meant to help us
00:02:31it was meant to break us down
00:02:32how many people were scared
00:02:34I always believed that she would have my back
00:02:37I was ultimately proven wrong
00:02:39Tyra Banks I need an explanation
00:02:41it's time to talk about it
00:02:43all of it
00:02:45the good and the bad the ugly
00:02:47Tyra Banks is once again trending for her crimes against humanity
00:02:50Tyra Banks you're a joke
00:02:52I don't hate Tyra Banks
00:02:53I do think that she was a sellout
00:02:55I feel like I haven't heard from her in a while
00:02:56I wonder what she's up to
00:03:02Tyra take one
00:03:06I haven't really said much
00:03:09but now it's time
00:03:17I was rooting for you
00:03:30I'm gonna take you to 2020
00:03:35COVID hit
00:03:36and the world was binging TV
00:03:40an Oklahoma man who goes by the name Joe Exotic
00:03:46and started to binge Top Model
00:03:50it got so big
00:03:53my OG
00:03:54my favorite things ever
00:03:56love love love that show
00:03:57and it brought so much joy to so many people
00:04:00these are my favorite America's Next Top Models
00:04:02and where they are now
00:04:03and so much anger
00:04:05Tyra Banks should have been called out years ago
00:04:08a lot of people were part of the next generation
00:04:16they didn't watch it back then
00:04:20and it went from this thing that everybody loves
00:04:22to like overnight
00:04:23like just a whole different lens
00:04:26look how wrong this is
00:04:28what I think is important
00:04:29is to understand where that came from
00:04:35early 2000s
00:04:36very white very thin very blonde
00:04:40heroine chic was still ideal
00:04:44models looked a certain way
00:04:46Heidi Klum
00:04:47Giselle Bundchen
00:04:47the Victoria's Secret Angels
00:04:49thin, tall, white women
00:04:51and then there's Tyra
00:04:55I remember my very first season in Paris as a model
00:04:59living in like a dorm
00:05:01it gets kind of hard you know being new
00:05:03and all these supermodels there
00:05:05and you don't really feel accepted
00:05:06just pounding that pavement
00:05:07trying to get to a place
00:05:10where you can pay your bills
00:05:11you can be chosen
00:05:14six ACTs and the first five said no
00:05:17and I heard you know
00:05:18they were like oh we don't want any black girls
00:05:20oh your nose is too big
00:05:21oh your lips are too full
00:05:23you start looking in the mirror like
00:05:24oh my god am I ugly or what
00:05:27that hurts deep
00:05:28I would go home and just feel defeated
00:05:30and just feel like
00:05:31ugh
00:05:32I was constantly being told
00:05:34no you can't do this because you're black
00:05:36there were not a lot of black models back then
00:05:38we were being paid so much less
00:05:42just because of the color of our skin
00:05:44even if it was proven
00:05:46that we would sell more
00:05:47did you know there's actually an interview
00:05:50accompanying this striking Fabrizio Ferry photograph
00:05:53yes Tyra Banks speaks
00:05:56I saw Tyra Banks in person yesterday
00:05:59she was having lunch in the Four Seasons
00:06:01nobody in the Four Seasons recognized Tyra Banks
00:06:04she had her clothes on
00:06:05oh
00:06:06but I'm not scared of risk at all
00:06:09I'm not scared to fail
00:06:10it's about getting knocked down and getting back up
00:06:12I just said let me just give it my all
00:06:14at 21 Tyra's already launched an acting career
00:06:18oh no you're not
00:06:20signed a lucrative cover girl contract
00:06:22it was amazing to see the black woman dominating the modeling industry
00:06:25supermodel Tyra Banks is the first black woman to appear in the coveted cover picture
00:06:30when we saw Tyra that was our open door to say that
00:06:34yes for you too this is possible
00:06:36I started thinking a little differently
00:06:38maybe this modeling might be something for me
00:06:41people said oh black girls aren't gonna be successful
00:06:43you won't get any covers
00:06:45no this no that
00:06:45and I'll prove them all wrong
00:06:48I wanted to show that beauty is not one thing
00:06:51and I wanted to fight against the fashion industry
00:06:54and one day this idea just hit me
00:07:02what if I created a show
00:07:05where you saw what it took to become a model
00:07:10and for this show to represent not all white
00:07:15not all skinny
00:07:17but just showing all the differences
00:07:19and all the different types of beauties
00:07:21I had a feeling that I was gonna change the beauty world
00:07:25this was my way to get back
00:07:30and so a couple of weeks later
00:07:32I was at drinks at the Standard Hotel with Ken Mock
00:07:41I remember getting the call from my agent saying
00:07:43hey listen Tyra Banks wants to meet you
00:07:45I was like really?
00:07:48I remember that meeting to this day
00:07:50I walked up there
00:07:51and I thought it's gonna be basically a vanity project for her
00:07:55she's not gonna do any of the work
00:07:56I mean she's just a model
00:07:58she's probably not very bright
00:08:00I said look what Tyra what is it that you want to do
00:08:04and she said she wants to do the show about modeling
00:08:06the making of a model
00:08:08there was a show called American Idol
00:08:10Kelly Clarkson had won that first season
00:08:12but I was always curious of like
00:08:14what is Kelly doing when she goes home
00:08:17I want to marry American Idol and the real world
00:08:20and set it in the modeling industry
00:08:22and I pitched him the idea and he said
00:08:25oh I can make this work
00:08:27Ken is like one of the godfathers of reality television
00:08:31I had created a show called Making the Band
00:08:33that followed the journey of people auditioning
00:08:36and then creating this boy band
00:08:38and seeing if this boy band could succeed
00:08:40so he explained to me
00:08:42you can't just be following people
00:08:43you have to have a format
00:08:45we had 10 girls living in an apartment
00:08:47each week they would be taught a modeling skill
00:08:49then one model would be sent home
00:08:52the last model standing would then be named
00:08:55America's next top model
00:08:57I knew that one key to the success of the show
00:09:00would be to have really great coaches and judges
00:09:02that popped on TV
00:09:04and then she said we need a runway coach
00:09:06I thought she was gonna mention some woman
00:09:09who like ran some modeling school
00:09:11or something that could
00:09:12she goes no there's this guy named Jay Alexander
00:09:14he's this six foot five African American guy
00:09:17I'm like what?
00:09:19I was Jay Alexander
00:09:20queen of the catwalk
00:09:23my motto is
00:09:25walk like it's for sale
00:09:26and the rent is due tonight
00:09:28he just blew me away
00:09:30for most models
00:09:31getting that supermodel stride
00:09:33isn't that easy
00:09:34so who do they turn to for guidance?
00:09:36Jay Alexander
00:09:37Miss Jay taught me how to walk
00:09:40I've known Tyra since she was 16
00:09:43she had an idea
00:09:45America's next top model
00:09:46he was the first person I called
00:09:49hey oh my god
00:09:50he was just this like
00:09:52godfather mother diva extraordinaire
00:09:56he was the real deal
00:09:59I came out of my mother's stomach
00:10:01wearing high heels
00:10:02he had the most beautiful legs
00:10:05and Jay is a pioneer in himself
00:10:07the best fashion show you can get
00:10:09is watching black women
00:10:10going to church on Sunday
00:10:12because back then
00:10:14a lot of people were not expressing themselves
00:10:16like he was expressing himself
00:10:17girl
00:10:18I knew I was
00:10:20I knew that he had something special
00:10:23I like the craziness
00:10:25just like the crazy
00:10:27and then we said
00:10:29okay well you know
00:10:29obviously in fashion
00:10:30the photo shoot is everything
00:10:32Tyra tapped Jay Manuel
00:10:34who was her makeup artist
00:10:35to be our photo shoot director
00:10:40my phone rang
00:10:43I picked up it was Tyra
00:10:44and she was in LA
00:10:45so I'm thinking
00:10:46oh my god it must be
00:10:47almost 6am
00:10:48she's like oh my god
00:10:50I have this idea
00:10:50it was the excitement in her voice
00:10:53that I responded to
00:10:55in my teens
00:10:56you know most teenagers
00:10:58put music posters
00:11:00on their walls
00:11:04I had
00:11:05on my bedroom wall
00:11:08all the fashion ads of the time
00:11:15it's funny to look back
00:11:16because
00:11:17it was really a vision board
00:11:24I had done a lot
00:11:26in my career
00:11:26at that point
00:11:27but I felt like
00:11:28I was always trying
00:11:29to prove myself
00:11:34Tyra gave me that trust
00:11:36he was such a visionary
00:11:38one of the most talented
00:11:39creatives I've ever worked with
00:11:41ever worked with
00:11:43I was so so grateful
00:11:45for the opportunity
00:11:46to just be me
00:11:50we were a complete team
00:11:52we were ready to go out
00:11:53and pitch the show
00:11:56Tyra was given
00:11:59pitch meetings
00:12:00at all the major studios
00:12:02we went to NBC
00:12:04we went to ABC
00:12:05we went to CBS
00:12:06we went to Fox
00:12:07if anyone was going to
00:12:09make the show a reality
00:12:10it was her
00:12:11we pitched this model
00:12:13reality show
00:12:14everywhere
00:12:15and
00:12:16it was just no
00:12:17what?
00:12:18no, no
00:12:18networks were turning it down
00:12:20door slamming
00:12:21slamming
00:12:22slamming
00:12:23slamming
00:12:23they were like
00:12:24oh no
00:12:25reality
00:12:27no
00:12:28no, no, no
00:12:29no, no
00:12:30there was a stereotype
00:12:32with models
00:12:32models are unsympathetic
00:12:34characters
00:12:35they are vapid
00:12:37and that
00:12:38stayed with me
00:12:39and followed me
00:12:40for a very
00:12:42very long time
00:12:43and then
00:12:45UPN is going to make
00:12:47this ball cooler than ever
00:12:48we go to
00:12:49UPN
00:12:53I can guarantee you
00:12:55UPN was the last stop
00:12:57on the pitching train
00:12:59by far
00:12:59an absolute
00:13:01dead last place
00:13:02we need to find a hit
00:13:04or there probably
00:13:04won't be a UPN
00:13:07when Tyra first came in
00:13:08I thought
00:13:09okay
00:13:09vanity pitch
00:13:10let's hear what she has to say
00:13:12and
00:13:13you know
00:13:14move on
00:13:14I was so nervous
00:13:16because that was the last one
00:13:18that was it
00:13:19so I stood up
00:13:21and I started walking
00:13:23like Miss J
00:13:25talking like Miss J
00:13:27you need to be able to
00:13:27slinky ink down the runway
00:13:29if you can't slinky ink
00:13:31you may look stinky stink
00:13:32acting like different characters
00:13:34and
00:13:34it was unlike anything
00:13:36anybody had really heard
00:13:37I just saw her face
00:13:39went from
00:13:39to
00:13:43when you're at the very bottom
00:13:45of the mountain
00:13:45you have nothing to lose
00:13:47we had no idea
00:13:48nobody had done
00:13:49a reality show like this
00:13:51it was just guessing
00:13:52but if it did work
00:13:53we had everything to gain
00:13:58I
00:14:00was freaking out
00:14:03if Top Model wasn't picked up
00:14:05what would I do
00:14:06where would I go
00:14:08what would I be
00:14:10I picked up the phone
00:14:12we got a yes
00:14:19I'd never had that before
00:14:20I'd never gotten a call
00:14:22that somebody said
00:14:23that they wanted to make
00:14:24my idea come to life
00:14:25like
00:14:26wow
00:14:27it was my payback
00:14:30you just have a magazine
00:14:31I have a TV show
00:14:33and so many people
00:14:35are going to see
00:14:35way more
00:14:36of this TV show
00:14:37than your magazine
00:14:39that is closing off
00:14:40so many beauties
00:14:42I'm going to show you
00:14:44what beautiful is
00:14:46let's go
00:14:47let's do this
00:14:55it all began
00:14:56a few months ago
00:14:57when we started a process
00:14:58that would change lives
00:15:00I was looking for
00:15:01America's next top model
00:15:03so I launched
00:15:03a nationwide search
00:15:04and people sent tapes in
00:15:05from all over the country
00:15:11right away
00:15:12I could see girls
00:15:13with potential
00:15:14since I am
00:15:15the true diva
00:15:16I come here
00:15:17and morbidly write
00:15:18my horrible poems
00:15:20I want to shake the dust
00:15:22off this small town
00:15:26at the age of five
00:15:27I wanted to become a model
00:15:29it was just so glamorous looking
00:15:31and I didn't think
00:15:33it was possible
00:15:33because I had like
00:15:35buck teeth
00:15:35stringy hair
00:15:36I was a little bit
00:15:37um chunky
00:15:39I had a growth spurt
00:15:41and I was like
00:15:41hmm
00:15:42maybe this dream
00:15:43could become
00:15:44a reality
00:15:45I want to become
00:15:46American supermodel
00:15:48I am ready
00:15:49I sent in a video
00:15:50a few pictures
00:15:52I was so excited
00:15:56hello
00:15:56hi
00:15:57hi I'm Shannon
00:15:58hi Shannon
00:15:59hi Shannon
00:16:00hi
00:16:00hello
00:16:01Shannon
00:16:02I take it
00:16:02you're a very religious person
00:16:03have you always been religious
00:16:04yes
00:16:05ever since I was little
00:16:06I was probably saved
00:16:07around the age of 10
00:16:08but I got stronger
00:16:09over the years
00:16:10because you know
00:16:11practice makes perfect
00:16:12I love Shannon
00:16:13super Christian girl
00:16:15it says in your reputation
00:16:16that you're a virgin
00:16:17yes
00:16:17oh gosh
00:16:18they played that up so much
00:16:19but when I get married
00:16:20I told my mom
00:16:21I said
00:16:21my wedding's gonna be cut short
00:16:22and I'm gonna be gone baby
00:16:24my heart was like
00:16:26pounding out of my chest
00:16:28but then
00:16:29I got the call
00:16:30and Tyra Banks
00:16:31come on the phone
00:16:32and I about lost it
00:16:33you made it on the show
00:16:34and I'm like
00:16:35ah
00:16:37there's a moment
00:16:38I will never forget
00:16:41when it comes to casting
00:16:42I had a percentage
00:16:44of like
00:16:44okay let's give the public
00:16:45what they think pretty is
00:16:47because you have to meet people
00:16:48where they are
00:16:51now let me show you
00:16:52what's not obvious
00:16:54my name is Ebony
00:16:55and I'm actually originally
00:16:56from Harlem
00:16:57I know that I'm unique
00:16:58I knew nothing about modeling
00:17:00but I knew that my skin
00:17:01was popping
00:17:01and I had a great smile
00:17:03with my exotic look
00:17:05girl next door look
00:17:07when I was a little girl
00:17:08my nickname was actually ugly
00:17:10I am so serious
00:17:11I kind of blocked that out
00:17:12I think
00:17:13because of emotional issues
00:17:14with that
00:17:15but I always had this dream
00:17:16that one day
00:17:17I'd become an African princess
00:17:19I grew up in a beauty salon
00:17:21in Harlem
00:17:21women would come into
00:17:23the beauty salon
00:17:23and my grandmother would say
00:17:25oh let me let you meet
00:17:26my great grandbaby
00:17:28her name is Ebony
00:17:29tell her she's black and beautiful
00:17:32here I am in this beauty salon
00:17:34and the universe
00:17:35just brought all this love
00:17:36I started to understand
00:17:38the importance of beauty
00:17:39I always get that
00:17:40something is different
00:17:41whether it's my look
00:17:42my personality
00:17:43something is different
00:17:44she had a very striking
00:17:45beautiful face
00:17:46you know Ebony
00:17:47she had a very
00:17:48very different look
00:17:51that was a reason
00:17:52why Tyra really wanted
00:17:53her in the show
00:17:55I remember walking in there
00:17:57and I used to love
00:17:59this brown catsuit
00:18:00I used to wear that brown catsuit
00:18:02whenever I felt hot
00:18:03hey pretty girls
00:18:04hi
00:18:06I was like
00:18:07I'm going to change
00:18:07some lives today
00:18:09the fact that I was
00:18:09the only girl from New York
00:18:11and my name was Ebony
00:18:12I had great pride in that
00:18:13the next girl
00:18:14that's coming to New York City
00:18:15really doesn't have far to go
00:18:17because she's from New York City
00:18:18and it's Miss Ebony
00:18:19I remember when I called her name
00:18:22she just
00:18:25she just lost it
00:18:26and she pulled it back together
00:18:28real fast
00:18:29but I remember being in that room
00:18:30and feeling that energy from her
00:18:32it was beautiful
00:18:34when we were casting
00:18:36we got a lot of pushback
00:18:37from the network
00:18:38if you had one person
00:18:39of a different color
00:18:41that was their definition
00:18:42of diverse
00:18:42that was not my definition
00:18:44or Tyra's definition
00:18:46of diversity
00:18:49we had to do the final casting
00:18:51with the president of Viacom
00:18:52the parent company
00:18:53of CBS and UPN
00:18:55a guy named Les Moonves
00:18:56look for you
00:18:57how are the ratings
00:18:58over the other networks
00:18:59well I think we have
00:19:00more new shows
00:19:00that are working
00:19:01than the other guys do
00:19:02so
00:19:02arguably the most powerful man
00:19:04in Hollywood
00:19:05we really wanted
00:19:06a Hispanic, Latina girl
00:19:08on the show
00:19:09and
00:19:09he did not want
00:19:11this Latino girl
00:19:12on the show
00:19:12what the hell
00:19:13I lost it
00:19:15Tyra was arguing
00:19:17with Les
00:19:18to the point
00:19:19it almost got physical
00:19:20how dare you
00:19:21do you understand
00:19:21and if you want to
00:19:22talk business
00:19:23let's talk business
00:19:24Tyra
00:19:25pull back right now
00:19:26it's Les Moonves
00:19:28let's not torpedo
00:19:29the show
00:19:30before we even
00:19:31get it on the air
00:19:31we had to replace her
00:19:32then we went searching
00:19:34again
00:19:34searching again
00:19:35and we found Giselle
00:19:37take one
00:19:42my name is Giselle Sampson
00:19:44and this is my mom
00:19:46okay so with
00:19:48the audition process
00:19:49on that first day
00:19:50with Tyra Banks
00:19:51I do remember her
00:19:52asking me
00:19:53so Giselle
00:19:54if this show
00:19:56made you famous
00:19:58what would you do
00:19:59wow why is this
00:20:01making me emotional
00:20:02now this is weird
00:20:04because the feeling
00:20:05was oh my god
00:20:07I made it
00:20:09as a young girl
00:20:10I just was so excited
00:20:12and I was so happy
00:20:15to feel like
00:20:15you're gonna make it
00:20:17like this is something
00:20:17you're gonna be part
00:20:18of something so big
00:20:20and um I was a part
00:20:23of something so big
00:20:27is this real life
00:20:29I'm from a small town
00:20:31I have a dream of modeling
00:20:35now I'm living in this
00:20:36New York City apartment
00:20:37with nine other girls
00:20:38and I have eight weeks
00:20:40to prove I'm America's
00:20:41next top model
00:20:42oh my gosh Tyra
00:20:44have you seen her walk
00:20:45and take pictures
00:20:46and she just moves
00:20:47I was like oh my god
00:20:48I'm gonna be on TV
00:20:50nobody really knew
00:20:51what to expect
00:20:52nobody was nervous
00:20:53you know
00:20:53everybody's taking a chance
00:20:54Mr. Moth Tyra
00:20:55all young people
00:20:56with a dream
00:21:01we shot that whole thing
00:21:02in a hotel
00:21:03the girls were living
00:21:04in one room
00:21:05or suite really
00:21:06the judging room
00:21:08was in another room
00:21:09they had an acid burn
00:21:10in my stomach
00:21:11because there was
00:21:12just so much to do
00:21:13I mean Ken Moth
00:21:14turned into a cameraman
00:21:15because we were
00:21:16a cameraman short
00:21:17didn't have the budget
00:21:18there was this moment
00:21:19it was just Tyra and I
00:21:22sitting in the control room
00:21:23and I could see
00:21:24in her face
00:21:25she's like okay
00:21:26I'm doing this
00:21:27it's surreal
00:21:29the producers
00:21:30didn't have a lot
00:21:31of experience
00:21:32Tyra certainly
00:21:32didn't have experience
00:21:33the show had a lot
00:21:35to prove
00:21:35there are so many things
00:21:36that it takes
00:21:37to be a top model
00:21:38and you guys are
00:21:39going to be put through
00:21:40lots of different tests
00:21:42teach
00:21:43today's lesson
00:21:45is going to be
00:21:45about establishing
00:21:46a look for yourselves
00:21:48challenge
00:21:49today we're going
00:21:50to do go see
00:21:51you've got four hours
00:21:52to do this
00:21:53and you've got five
00:21:54castings
00:21:55photoshoot
00:21:56today we're doing
00:21:56beauty shots
00:21:57smile with your eyes
00:21:58a little bit
00:21:58good
00:21:59we got it
00:22:00judging
00:22:00once a week
00:22:01you'll be evaluated
00:22:03and someone will be
00:22:04eliminated
00:22:05whoever's name I call
00:22:06will go on
00:22:07and will still be
00:22:08in the running
00:22:08to become America's
00:22:09next top model
00:22:10oh my gosh
00:22:11how many times
00:22:12she had to say that
00:22:13you're still in the running
00:22:14to become America's
00:22:14next top model
00:22:15still in the running
00:22:15towards becoming America's
00:22:16you're still in the running
00:22:17to become America's
00:22:18you're still in the running
00:22:18to become America's
00:22:19you're still in the running
00:22:20towards becoming America's
00:22:21next top model
00:22:22that's it
00:22:23got it on the first try
00:22:24Okay, the winner will receive a contract with Revlon,
00:22:26a fashion spread with Marie Claire,
00:22:28and a contract with one of the world's top agencies,
00:22:31Lil' Amina.
00:22:33It was a price package that would help them
00:22:35really get a head start into the modeling industry.
00:22:37By the end of the show, we would build the perfect model
00:22:41that could now go out into the real world
00:22:44and try to pursue our model career.
00:22:46If I win this, I can become a supermodel.
00:22:48I was like, this is gonna change my life forever.
00:22:56You're showing the behind the scenes
00:22:58of what the fashion world was.
00:23:00Most of it is not glamorous, at all.
00:23:03You got the air push-up bra,
00:23:05two silicone inserts, and toilet paper.
00:23:08You've got enormous cha-cha. Oh, my God.
00:23:11I was sent here by Tara Banks
00:23:13to have all the girls with a Brazilian bikini wax.
00:23:17This is gonna go on television?
00:23:19Real fucking funny. Really, really funny.
00:23:22Oh, the frog, man.
00:23:25Oh, my God.
00:23:26I really wanna go to Brazil with that.
00:23:28Let me tell you something.
00:23:29They got me good with that.
00:23:30I didn't even know what a Brazil wax was.
00:23:34I have never, ever, ever done a Brazilian wax
00:23:38again ever in my life.
00:23:39I'm gonna be the damn supermodel after this.
00:23:42That's all I have to say.
00:23:49This was not just a show about modeling,
00:23:51but it was a Cinderella story.
00:23:53Hello, everybody.
00:23:54Hi.
00:23:55So today, as you guys can see,
00:23:56you're at the Lapine Talon.
00:23:57You guys are already fierce.
00:23:58We're gonna make you...
00:24:00...fear.
00:24:01No one will walk out looking like what they walked in.
00:24:04All right?
00:24:05Be brave.
00:24:06From day one, I knew that we needed to have a makeover.
00:24:10Shannon, I wanna bleach you out more.
00:24:12I wanna bleach you out more.
00:24:13We just brighten you up.
00:24:14We might even add a little bit more hair extensions
00:24:15to thicken you up.
00:24:17When you see this beautiful specimen,
00:24:20this beautiful, like, little fawn,
00:24:23and then you put her through this process,
00:24:26and then she turns into this princess,
00:24:28it also shows possibility.
00:24:31But, you know, they hate it.
00:24:33They hate it.
00:24:34I don't like to show anybody I'm going through pain,
00:24:37so I didn't say anything.
00:24:38But Giselle cried.
00:24:40Giselle whined.
00:24:42Giselle moaned.
00:24:43Giselle groaned.
00:24:45I can't.
00:24:46Okay.
00:24:47I can't.
00:24:49I'm just used to the way I had my hair.
00:24:51So, I'm kind of concerned about the length.
00:24:53Don't look so sad.
00:24:55Models or canvases?
00:24:57Yeah.
00:25:00No, you don't.
00:25:01Hey, girls.
00:25:02Hi!
00:25:03Wow, you guys have been busy.
00:25:05J. Manuel is, like, a genius.
00:25:07Some of them actually like him.
00:25:08He's so cute.
00:25:09But then Adrian's like, he's gay.
00:25:11So, just because you're not feeling well, you don't want to go.
00:25:14Should there be that reason?
00:25:15Well, I mean, you don't look deathly ill.
00:25:17Oh, yeah, that's the shady part.
00:25:19So, then it's silly and you go back home and you do what?
00:25:22Work at Burger King?
00:25:23The Burger King line.
00:25:25That was probably a little shady.
00:25:27It's one of Miss J's favorite moments.
00:25:30He's very direct with some of the girls.
00:25:32Very rich.
00:25:33A baby.
00:25:35Wow.
00:25:36Yes, I made fun of them and I was just doing my thing.
00:25:40The one and the only top runway trainer.
00:25:42I have known him since I was 17 years old.
00:25:45His name is Jay Alexander.
00:25:47Come on here, Jay!
00:25:48I'm gonna show you how to walk in a tight skirt.
00:25:55Oh, loved Miss J.
00:25:56You forgot to brush your teeth?
00:25:59We had this natural banter.
00:26:02Jay loves to do an expression in an eye roll.
00:26:06And, like, I feed into it.
00:26:08Like, we literally just fold together like this.
00:26:12Don't listen to her.
00:26:13She's crazy.
00:26:14She's just up gray and green.
00:26:16And then there was a support.
00:26:19Because it was like, like, gay wonder twins activate.
00:26:22We were together, so, you know, they can't attack us.
00:26:25I get it.
00:26:26I know it sounds ridiculous today, but it was such a different time.
00:26:30People would write and say, like,
00:26:31what the hell is this on my screen?
00:26:33Like, how are you, like, showing this?
00:26:35I say, suck my dick.
00:26:38I wanted to know if it's okay if my girlfriend
00:26:40could come over for about an hour or two today.
00:26:42Everybody's a lesbian and I found this offensive.
00:26:45When I first auditioned for the show,
00:26:47the first thing Tyra says to me, she goes,
00:26:49we see that you're gay.
00:26:50We know you're a lesbian.
00:26:51How do you feel about expressing that on national television?
00:26:55That's kind of how the world found out I was gay
00:26:56and how the world met me.
00:26:58I had hoped at least they would pull me to the side
00:27:00and say, how do you want to approach this?
00:27:01You know, they forgot the danger of that.
00:27:03Not a problem, Lian.
00:27:04I'm very, that's very open about it.
00:27:06I wanted to come out because I wanted other celebrities
00:27:09to do the same.
00:27:11Nice, sweetie.
00:27:14I was just happy that they showed me
00:27:16and my partner together smiling and showing the reality.
00:27:21I think it was new to see that on TV.
00:27:24At the time, there was just no queer representation on television
00:27:28and, like, God knows what this was going to look like on TV.
00:27:32You know, I'm very serious about this.
00:27:34We are in a competition and my plan is to win.
00:27:36There is nothing else but that.
00:27:39Uh-oh, Tyra Male.
00:27:40Eliminations.
00:27:41Tomorrow, one of you will be eliminated.
00:27:43Judge, judge, judge.
00:27:45I'm really nervous about our next elimination.
00:27:47I didn't know who was going to win.
00:27:49I really, really, really, really, really want this.
00:27:52Who are we going to cut this week?
00:27:54Shannon.
00:27:55Judges could be a little cruel.
00:27:57I hated walking into the judging room like,
00:27:59oh my gosh, what are they going to say to me this time?
00:28:02It looks like you landed from another planet
00:28:03because you have so much teeth.
00:28:05Maybe she should have a few removed.
00:28:07I'm thinking to myself, which teeth would you like me to pull out?
00:28:11Would it be my two front teeth?
00:28:12Like, who says that?
00:28:13Iconic reality TV villain, Janice Dickinson.
00:28:16She looks kind of like child prostitute.
00:28:19You got to get over it.
00:28:20I'm sorry. You got to get over it.
00:28:22Janice was obviously extremely provocative.
00:28:25Dip it, bitch. Dip it. You're dead in my book.
00:28:27And she's a diva.
00:28:28World's first supermodel.
00:28:31I want to talk about a legitimate, bona fide supermodel
00:28:35who'd had such a career.
00:28:37I've been in this industry for quite a long time,
00:28:40making me probably the most opinionated person on the panel.
00:28:44I love Janice.
00:28:45Like, she was very outrageous as a character.
00:28:48This is the worst photograph I've ever seen.
00:28:50You look deranged.
00:28:52And it looks like you have a penis.
00:28:54She had no filter.
00:28:55You got to work on the thighs.
00:28:56You got the booty thing.
00:28:57You got to kind of really watch the diet and exercise.
00:29:00It's not all about your gorgeous face.
00:29:02It is about the booty, too.
00:29:04Let's just call it as it is.
00:29:06Robin, first of all, is too old to be starting the model.
00:29:10She's huge.
00:29:11She's not going to be a top model.
00:29:13She won't.
00:29:13She should work for a car toppling company.
00:29:16You know, Janice offered that very harsh opinion
00:29:19that absolutely exists in the industry.
00:29:23My name is John, and I'm going to be your trainer.
00:29:25We're going to do a little test height and weight.
00:29:29I had an eating disorder.
00:29:32Terrific.
00:29:33114.
00:29:34Am I the lightest one?
00:29:35Yeah.
00:29:36Yeah.
00:29:37Yeah.
00:29:37It started when I was 14.
00:29:39I got tall, and then all of a sudden, my baby fat was gone.
00:29:43And so I was like, wow, what do I have to do to keep this?
00:29:47One point, I got down to, like, 114.
00:29:49I think that's when I passed out.
00:29:50And I was like, oh, my gosh, I could see it.
00:29:52But still, it was just like this wicked taskmaster
00:29:55constantly telling me, you're not thin enough.
00:29:57You're not thin enough.
00:29:59And the pressure that the industry can put on you
00:30:02to be a certain size, it's actually quite awful.
00:30:07The full-figured market's changing.
00:30:10I'm going to say the exact opposite
00:30:12than what these people in fashion
00:30:14have been telling women for years, which is peaceful.
00:30:18I think that you guys are the problem with America.
00:30:21I think you are the problem of why women
00:30:22are leaning over the toilets at this very moment
00:30:25and vomiting after they've eaten
00:30:26or taking laxatives after they've eaten.
00:30:29I thought, oh, my God, I love the fact
00:30:31that she is fighting for this.
00:30:33I really do think she was not just wanting to produce a show,
00:30:37but she was also trying to help us.
00:30:40Tyra was just trying to teach us
00:30:42how to pose in front of the camera,
00:30:43how to walk down the runway.
00:30:45Longer strides.
00:30:47Come together, girl.
00:30:48I ain't mad at you.
00:30:49Yeah.
00:30:49Are you pulling us together?
00:30:50Are you pulling it together?
00:30:51Okay.
00:30:52Good practicing.
00:30:53Okay.
00:30:54Practice makes perfect.
00:30:55I taught a girl how to walk with confidence.
00:30:58Netflix.
00:30:59It's like, whoa.
00:31:02Oh, my God, you are really, really quite beautiful.
00:31:05When you see me in the last runway challenge,
00:31:07I really just left it all out there.
00:31:10I have to walk that runway like my life depends on it.
00:31:15The decision is made.
00:31:17America's next top model is...
00:31:23Adrienne.
00:31:24Adrienne.
00:31:25I was devastated.
00:31:27But after the show, Tyra sent me flowers.
00:31:33It was the biggest bouquet of flowers I have ever seen in my life.
00:31:38I came to New York.
00:31:39I called IMG.
00:31:40That was like my dream agency.
00:31:42And they signed me.
00:31:43I was so excited.
00:31:46I was gonna dream big no matter the cost.
00:31:52Two or three months after I had filmed Top Model,
00:31:56I'm back home in L.A.
00:31:58And somebody's like,
00:31:59are you like on a show or something?
00:32:01And I'm like, what do you mean?
00:32:02Why, what?
00:32:03There's like a billboard of you in Hollywood.
00:32:10There was a huge bill in downtown L.A.
00:32:14And the whole side of the building said,
00:32:17America's next top model.
00:32:20I remember saying, look at that girl.
00:32:22She's beautiful.
00:32:23You know what?
00:32:24Oh, my God, look at her.
00:32:25She's fierce.
00:32:26And my mother, I'll never forget her saying,
00:32:28that's you.
00:32:29And I was like, that is me?
00:32:31Okay.
00:32:32We're off now.
00:32:36I was just so excited for the show to air
00:32:39because it was something that I was so proud of
00:32:41and that I thought was gonna catapult me into things.
00:32:45So here I am trying to do my own PR.
00:32:47I made postcards and I put my little picture,
00:32:51my head shot on one side
00:32:52and then the premiere date of America's Next Top Model on UPN
00:32:57and I mailed it to every manager, every agent.
00:33:02I'm gonna get discovered and it's gonna be amazing
00:33:06and I'm gonna make it.
00:33:09Even though we had been in the editing bay for weeks and weeks
00:33:12and weeks doing this, watching it when the world was watching it
00:33:15it was a whole different situation.
00:33:19When we were shooting Cycle One, I had no clue what was gonna go on air.
00:33:24The viewing party was at my apartment.
00:33:27Tyra was there.
00:33:28Even her mom came.
00:33:30I was extremely nervous.
00:33:32Oh, my God.
00:33:34Shannon, you're still in the running to becoming America's Next Top Model.
00:33:38When the episode ended,
00:33:42Tyra immediately went into my office to the computer
00:33:46to go check out, like, chat rooms.
00:33:51I was freaking out.
00:33:55Tyra was nervous.
00:33:57There was a lot riding on her.
00:34:00Networks want ratings.
00:34:01They want things to, like, resonate.
00:34:03It was very, very intense.
00:34:06My phone rang.
00:34:08And it was Iman that called.
00:34:11I had been working with Iman
00:34:14and her husband, David Bowie, on his Heathen album.
00:34:17And she said,
00:34:18we watched.
00:34:20And she hands the phone to David.
00:34:22I believe I might be of service.
00:34:24And David said to me,
00:34:27you found the place where you need to be.
00:34:31I'll never forget it.
00:34:35The fairytale began.
00:34:38Hot babes, cat fights, and a whole lot of drama.
00:34:41The addictive reality TV hit,
00:34:43America's Next Top Model.
00:34:45I remember thinking to myself,
00:34:48this is so much better than I ever could have thought.
00:34:52I am hooked on 30 seconds of it.
00:34:54I'm so happy.
00:34:55I'm telling you, it is...
00:34:55Do you have the TiVo? Do you have TiVo?
00:34:56Believe me, I already called.
00:34:58It's in the TiVo right now.
00:34:59Okay.
00:34:59I'm like, damn, okay.
00:35:01These ratings are crazy.
00:35:02They realize,
00:35:03huh, Tyra may bonus something here.
00:35:07I really designed a program
00:35:08in which models just get their crotches waxed.
00:35:12It wasn't just about, oh, let's have their coo...
00:35:15I mean, their...
00:35:16Right.
00:35:18It wasn't about, let's have their...
00:35:20When the show started to air,
00:35:22it really was shocking.
00:35:25Because it wasn't what I thought it was going to be.
00:35:28My face is definitely pimpleized.
00:35:31Giselle found out that pretending to be insecure
00:35:35is a great way to fish for compliments.
00:35:38In our confessionals, I could feel the push of producers
00:35:43trying to navigate us against each other.
00:35:47You're asking for massages while we're cleaning up
00:35:49instead of cleaning the tub like you said you were going to do.
00:35:51That's immaturity. I have no time for that.
00:35:53So-and-so said this about you.
00:35:56Excuse me?
00:35:57What?
00:35:57Giselle, you worthless .
00:36:00You are so bitchy, stupid.
00:36:03You're worthless.
00:36:05Your parents must be ashamed of you.
00:36:06Giselle?
00:36:07I like Giselle.
00:36:08You know, I like Giselle
00:36:09because it just seems like she wants this.
00:36:11But I think she needs to tighten up.
00:36:13She's got a wide ass.
00:36:14It's kind of wide.
00:36:16They did these clothes so dirty.
00:36:16I'm walking away.
00:36:17I'm 18 years old.
00:36:19Growing into my body.
00:36:20And she's like, Giselle, she's got a wide ass.
00:36:23I think she needs to tighten up.
00:36:25She's got a wide ass.
00:36:26It's kind of wide.
00:36:27They did these clothes so dirty.
00:36:30They chose to put that in there.
00:36:34How I left feeling about myself in that moment
00:36:38has stayed with me forever.
00:36:42Why does my ass have to be so wide?
00:36:45Like, that's how I talk to myself.
00:36:46You know?
00:36:48To this day.
00:36:53When I went on that show,
00:36:54I knew people would be against anything that I represent,
00:36:56being a black woman that's gay or whatever it is.
00:36:59But I did think that I would be protected.
00:37:04I thought the first episode was fabulous.
00:37:06I was so excited to be a role model.
00:37:08And then when I saw the makeover,
00:37:10Ebony, this little piece of hair right here,
00:37:13that extra little thing, gone.
00:37:14Gone.
00:37:15Mark me.
00:37:17That's when I felt the full disappointment
00:37:19of the way I was represented.
00:37:24I'm sitting there and I have three of the top stylists
00:37:27over my head laughing my hair texture.
00:37:30It was really just frustrating.
00:37:32People did not have the correct clippers.
00:37:34Everybody basically sat and they didn't know what to do.
00:37:36Should we leave a little tough?
00:37:37Oh, how can they go wrong with a Caesar?
00:37:41Should we write her name in here?
00:37:42Yeah.
00:37:45I kept thinking this was a test.
00:37:48That at any moment, Mr. J would say,
00:37:50Ebony, you're fabulous.
00:37:51You know, or Ebony, you've handled this well.
00:37:54They end up giving me three bald spots.
00:37:57Yeah.
00:37:58Very disappointing.
00:37:59And it's very upsetting to an African American woman
00:38:02to go into a salon and the person to do her hair incorrectly.
00:38:04It is very inappropriate.
00:38:06Tyra would not have this.
00:38:07She's too fierce for this.
00:38:08Girl, I do a long time.
00:38:10Girl, I smoke this.
00:38:10This is not a style.
00:38:12As I'm trying to figure out how can I fix my hair,
00:38:14Tyra calls me.
00:38:16It's the end of the day.
00:38:17And this was like the first time we really even had a conversation
00:38:20because she barely spoke to me on the show.
00:38:22So I'm thinking that my sister is going to understand.
00:38:26I thought she was going to say,
00:38:28Girl, don't worry.
00:38:29I'll go to Harlem.
00:38:30And she says,
00:38:32The judges have been talking to me
00:38:33and they've been saying
00:38:35that you have been showing up ashy every day.
00:38:39And I'm blown away.
00:38:43She didn't say,
00:38:44Oh, you know, you're dealing with a little acne or
00:38:46You know what, Ebony?
00:38:47Your skin looks a little irritated.
00:38:49I didn't understand why they chose those specific words
00:38:53when this is a word that's been used in history
00:38:55to make us feel less than.
00:38:57With your skin texture,
00:38:58being an African American woman,
00:39:00it should be like butter.
00:39:01At the retouching session,
00:39:02your photo was the hardest that we had to do.
00:39:07Wait a minute.
00:39:07Am I being treated differently because I'm a black girl?
00:39:09What's happening here?
00:39:12I was like, let me just be quiet.
00:39:14I'm supposed to make my skin fabulous.
00:39:16There's grease all over
00:39:18because of her new moisturizing regime.
00:39:21Ugh.
00:39:21After you put the, um, your stuff on,
00:39:24could you make sure you, like,
00:39:25fairly clean your hands?
00:39:27Just because it gets on the doorknobs.
00:39:29And it's, like, slippery.
00:39:34Um...
00:39:35Okay, I'll try to concentrate on.
00:39:36Just the set.
00:39:37That's all I have a problem.
00:39:37That's, I mean, I don't even know
00:39:38if it's a real big problem or anything.
00:39:41I remember on the show thinking to myself,
00:39:44oh, my God, there's so much I want to say.
00:39:46But I really had to be still.
00:39:50There's nothing I can do here
00:39:51that's gonna make it better.
00:39:52Whatever narrative they're creating,
00:39:54they're going to do this.
00:39:55I love the color of her skin.
00:39:57I really do.
00:39:58But up close, she just looks so old.
00:40:00To be hard with Ebony,
00:40:01she's very aggressive and very angry.
00:40:05Ebony just is much too harsh for me.
00:40:09I just don't get it.
00:40:14You and I both know, looking at Ebony,
00:40:17her skin is actually gorgeous.
00:40:19Ebony was out of her tongue.
00:40:21She was dark-skinned,
00:40:22she had a shaved head, and she was gay.
00:40:25That wasn't cool on TV,
00:40:26so she got the aggressive at it.
00:40:28And I realized that Tyra and the judges
00:40:30aren't gonna help me.
00:40:31I know I have to protect myself,
00:40:33but you're forgetting I was in high school
00:40:35three, four years ago.
00:40:36And I felt that.
00:40:38I felt that innocence.
00:40:40And I just, oh, my God, I'm so sorry.
00:40:48I actually haven't thought about this in years.
00:40:50And I've actually never talked about this,
00:40:52but my heart was breaking
00:40:55as I'm on this national show,
00:40:57thinking that the world would be proud of me.
00:41:02Will Giselle and Ebony please step forward?
00:41:13Giselle, even as you stand here right now,
00:41:17it's like, where is the self-esteem?
00:41:20Ebony.
00:41:21When you come into the room,
00:41:22we sense a chip on your shoulder,
00:41:25a type of anger that makes you push yourself too hard
00:41:28to the point where you lose focus
00:41:29and you become difficult to work with.
00:41:35When I was eliminated,
00:41:36I was so brokenhearted.
00:41:38I go to run, and literally,
00:41:40I wake up the first flight of staff
00:41:41and my body just gave out.
00:41:43And I started to cry.
00:41:47The producers, they were like,
00:41:48Ebony, you're gonna get work.
00:41:49You are so amazing.
00:41:51And in my mind, I just knew that wasn't true.
00:41:55After the show,
00:41:57I would hear a lot of young girls
00:41:59come up to me and go,
00:42:01oh, I probably can't be a model
00:42:02because my skin is rough like yours.
00:42:05My heart was broken.
00:42:09The agents and managers were not interested
00:42:12in having anything to do with me
00:42:15because they just saw reality.
00:42:17I was the girl who had no confidence
00:42:19and who's gonna wanna hire that girl?
00:42:20Who's gonna wanna sign that girl?
00:42:24I believed now that I wasn't good enough.
00:42:28I'm not gonna make it.
00:42:42I started to think that it really wasn't a model show.
00:42:46That this was really a new way of making TV shows.
00:42:50And I don't think that any of the girls were prepared
00:42:54for what reality was gonna become.
00:42:56They say for UPN,
00:42:58this show is what Survivor was to CBS.
00:43:00Yes.
00:43:01Huge.
00:43:02Putting UPN on the map.
00:43:03I'm very happy and proud of that.
00:43:04It's the most watched show on the network.
00:43:06Yes.
00:43:06Like by this much.
00:43:07Yes.
00:43:08Much to everyone's surprise,
00:43:10it became the breakout show.
00:43:12This show became the water cooler show
00:43:15where people then went to work the next day
00:43:18and said, oh, did you watch this?
00:43:19Da-da-da-da-da.
00:43:20Lord, you don't even have to believe this.
00:43:22It just really hurts.
00:43:23I'm really weak.
00:43:24I'm really proud of myself.
00:43:25I think the next American's top model
00:43:27is not a plus size model.
00:43:29Why?
00:43:29And Tyra was everywhere.
00:43:32Can we do another?
00:43:33Oh, you're doing another one.
00:43:35Are we really?
00:43:35Yeah.
00:43:36And then my team were telling me,
00:43:38Tyra, this is not normal.
00:43:41You may never be able to repeat this success
00:43:44with anything that you ever do ever again.
00:43:48I was like, what you talking about?
00:43:50I'm going to do it again.
00:43:52So are you going to bring that show back?
00:43:54Yes, we got picked up for a second season.
00:43:55Our ratings are really skyrocket ratings on UPN.
00:43:58So we'll be back in January.
00:44:00America's Next Top Model airs Tuesday nights
00:44:03at 9 on UPN.
00:44:05And very soon, there'll be an orgy.
00:44:10Oh, my God.
00:44:12It's like, we're a big hit now.
00:44:14Now I've got to deliver a second season.
00:44:23Modeling never crossed my mind growing up.
00:44:27It wasn't something I aspired to do.
00:44:33My boyfriend at the time, Eric,
00:44:35he's like, you could be a model.
00:44:37Like, why couldn't you be a model?
00:44:38We just were watching TV one day
00:44:41and a commercial came up about a casting for this show
00:44:44that I'd never heard of.
00:44:47Being a top model ain't no picnic.
00:44:50Sure, there's the glamour.
00:44:51But on the road to the top, there's cutthroat competition.
00:44:54Okay, let's go.
00:44:58My name is Shandy.
00:44:59I work at a Walgreens.
00:45:01I'm a service clerk.
00:45:02At the casting, I just yelled,
00:45:04I don't want to work at Walgreens anymore.
00:45:08Really loud.
00:45:09Like, just really, really loud.
00:45:10Just screamed it.
00:45:11And then I made myself laugh,
00:45:12and everybody else started laughing.
00:45:16All right, whatever.
00:45:17That was an experience.
00:45:18Okay.
00:45:21Just went back to our little life in Kansas City.
00:45:25Yeah, and they called me at work
00:45:26while I was at Walgreens.
00:45:28And they're like,
00:45:29so you made the cut.
00:45:35I was like, okay.
00:45:38No idea what I'm getting myself into at all.
00:45:45Welcome to your new crib.
00:45:47Go to the fourth floor.
00:45:49It's a bling-bling,
00:45:50punk-funk,
00:45:51mod kind of world up in here.
00:45:52Stake your claim, Tyra.
00:45:56Oh, look at this place.
00:45:59Look at the bedroom!
00:46:02After the success of the first cycle,
00:46:04our budget grew tremendously.
00:46:07We had our own soundstage,
00:46:09and we built this beautiful table for the judges,
00:46:12and we built a beautiful backdrop for the girls,
00:46:14and we had a runway on an aircraft carrier.
00:46:17I'm not wasting any time.
00:46:18I'm throwing you straight on a runway.
00:46:21Anyway, no training, no nothing.
00:46:23I want to see what you got.
00:46:25Oh, my God.
00:46:27I'm looking at these heels, these boots.
00:46:30Oh, goodness.
00:46:31I got in a hole.
00:46:32Yeah, I had no idea how to do a model walk.
00:46:35What so ever.
00:46:37Shandy, your runway walk?
00:46:39I've never seen a runway walk that bad in my life.
00:46:46She should learn how to walk.
00:46:48In cycle two, it became sport for Janice to bait Tyra.
00:46:53The body could just slim down 150 pounds.
00:46:57That would be good.
00:46:58Then she'd be 30 pounds.
00:46:59That would be better.
00:47:00It was definitely getting to her.
00:47:03And I was like, why is she doing that to her?
00:47:05And Tyra would talk to me.
00:47:06She's like, I let it go.
00:47:07She's driving me crazy, but I let it go.
00:47:09But I know it was getting to her.
00:47:12And I considered myself like besties with Tyra.
00:47:16And she spent a lot of time at my house sleeping over her.
00:47:19If I'm in L.A., I would spend time at her house.
00:47:21You start sharing secrets.
00:47:22You're very much in each other's world.
00:47:25I feel like she knew I would do anything for her.
00:47:30She's got to go.
00:47:31So you're going to throw somebody away
00:47:32because they have one bad shot?
00:47:33Yes.
00:47:35So I was armed and ready.
00:47:38She looks like a porno star.
00:47:39No, she does not.
00:47:41Yes, she does.
00:47:42So do you.
00:47:43And I was just ready to go back at her.
00:47:45We're talking Silicon Valley at the other end of the table?
00:47:49I felt like I was getting one for the team
00:47:51because she'd been battling Tyra and everybody.
00:47:55I mean, I revered her.
00:47:57Stand up. Let's see the girdle you're wearing.
00:47:59Janice, yours is already surgically cinched.
00:48:01I snapped one thread and it's down.
00:48:02I wasn't my best self during the judging.
00:48:05Not nice at all.
00:48:07Honey, look at your face, please.
00:48:09And your dyed hair, please.
00:48:10Okay.
00:48:11But that was the Janice thing.
00:48:13And to balance her out, we needed Nigel.
00:48:17Come in, come in.
00:48:18I'm Nigel Barker.
00:48:19I'm going to be your photographer for your fashion suit.
00:48:23The network said to me,
00:48:24we need a judge who is a photographer,
00:48:27but this is what we want.
00:48:28Good looking, straight and white.
00:48:33I know he's got his Sri Lankan, you know, his mom.
00:48:38I'm half Sri Lankan, half English.
00:48:40My mother's success as a fashion model gave her the ability to go to the UK and start a completely
00:48:47new life.
00:48:48So perhaps more than other people, we were acutely aware of what fashion and beauty could do.
00:48:58I started modeling in the 80s and I was surrounded by the world's greatest photographers in fashion.
00:49:04I looked at the industry and I thought, well, if I want to stay here,
00:49:07there's only one side of this camera I need to be on.
00:49:09And it's not this side, it's that side.
00:49:14I remember looking at Ken and being like, I think this is the one.
00:49:18I had no idea when I was in four.
00:49:20Come on out, Nigel.
00:49:21Hi, ladies.
00:49:22Hi.
00:49:23How are ya?
00:49:24He's just instantly charismatic.
00:49:27Mwah.
00:49:28You look glamorous.
00:49:29Charming, the British accent.
00:49:31We're like, that guy's hot.
00:49:34I'll never forget that.
00:49:35We're like, that guy's really hot.
00:49:36He's been waiting to undress me for days.
00:49:39Oh, my God.
00:49:40We've got the tall, sexy, and very English, Nigel Barker, our photographer.
00:49:46Ladies.
00:49:48When, you know, the network said to me, we're looking for a good-looking straight white photographer,
00:49:52it did eat away at me.
00:49:54It's like, well, the J's are a hit, but we're not straight, we're not white.
00:49:58I mean, networks are really that blunt.
00:50:00They know what they want to see in what role.
00:50:02So I didn't need to be the mean one or the funny one.
00:50:06I would be the straight man, eye candy, and luckily that was my role on the show.
00:50:10The theme for today's shoot is the Garden of Eden.
00:50:13My first major shoot, they were nude.
00:50:16Bring in the atoms.
00:50:18All right, guys.
00:50:20There were hundreds of people in this room, and we're just standing butt naked.
00:50:26I was nervous, but it was like nervous and excitement all at the same time.
00:50:30Oh my goodness.
00:50:32Look at my butt.
00:50:33I have a butt.
00:50:35Shandy, did you ever think you could look that beautiful?
00:50:39The ugly duckling to the swan.
00:50:41That was my story.
00:50:44Miss Shandy with that brown hair that just looks like I'm stocking the shelf at Walgreens.
00:50:51We are going to make you a platinum blonde.
00:50:55I didn't feel really pretty then, even though I was told I was pretty and that I was like the
00:51:00norm for beauty standards, but I didn't feel that way.
00:51:04Everything just looks so good.
00:51:06Everything's come together, and I feel so pretty right now.
00:51:09Yeah, I finally felt pretty and had some confidence that I didn't have before.
00:51:24A lot of these girls came from very difficult family backgrounds who were not supported by their mom or their
00:51:30dad.
00:51:31You heard a lot of those types of stories from girls who came to the show who were not getting
00:51:36validation at home, but they were coming to the show to get validation.
00:51:41I've gone through my life being, you know, the black sheep of the family and not having anyone to talk
00:51:47to or explain my feelings to.
00:51:51I left home the summer after high school ended.
00:51:56I was 18.
00:51:58I packed up two suitcases and just bought a plane ticket and didn't tell my parents I was leaving and
00:52:04just saw my dad on the way out.
00:52:07He's like, where are you going? I was like, I'm moving. I'm leaving.
00:52:11And he's like, all right, have a nice life. I was like, all right, bye.
00:52:15I haven't felt loved by my parents in a long, you know, probably since I was a little kid.
00:52:21Hi.
00:52:22Hello.
00:52:24Darling.
00:52:25Hi, how are you?
00:52:26Fine.
00:52:27You're sleeping?
00:52:27Yes.
00:52:28Hi.
00:52:29Psychic, intuitive works. This is going to be a lot of fun.
00:52:31Susan's a psychic, and we're going to get a psychic consultation.
00:52:36See, I think what's going on with Shandy is Shandy and his family.
00:52:39Does anybody hug you?
00:52:44That's okay, Shandy.
00:52:55In my position.
00:53:01It was heartbreaking.
00:53:03And you want to be able to tell their story of what they've gone through in their life and how
00:53:11it's affecting their journey here.
00:53:14Seriously, I think I've grown more in, like, the past couple weeks than I've grown, like, in the past couple
00:53:18years.
00:53:19And if I go back home to, like, my life, I don't want you to go back to your life
00:53:23before going, there's always Walgreens.
00:53:24Yeah, everyone's like, no more Walgreens for Shandy.
00:53:26Yeah.
00:53:27Look at that as your past, and look at this whole experience as being your future.
00:53:34I'm five for nine.
00:53:35I look so fine.
00:53:37Yes, all my fans are so divine.
00:53:39Top models pack quick.
00:53:40On the road always gone.
00:53:42Pack your bags, y'all.
00:53:43You're going to my life!
00:53:48Wow!
00:53:50I'm pretty much in shock.
00:53:51I'm just like, okay, let's go.
00:53:55Let's go now.
00:53:58Going to Milan, that was the first time we went abroad for the end of the show, which is what
00:54:07the show became known for.
00:54:09You know, we tried to take the models to places where the industry was, you know, major.
00:54:16Those early cycles, they really gave me complete autonomy with certain things.
00:54:24We went to Verona, because I knew we could get the location.
00:54:28I just had this vision of this strong editorial with these women and just these gowns on these steps.
00:54:37Fabulous big fan, your designer's dream.
00:54:44Shandy looked awesome with the hair, the glasses, the gown.
00:54:49Shandy, she looks like she's an Italian vulcan.
00:54:51Hands down, baby.
00:54:52I don't know how she came from Walgreens to this.
00:54:55That's where they all come from, Walgreens and Mary Queen.
00:54:57Shandy completely blew me away.
00:55:00This is perfection personified.
00:55:03I'm crazy about it.
00:55:04And you know what? Your long limbs really work very well.
00:55:07The photographer gave notes to everyone.
00:55:09Not only were you his hands down favorite girl, yours were some of the best photographs he's taken all year.
00:55:15Wow.
00:55:15Once I started hearing feedback from the judges on the photos, I was like,
00:55:20Wow.
00:55:22I actually have a chance to win this whole thing. Cool.
00:55:32Did you want to stay in the running? Did you want to win it all?
00:55:36I did until, until what happened in Milan. And then I didn't care.
00:55:45When we first got there, they said, you're going to go to a bunch of ghosties.
00:55:50Ciao. Ciao.
00:55:52Here's how you'll be getting around Milan. Now come and choose your driver.
00:55:55I was like, that sounds really fun.
00:56:02That was all day long. It took all day long.
00:56:07And then we went back to like our little house that we were staying at.
00:56:11And I don't remember who said it, but somebody was like, how would you guys feel about having like the
00:56:17guys that were on the mopeds like come by and have dinner with you guys.
00:56:23And like, we'll have some wine and stuff. I was like, yeah, that sounds fun.
00:56:28We're just excited. Just like have a night.
00:56:31We were just like talking, drinking.
00:56:36I don't think I'd eaten anything at all or had any sleep.
00:56:42I remember getting in the hot tub. I remember April Mercedes getting in the hot tub.
00:56:50And then I just remember the guy looking at me and I looked at him and I was pretty drunk
00:56:54at that point.
00:56:58Everything kind of after that is just a blur.
00:57:05All I remember is just like, just like remember him on top of me.
00:57:10I was blacked out.
00:57:13No one did anything to stop it.
00:57:17And it all got filmed. All of it.
00:57:21Every moment of it.
00:57:27A more difficult territory is Shandy.
00:57:30Shandy. Okay.
00:57:32You remember the story with Shandy?
00:57:33Um.
00:57:42Left foot, right foot, never miss.
00:57:44Strike pose, blow a kiss.
00:57:46Left foot, right foot, let them know.
00:57:48Center stage, steal the show.
00:57:50Flash, flash, K-pop.
00:57:52Paparazzi in my block.
00:57:54Miss thing, do your thing.
00:57:56Top model, runway quote.
00:58:27Next up.
00:58:34This thing, do your thing, top model, all the way.
00:59:03This thing, do your thing, top model, all the way.
00:59:37This thing, do your thing, top model, all the way.
01:00:07This thing, do your thing, top model, all the way.
01:00:27This thing, do your thing, top model, all the way.
01:00:38This thing, do your thing, top model, all the way.
01:00:38This thing, do your thing, top model, all the way.
01:00:38This thing, do your thing, top model.
01:00:39This thing, do your thing, top model.
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