- 7 weeks ago
The runway looks glamorous, but the truth behind the scenes tells a very different story. Join us as we count down the most shocking behind-the-seams realities of "Project Runway"! From unpaid designers and models working for free, to a corporate legal battle that derailed careers and a prize money clause nobody saw coming — this beloved fashion competition had plenty of dark secrets hiding beneath the surface.
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00:00Challenge. Runway. One-day challenge. Sewing. Runway.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today, we're counting down our picks for the most revealing, behind-the-seams realities
00:11hiding beneath Project Runway's glamorous facade.
00:15The producer was Harvey Weinstein. All the producers were like him. Mean and entitled.
00:23Tim is a huge, major, important component of the show.
00:28No, but you cannot write that, you cannot think about that ahead of time.
00:32And who knew? I mean, I certainly didn't.
00:34It just happened. He was there, and it was perfect, and, you know, we fell in love with him.
00:39Across 16 seasons, his calm guidance became an essential part of the competition,
00:44right alongside mood and the ticking clock.
00:47Yet when season 21 brought Heidi Klum back, Gunn said his agent learned that the producer simply did not want
00:53him.
00:53I wasn't invited to the party.
00:55Oh, I see.
00:59My agent called the producers to say,
01:01We understand Heidi signed up, we haven't heard a thing about Tim, and they said we don't want him.
01:07Weeks later, they offered him a small cameo in one episode, an invitation he declined rather than accept such a
01:13drastically reduced role.
01:15The slight looks even harsher beside an earlier indignity.
01:18Gunn worked without pay during the show's first two seasons,
01:21and he did not realize reality TV personalities were compensated.
01:25They said we really want you to be our consultant,
01:27and I should add unpaid, as was my role for the first two years.
01:31I didn't think anyone got paid for reality television.
01:34Although he initially felt devastated and humiliated, he later said he had no complaints, choosing gratitude over bitterness.
01:42His response was pure class, but the situation was anything but fair.
01:47Things happen for a reason,
01:48And I feel extremely lucky to have had 19 seasons of the show, 16 with Heidi, and I have a
01:57beautiful Emmy sitting on my kitchen counter.
02:00Number nine, Ethan Muntz said the show wanted less Utica.
02:04Casting a performer for a vivid artistic identity and then resisting that identity is a baffling contradiction.
02:10I'm Ethan, but you may recognize me as Utica from RuPaul's Drag Race.
02:15You think I can eat that? Yeah, you can chew on it. Girl, this is crystals.
02:19Season 21 finalist Ethan Muntz said he entered promotional filming in drag,
02:24only to be asked to change so viewers could meet more of Ethan.
02:27He also recalled early pushback when trying to appear as Utica during the competition,
02:32despite being cast as a drag designer.
02:35Introduce me as Utica to the world. Like, that's amazing, right?
02:40And I don't have to worry about, like, waking up early.
02:41Um, I got in full drag, and they told me to change.
02:47During the boring to brilliant challenge, Muntz felt some feedback targeted the persona rather than the clothes,
02:53leaving him disappointed enough to stop bringing Utica back.
02:56Utica's all the light, uplift, and truly that showstopper energy,
03:01so if there's anything that's gonna get my team on track to be a showstopper, it's her.
03:06He had even planned a full-circle finale look, but sensed the production was not interested.
03:11For a performer cast partly because of his drag, that much self-editing sounds like a painful price of admission.
03:18Some personalities are simply too colorful to tone down.
03:21Scan the QR code onscreen to join Ms. Mojo's 24-7 livestream, where the pop culture fun is always turned
03:27all the way up.
03:28She's the reason why the clothes are cool, and the clothes are interesting, and the clothes have a story.
03:35Like, I'm bringing her narrative throughout everything, because, like, she's my everything, why would I leave her behind?
03:42Number 8. Size inclusivity was an afterthought.
03:45For years, the show seemed to treat body diversity more like a novelty challenge than a normal part of fashion.
03:51I find this always so amazing, when you guys say, like, it's the first time I had to design for
03:57a real woman.
03:58No, I've actually designed.
03:58Like, who is not real?
04:00The series did not introduce a size-inclusive model cast until season 16,
04:04making broader representation a belated structural change, rather than an early priority.
04:10Heidi Klum admitted it should have happened years earlier, and revealed that several contestants were unhappy about the new setup.
04:16What were the designers' reactions, knowing that they would have to design for women who maybe don't fit the typical,
04:21you know, model standard?
04:22They kind of went like this.
04:24Ohhhh!
04:26You know, some of them, a lot of them actually weren't too happy about it.
04:30That resistance exposed why the shift mattered.
04:33Dressing different bodies was being treated as an extra obstacle instead of a basic professional skill.
04:39Ashley Nell Tipton had already broken ground two years earlier as the first designer for plus-size women to win
04:45the competition.
04:45Still, one historic victory could not make the broader format representative overnight.
04:51She was courageous to stand her ground and say, you know what, this finale, I want to design for the
04:57plus-size model.
04:57It's a whole new world.
04:59It's more inclusive.
05:00And I'm glad there is an Ashley to represent that.
05:03Number 7.
05:04A legal battle left designers in limbo.
05:06It finally hits me that I'm showing at Bryant Park.
05:10It's actually happening.
05:12Season 6's finalists reached New York Fashion Week, then had to remain hidden backstage while their collections walked without names
05:19attached.
05:20The arrangement came from a legal battle after the Weinstein Company agreed to move the series from Bravo to Lifetime,
05:26prompting NBC Universal to sue for breach of contract.
05:29A court injunction reportedly blocked Lifetime from airing or promoting the season.
05:34Today is our season 6 finale.
05:38The designers worked so hard to be here today, so please give them all a big applause.
05:44After the lawsuit was settled, the premiere finally arrived in August 2009, nearly a year after filming began.
05:51That delay robbed contestants of timely publicity and forced the finalists to miss the recognition that normally accompanies a Bryant
05:58Park showing.
05:59This day to me, it's somewhat surreal.
06:02You just kind of turn this switch on.
06:05Okay, let's just rock it.
06:06Companies fought over a hit franchise.
06:09The designers bore the consequences.
06:11Number 6.
06:12Stress Kept Designers Awake.
06:14After tomorrow's runway show, there will only be five of you.
06:18So, you have until midnight tonight, use your time exceedingly well.
06:25The workroom lights went out, but the competition rarely switched off for them.
06:29Season 6 finalist Carol Hannah-Whitfield recalled lying awake before a runway, panicking because she had completed only a top.
06:36She finished the dress in roughly 40 minutes the next morning.
06:39I want to do, like, some shaping of the skirt.
06:42I have to magically make up a skirt and make sure it fits and tack down the straps and pick
06:49out hair and makeup.
06:50No pressure.
06:51She explained that contestants' sleep deprivation did not come solely from limited hours, but also from stress.
06:57The schedule hardly helped.
06:59Producer Sarah Rea said designers could rise around 5 a.m., work until 11 p.m. or midnight,
07:05and repeat the cycle without days off for five or six weeks.
07:09I knew that it wasn't going to take me that long to finish mine, so I wanted to lay down
07:15for a while.
07:17Love you, bye.
07:18Are you joking? It's the last challenge. You can't take a nap.
07:22Rea also recalled ambulances being called during some seasons.
07:25Instead, production required contestants to receive at least six hours of sleep.
07:30Under those conditions, exhaustion was hardly surprising.
07:33Number five. The verdict was a production marathon.
07:37The sleek few minutes shown on television concealed an hours-long gauntlet for the designers.
07:42I actually wasn't expecting you all were actually very nice.
07:45I thought I was literally going to disintegrate standing here.
07:47So thank you. I survived your words. Thank you.
07:51In 2013, producer Sarah Rea said the models first walked more than once without the judges,
07:56allowing the crew to gather fuller coverage of each garment.
07:59Once the official presentation began, the stretch through elimination could consume six or seven hours,
08:05including breaks while crews repositioned cameras.
08:08Leaving the set offered limited privacy.
08:10Cameras often remained with contestants after they returned to their accommodations,
08:15and calls with loved ones were coordinated so production could record them.
08:19No, joda. I can't believe that I'll be here. I can't believe it.
08:24But I've lost it.
08:26Mom!
08:27Mom!
08:29Mom!
08:29Mom!
08:30Mom!
08:31Mom!
08:32Mom!
08:32Internet, television, and newspapers were also off-limits during filming.
08:36The finished episode made the verdict feel swift,
08:39but reaching it demanded another exhausting round of waiting, performing, and staying camera ready.
08:45Project Runway was only my beginning.
08:47It pushed me as far as I could be pushed, and I'm very happy with the experience.
08:52You're happy?
08:53I am.
08:55Well, good, because I have to send you to the work room to clean up your space.
08:57Number 4. The cash prize came with an ownership claim.
09:01I'm Jay. Hopefully you know who I am.
09:04And, um, I'm not really gonna go into a spiel about my work.
09:08Why don't we just let it speak for itself?
09:11Season 1 champion Jay McCarroll discovered that collecting $100,000
09:15could mean surrendering something far more valuable.
09:18New York Magazine reported that accepting the money would have given the Weinstein Company
09:22a permanent 10% stake in McCarroll's brand,
09:25even though he had not yet established one.
09:28Congratulations.
09:29You are the winner of Project Runway.
09:31What?
09:32We felt that Jay has an original voice,
09:35and we really believe he's the next great American designer.
09:39What?
09:40McCarroll refused the money.
09:42He also declined Banana Republic's mentorship,
09:44telling The Washington Post that its mass production opportunity arrived
09:48when he was too overwhelmed to take it on.
09:50The ownership clause was later removed from contestants' contracts,
09:53which only makes its original presence more startling.
09:57It ended up being a huge humiliation for Miramax
10:01to have the winner of the show turn down the winning.
10:04Mmm.
10:05But he did, and I was proud of him.
10:07McCarroll won the inaugural season,
10:09yet the cash attached to that victory demanded a concession he was unwilling to make.
10:14Number 3.
10:15A Season 3 model said exposure was her only pay.
10:18Michael.
10:19Um, well, since I don't have nausea, I'm gonna go with Clarissa.
10:25Model Clarissa Anderson reached Fashion Week during Season 3,
10:29but the achievement did not come with a paycheck.
10:31She described work days stretching well past 12 hours, sometimes on consecutive days,
10:37while long periods were spent waiting in a room the models nicknamed solitary confinement.
10:42Models, this is a competition for you too.
10:45The model paired with a winning designer will receive a fashion spread in Elle magazine.
10:49Meals were provided, yet Anderson said the models received no payment.
10:53Worse, the production schedule prevented her from accepting other bookings through her agency,
10:58leaving her with no income and forcing her to ask her parents for help.
11:02Anderson said the opportunity was justified as valuable exposure,
11:06but it had generated virtually no work for her.
11:08You guys are not always on, but then when we talk specifically to the designers, that is your moment.
11:13A glamorous television credit meant little when participating made it harder to earn a living.
11:19Number 2.
11:20Contestants risked their livelihoods to compete
11:22A coveted television break could demand a surprisingly expensive leap of faith.
11:27The Empire State Building is right out my window.
11:29Yes, this is a little off the beaten path for a Mormon.
11:32I've never been to New York before.
11:33I'm in a strange place, I don't know these people, and I will no longer be the same.
11:37In 2013, Portland Monthly reported that Project Runway contestants received no pay,
11:42even though many had to quit their jobs to participate.
11:45The headline prize package went only to the winner,
11:48while everyone else returned home with visibility, but no guaranteed income.
11:52The winner will receive a spread in Elle Magazine,
11:55a mentorship with the Banana Republic design team,
11:58and $100,000 to start their own line.
12:01It's a head start that money just can't buy.
12:04Season 9 designer Bryce Black said appearing on the show sometimes hurt his chances of being hired,
12:09because employers questioned whether he genuinely wanted the work.
12:12His actual priority, he said, was simply paying his bills.
12:16I just wanted to show everybody what a great designer I am, and I don't feel like I ever got
12:23there.
12:23The series offered a rare platform, but for designers without savings or a safety net,
12:28pursuing that opportunity meant carrying the financial risk themselves.
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12:59Number 1.
13:01Contestants lacked union-backed safeguards.
13:04Designers were sewing under television deadlines
13:06without the union-backed safeguards common on many Hollywood productions.
13:10We don't know where we're going.
13:12We don't know what's gonna happen when we get there.
13:14We don't know anything.
13:15All we know is we're going to a party
13:18where we're gonna be presenting these gowns to Catherine Melendrino.
13:21The New York Times reported in 2009
13:23that reality TV participants generally worked without union representation,
13:28leaving them outside industry rules governing pay,
13:31meal periods, and rest between filming sessions.
13:34I need you all to wake up right now.
13:37Oh, my God.
13:39Rise and shine, everyone.
13:41Yeah.
13:42Rally.
13:42What are you doing here?
13:45We're having a Project Runway come-as-you-are party, everyone.
13:49Responding to scrutiny over filming conditions,
13:51Project Runway producers attributed the grueling schedule
13:54partly to financial constraints,
13:56saying the series operated on less than half the budget of a similar network show.
14:00All right, designers, you have two hours remaining tonight, all right?
14:07So make it work.
14:09They maintained that contestants never went more than six hours without a meal
14:13and could access snacks and water throughout filming.
14:16Those assurances hardly match the security of formal, union-backed workplace protections.
14:22Which designer deserved better from the judges, producers, or the edit?
14:26Make your case in the comments.
14:27I love you.
14:30Thanks.
14:31Thanks for happy and tuning in.
14:31Feel happy to watch one more.
14:31Thanks, once.
14:32As an unfortunate难 possible,