A lot of people I know are currently rewatching very old episodes of America’s Next Top Model. The reason? Well, a new three-part Netflix documentary is on its way—Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model—which promises to take us behind the scenes of what is possibly the most unhinged TV show of the aughts. But also, it just is and has always been as insanely addictive as it is toxic, from the bonkers makeovers and the bizarre feuds to the increasingly outlandish challenges. There truly is nothing else like it, and, for the sake of young women everywhere, I hope there never will be again.
Ahead of the new docuseries’s release on February 16, here’s a recap of the 32 most genuinely unbelievable things that happened on ANTM.
Literally everything Janice Dickinson said
From “Zip it, bitch, you’re dead in my book” to “She’s huge—she’s not going to be a top model,” no one made her feelings known quite as, er, colorfully as the now 70-year-old former model.
When Jaeda was forced to kiss a male model who told her he didn’t like Black girls
After learning this at a dinner, the contestant had to lock lips with him the next day, as part of a deodorant commercial in Barcelona. She broke down on set and was blamed for “looking defeated,” though she did go through with the kiss. At judging, she was criticized for not taking control of the situation and swiftly eliminated. Why did the show cast him? And why wasn’t he removed from it after he made that comment?
When they switched the models’ ethnicities (twice)
They put white women in blackface; made one Black girl dress as a Native American and another as Korean; and gave them all children from their newly assigned ethnicities to pose with. Oh, and they did it again nine seasons later.
When Kahlen learned her childhood friend had died—and then was placed in a grave herself
Hours after hearing that her childhood best friend had passed away in a car accident, the contestant was placed in a coffin for a shoot themed around the seven deadly sins (she was “wrath”). At judging, she put on a brave face and was praised for “pushing through.”
When Keenyah was relentlessly fat-shamed and then made to pose as an elephant
A contestant who had a totally normal body was repeatedly framed as the “fat” one—made to endure constant jokes about her figure, assigned to embody “gluttony” in one shoot, and then dressed as an elephant for another.
When Toccara spoke out against body-shaming and was cut
In the previous season, another model asked why a stylist didn’t have more options in her size on set. The following week, she was eliminated.
When 50 Cent pushed Jael into the pool
According to the other girls, this contestant “deserved” to be pushed into a swimming pool by the rapper during a party because she was annoying him....
When the girls were given bikini waxes on camera
The first-ever episode of the first-ever season involved a personal trainer weighing all of the contestants, after which they were all filmed getting Brazilian waxes. Again, why?
Tyra’s breakdown
This is the one that everyone remembers—but watching it back is a real rollercoaster.
When Michelle was bullied for having a skin condition
When a competitor spread the rumor that Michelle’s impetigo was actually a deadly and contagious flesh-eating bacteria which had taken hold of her face, utter pandemonium ensued.
Elyse’s rant
One of the most memorable extended monologues in ANTM history came courtesy of this pixie-cropped Season 1 contestant.
The contestant who kept making racial comments
Season 6’s Dani seemed to have a huge problem with the women of color around her, and was (thankfully) sent packing after the audition process.
When Ebony’s skin was repeatedly criticized
This dark-skinned contestant’s skin texture was a frequent topic of conversation at judging, where she was blamed for being “ashy.”
Shandi’s Milanese nightmare
One of the most shocking moments in Season 2 involved a group of guys who helped chauffeur the girls to their go-sees in Milan being invited over to the contestants’ house for drinks. Cut to Shandi having an encounter with one of them and then, later, calling her boyfriend to confess. It’s horrific to watch.
When Danielle and Joanie were forced to “fix” their teeth
As part of their “makeovers,” Joanie had teeth pulled out and Danielle had her tooth gap closed—even though she repeatedly said she didn’t want to.
But then Chelsey had her tooth gap widened
Nine seasons later, another contestant got the opposite treatment.
When Danielle was made to leave the emergency room early for a photo shoot
The Season 6 contestant was taken to a hospital while in Thailand for exhaustion, dehydration, and food poisoning, but somehow came back in time to pose on an elephant.
When Rebecca fainted
Another moment that you can’t possibly forget—and I still can’t believe was captured on camera.
Tyra’s fake fainting
In order to teach the girls about acting, the host collapsed in front of them, scaring them to death.
When the girls had to wear raw meat
Beef underwear, anyone?
When the girls were “murdered” for a shoot
In Season 8, one shoot involved the contestants posing as brutalized corpses: one girl was electrocuted in a bathtub, one stabbed, one strangled, one shot, and another had her organs removed.
When the girls had to pose like they had bulimia, anorexia, were addicted to drugs, or were on a casting couch
This Season 7 shoot themed around “model stereotypes” has to be seen to be believed.
When CariDee was blamed for getting hypothermia on a shoot
This contestant was pulled out of the icy water during a shoot in a swimming pool after she got hypothermia and began convulsing. She kept telling people she was feeling cold, but was later blamed for not speaking up enough.
When Keenyah’s on-set harassment wasn’t taken seriously
On a shoot in South Africa, a male model kept asking Keenyah for her number. Later, during their shoot, he touched her inappropriately and moaned in her ear. When she expressed concern, she was told that she should have handled the situation better using her “feminine wiles,” and “in a fun way” told him to back off “without putting static in the air.”
All the coerced nude shoots
“How much do you actually want this?” was a common refrain—and if you didn’t play ball, you were kicked off set.
When Adrianne was assaulted on the streets of Paris
In Season 1, a contestant was doing go-sees in Paris when a man on the street grabbed her. It’s a terrifying moment.
When Alexandra got hit by the pendulum
This contestant fell twice during this scary runway challenge—and, unsurprisingly, ended up injuring herself.
When Kim was told to act less gay
This contestant said she was proud to be gay. Tyra’s response? “I think there’s a certain thing of being proud. Like, I’m Black and proud, you know what I mean? But I’m not walking down the red carpet like: ‘I’m Black. I’m Black.’” Wow.
When Lisa peed in a diaper
The wild child from Season 5 came onto set one time wearing an adult diaper and then urinated into it. It’s still unclear exactly why.
When the girls had to pose as homeless people (with unhoused extras)
The show’s way of putting “a spotlight on a major issue” like homelessness was getting the contestants to dress as homeless youth and pose with “homeless partners.” Yikes.
The shoot about the dangers of smoking
Complete with fake yellow teeth, face tumors, and hair loss.
When Melrose had to pose as Donald Trump
For a shoot that required the girls to embody both halves of a celebrity couple, this contestant was, er, Donald and Melania Trump. Totally bonkers, like everything else on this list.
