Um, Tyra: 10 Times America's Next Top Model Really Was Quite Problematic

Source: Amy Sussman / Getty

Social media doesn’t forget.

Tyra Banks was trending on Twitter on Tuesday as people, for some reason, decided to put on blast a number of very troublesome moments that played out on Tyra’s popular series America’s Next Top Model.  The incidents occurred over the years and many said they no longer needed to be overlooked and swept under the rug. Commenters felt that a lot of the harsh criticism Tyra displayed during early seasons of ANTM was directed at Black women, and that she put a lot of the young women, eager for the opportunity to make their dreams come true, through some really ridiculous stuff.

One prominent clip that was passed around Twitter was a clip of former ANTM winner Danielle Evans coming back from a dentist’s appointment after she was encouraged to close her gap because it wasn’t a “marketable” look. When Danielle didn’t because she wasn’t comfortable with the idea, the judges gave her a guilt trip. She would eventually go and have a the gap partially filled in because she was made to feel like she couldn’t sign a CoverGirl contract with it. Plenty of women with gaps said that moment was hard to watch for them growing up.

Despite their issue with Danielle’s gap, Tyra had another contestant named Chelsey, a young white woman, have a gap widened in her mouth to give her a unique look:

Yeah, that’s kind of insane. And while we all can agree that Tyra is an iconic model who has opened up plenty of doors, there are many who say that doesn’t absolve her from having a show where a lot of questionable things occurred, including questionable things greenlit by or said by Tyra, herself. She’s come a long way, but people still want an explanation for the following incidents. Hit the flip to see 10 very problematic ANTM moments.

The Time Tyra Yelled at Tiffany

When Tiffany was cut in cycle four and didn’t have the reaction that Tyra expected her to have (tearful or just plain ol’ sad and disappointed), the supermodel chastised her. At the time, people could understand Tyra’s frustration. However, it’s true that not every person reacts the same to being hurt, and like Tiffany said, she couldn’t change the situation. Years later, Tiffany claimed that Tyra actually told her, in front of everyone, “You can go back to your house and sleep on your mattress on the floor with your baby,” which was edited out.

Tyra on the Right and Wrong Way to Be “Proud”

In cycle five of ANTM, model Kim Stolz told Tyra and the judges that she was openly gay and proud, hence her attire. However, Tyra basically implied that being being too proud could be a no-no in the industry.

“I think there’s a certain thing of being proud,” she said. “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!'”

The Blackface Challenge

There aren’t too many clips more cringe-y than the time the ladies were made up to look like they were of another race. One white model was painted to look “African,” with a head wrap and all. Another white woman was made to look “African American,” with an afro wig put on her head and dark paint put on her skin. The young woman said of her look, “I’m a Black girl with a nose job,” to which the makeup artist replied, “You are! You’re a Jackson.”

Yaya’s Afrocentric Tastes and “Africanness” Being Disrespected

Tyra loved telling somebody what was and wasn’t attractive. For Yaya of cycle three, she always presented herself as Black and proud, and in touch with her African roots. For some reason, that was exhausting to judges on the panel. However, they wanted her to play up being pro-Black when it was convenient for them, like during this hat challenge gone left. When she passed on the “fake Kente” hat offered for a cowgirl hat that she said looked less cliche, she was criticized. On top of some insensitive comments being made about her looking like she was about to ride a giraffe, Tyra told her that being defensive about the tone-deaf things the judges were saying to her wasn’t attractive.

That Time Ebony Quit and Was Made to Feel Like Sh-t About It

If you ever watched any of the past seasons of ANTM, you already know that experience of living with a group of women you don’t know with so many different personalities to being critiqued all of the time can be a lot, especially for contestants of color. When Ebony Morgan of cycle nine broke down as she was pushed to the next round, saying she didn’t think being a model was really for her, Tyra basically told her she just couldn’t hang because she couldn’t deal with people not telling her she was perfect all the time. That’s not all though. Tyra also told Ebony that “the most unattractive thing in the world to me is a quitter” before telling the girl she could go.

Winnie Harlow Being Called a “Panda”

Before she was going as Winnie Harlow and was just being known as her real name, Chantelle, the model tried to let a popular photographer in cycle 21 named Yu Tsai know that she wasn’t comfortable with him calling her his loveable “panda.” Now, he was calling her that because of her vitiligo, and when she let him know that she understood that he meant well but that he should stop, he somehow got incredibly defensive and lashed out at her for being offended.

The Way the Contestants Were Allowed to Treat Trans Model Isis

It’s a new day, and even in 2020 it’s hard to get people to understand how not to be jacka–es when it comes to issues affecting transgender men and women. But when Isis King was a contestant on cycle 11, the other girls treated her like crap. They said things like, where they are from, people like Isis get shot.  They joked about her being hairy during challenges, and one contestant said, “I’ll stomp that man right out of the competition.” Whew, chile, the ignorance.

Dangerous Challenges for No Reason

There were plenty of challenges over the years where the contestants were asked to do things that could have truly injured them. From being made to walk a moving runway, which was tame, to trying to avoid a swinging pendulum on a runway and strut in extremely high heels. There were moments where it seemed like the girls were just made to do silly sh-t so as to be entertaining, not because it was really integral to being a supermodel.

The Time a Model Got Hypothermia

In cycle seven, the models were made to do a water nymph challenge where they posed with another participant in some really cold water. And we get it, pools are cold, but everyone complained that the pool was freezing. When Caridee was obviously affected by it, teeth chattering, Tyra told her she needed to push through. She was from Fargo, North Dakota so she was made to believe she should be able to deal with it. However, Caridee had to stop because she got early stage hypothermia. Tyra and Jay Alexander then seemingly chastised the girl for not saying she was being pushed past her limits as though she hadn’t just encouraged Caridee to try and deal with the freezing water temperature.