Curse of: America’s Next Top Model

When America’s Next Top Model premiered in the early 2000s, it looked like a golden ticket: a glamorous TV show that could catapult aspiring models into fame. But two decades later, many contestants describe its aftermath as a curse. Hosted by pop-culture journalist Bridget Armstrong, Curse of: America’s Next Top Model is a deep investigation into the hidden costs of reality television, and what the show’s legacy reveals about beauty, power, and the culture that cheered it on.

Through conversations with dozens of former contestants, producers and crew members, Curse of: America’s Next Top Model explores what happened behind the scenes on one of the most iconic and problematic reality shows of our generation.

The series starts off by exploring how ANTM almost didn’t get made. You’ll get the real story behind the show’s most infamous controversies. Then, the models and producers pull back the curtain and talk about how the most outrageous photoshoots and runaways came together. You’ll hear from contestants who say ANTM saved their lives and from those who say it ruined theirs. The contestants also talk about how the body shaming they experienced on the show caused lifelong scars. Finally, we try to answer the question, is Tyra Banks the ultimate reality television villain?

Curse of: America’s Next Top Model takes you on an investigative journey to figure out if the so-called curse is real? And if so, what was the toll on the models, and us, the audience?

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Avsnitt(18)

America’s Next Top Body Shamer| EP 9

To this day, Tyra Banks hails ANTM as a champion of body positivity. But in reality, the show was one of the biggest body shaming offenders of our generation. Season after season, ANTM picked apart co...

11 Nov 20251h

Fierce, Queer, and Flawed | EP 8

America’s Next Top Model was a pioneer of LGBTQIA+ representation on reality TV. The show gave us iconic queer judges, featured an openly lesbian contestant on season one, and even made groundbreaking...

4 Nov 202554min

Race Swap Card | EP 7

ANTM was one of the most racially diverse reality shows of its era. So why did so many of its episodes look so racist? This episode investigates how ANTM represented, performed, and exploited race. We...

28 Okt 20251h 1min

Reality TV vs. Modeling Competition | EP 6

ANTM was never really about creating top models. It was a reality TV disguised as a modeling competition, and it showed. We break down how photo shoots were designed to create unforgettable moments an...

21 Okt 202555min

Psych Out | EP 5

CONTENT WARNING: This episode mentions sexual assault, suicide, and suicidal ideation. We continue our discussion about the ANTM psychological evaluation. We hear from models who say the traumatic ex...

14 Okt 202543min

Psych Up | EP 4

CONTENT WARNING: This episode mentions sexual assault, suicide, and suicidal ideation. Before you could be cast on America’s Next Top Model, you had to pass a psychological evaluation. Contestants w...

7 Okt 202541min

Tale of Two Winners | EP 3

We explore one of ANTM’s most infamous controversies. Angelea Preston won the All-Stars season of America’s Next Top Model. Later, she was stripped of the title, and her win was given to Lisa D’Amato....

30 Sep 202557min

The Blueprint | EP 2

Cycle 1 was messy, low-rent, and groundbreaking. It was also the blueprint for everything ANTM would become. It introduced us to the larger-than-life personalities that became synonymous with the show...

23 Sep 202550min