Curse of: America’s Next Top Model

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 and reactions on screen and how casting prioritized personalities over potential. We also explore why the winners rarely became working models. From laughable challenges to unusable portfolios, this episode exposes the truth: The show cared more about TV drama than the contestant’s modeling careers.  Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts [https://www.instagram.com/glasspodcasts/], where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

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 experiences they shared with the show’s psychologists were later used to manipulate them for the cameras. We discuss contestants who may have slipped through the cracks of the psych eval and later met tragic ends. Then we explore the story of one model who says being on ANTM sent her into a downward spiral towards drugs and crime.  Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts [https://www.instagram.com/glasspodcasts/], where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

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 were told these psych evals were about keeping them safe. But whose safety was ANTM really worried about? In this episode, we explain how the ANTM psych eval worked and where it failed. Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts [https://www.instagram.com/glasspodcasts/], where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

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. But what really happened behind the scenes? Angelea and Lisa tell very different stories. We hear from the models at the center of ANTM’s messiest win and discuss the contestant contract that enabled it all.  Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts [https://www.instagram.com/glasspodcasts/], where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

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. Cycle 1 also laid the groundwork for the body shaming, humiliation, and on-screen drama that made ANTM iconic. From the beginning, ANTM loved a Cinderella story. While Cycle 1 winner Adrianne Curry may have gotten the crown, she didn’t get her happily ever after.  Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts [https://www.instagram.com/glasspodcasts/], where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.