Deelnemers aan de populaire realityshow America’s Next Top Model werden keihard aangepakt, kregen niets betaald en moesten allerlei vernederende, gevaarlijke en belachelijke opdrachten uitvoeren. Een noemenswaardige modellencarrière hielden de kandidaten er desondanks niet aan over, trauma’s des te meer.
Het werd ook wel ‘the curse of America’s Next Top Model’ genoemd, en daar verwijst ook de titel van deze nieuwe podcast over het programma naar. De maker, journalist Bridget Armstrong, verslond de show als tiener. Nu begrijpt ze van oud-deelnemers dat ze uiteindelijk vooral voor producent en presentator Tyra Banks aan het werk waren. Maar deze vlot vertelde en goed geresearchte serie gaat verder dan de ontmaskering van Banks. Ook de mechanismen in de mode-industrie en de reality-tv-wereld worden onder de loep genomen, allemaal ingrediënten in de verslavende maar ook giftige cocktail die America’s Next Top Model was.
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?
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 contestants’ bodies, shamed them for their weights, and even brought on plus-size models, only to tell them there was no place for them in the industry. The show cast women with eating disorders and criticized their bodies, too. In this episode, we hear from contestants who went on the show with confidence and left with body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and other body image issues.
If you or someone you know is struggling with disordered eating, help is available. Call NEDA, the National Eating Disorder Association at (800) 931-2237 or text “NEDA” to 741-741.
Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts, where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode.
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