Original subtitles

[horn blaring]

Tiffany, I'm extremely disappointed in you.

[tense music playing]

This is a joke to you.

Do you know that all of America is rooting for you? Do you know that?

You come in here with a defeatist attitude.

I don't have a bad attitude.

-[continues arguing] -Be quiet, Tiffany. Be quiet!

What is wrong with you?

[yells] Stop it! I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this!

[techno music building]

When my mother yells like this, it's because she loves me!

I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you. How dare you?

[Tyra Banks] I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this.

I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you.

How dare you?

You have no idea what I had to do to get from where I was

to where I am now!

[music crescendos and stops]

[Tiffany] I'm a cover girl, Mommy. I'm a cover girl.

[techno music playing]

[woman 1] Tyra Banks set out to create a space

for people that were not the ideal weight,

not the ideal height, to show beauty in a different light.

[model 1] To be on America's Next Top Model,

it felt like my dreams were coming true.

-[cheering] -My life was forever changed.

I felt like I was part of something so big.

The only reason the door was open to me was because of Tyra.

Hello, my fierce Mr. Jay.

-I revered her. -[all] Fierce!

[Miss J] It was just so cool to me to watch queer people on a show like that.

[all] Gay!

Darling, yes.

It was so huge.

[newscaster] 10,000 girls turned out for America's Next Top Model.

[man 1] That time in television was just crazy.

-[music warps] -It can make you or break you.

[music resumes]

Real thin teenage girls are being told, "You're too fat."

-[model] It was a reflection of the time. -She looks pudgy.

That's exactly how it was.

[Miss J] Girl, you walk like you're on crack.

Ooh, baby girl, baby girl.

[woman 2] I mean, look at how these people were treated.

It raises a lot of concerns around exploitation.

They dress like homeless people for a shoot.

We are actually going to switch your ethnicities.

-What is happening right now? -It's not about empowering women, no.

This is not America's Next Top Best Friend.

Look at my teeth.

I'm not prepared. I'm not mentally prepared for this.

We were crushed. One girl almost got hypothermia.

-But I guess it made for good TV. -You'll be able to survive this.

[model 2] No one on the show knew what we were signing up for.

[screaming]

Why are we filming this?

[model 3] This show wasn't meant to help us. It was meant to break us down.

How many were scared?

I always believed she would have my back. I was ultimately proven wrong.

Tyra Banks, I need an explanation.

-[sniffling] -It's time to talk about it.

All of it. The good and the bad, the ugly.

[reporter] Tyra Banks is once again trending for her crimes against humanity.

[woman] Tyra Banks, you're a joke.

[man 2] I don't hate Tyra Banks. I do think that she was a sellout.

I feel like I haven't heard from her in a while.

I wonder what she's up to.

[producer] Hello. Tyra, take one.

I haven't really said much.

But now it's time.

[frantic dance music playing]

[Tyra] I was rooting for you!

[music fades]

[producer] Push it back like two inches or…

[Tyra] Thank you. Thank you.

[pensive music playing]

I'm gonna take you to 2020.

[channel switching]

COVID hit.

And the world was binging TV.

[newscaster] An Oklahoma man who goes by the name Joe Exotic.

[phones dinging]

And started to binge Top Model.

[upbeat music playing]

It got so big.

My OG.

My favorite things ever…

Love, love, love that show.

[Tyra] And it brought so much joy to so many people.

These are my favorite America's Next Top Models and where they are now.

And so much anger.

Tyra Banks should have been called out years ago.

She's perpetuating a narrative constructed by a multi-billion…

[Tyra] A lot of people were part of the next generation.

[overlapping chatter]

They didn't watch it back then.

And it went from this thing that everybody loves to, overnight…

-[music warps] -Like, just a whole different lens.

Look how wrong this is.

What I think is important is to understand where that came from.

[dramatic sting]

[woman] Early 2000s.

Very white, very thin, very blonde.

Heroin chic was still ideal.

[Tyra] Models looked a certain way.

[model] Heidi Klum, Gisele Bündchen. The Victoria's Secret angels.

Thin, tall, white women.

And then there's Tyra.

[angelic vocalization]

[Tyra] I remember my very first season in Paris as a model,

living in, like, a dorm.

Gets kind of hard, you know, being new and all these supermodels there

and you don't feel accepted.

Just pounding that pavement.

Trying to get to a place where you can pay your bills,

where you can be chosen.

Six agencies and the first five said no.

It kind of hurt, you know? They were like, "We don't want Black girls."

Oh, your nose is too big. Oh, your lips are too full.

You start looking in the mirror, like, "Oh my God, am I ugly or what?"

That hurts deep.

I would go home and just feel defeated and just feel like, ugh.

I was constantly being told, "No, you can't do this because you're Black."

There were not a lot of Black models back then.

We were being paid so much less just because of the color of our skin.

Even if it was proven that we would sell more.

[host] Did you know there's actually an interview accompanying

this striking Fabrizio Ferri photograph?

Yes, Tyra Banks speaks.

I saw Tyra Banks in person yesterday. She was having lunch in the Four Seasons.

Nobody in the Four Seasons recognized Tyra Banks.

-She had her clothes on. -[man] Oh...

But I'm not scared of risk at all.

I'm not scared to fail. It's about getting knocked down and getting back up.

I just said, "Let me just give it my all."

[newscaster] At 21, Tyra's already launched an acting career…

[both] Give me that sweater. Oh no, you not.

…signed a lucrative Covergirl contract.

It was amazing to see a Black woman dominating the modeling industry.

[reporter] Supermodel Tyra Banks is the first Black woman

to appear in the coveted cover picture.

[model] When we saw Tyra, that was our open door to say that,

"Yes, for you too, this is possible."

[model] I started thinking a little differently.

Maybe this modeling might be something for me.

[Tyra] People said, "Black girls aren't gonna be successful."

You won't get covers, no this, no that. And I proved them all wrong.

[triumphant music playing]

I wanted to show that beauty is not one thing.

I wanted to fight against the fashion industry.

And one day, this idea just hit me.

[dramatic music playing]

What if I created a show

where you saw what it took to become a model?

And for this show to represent

not all white, not all skinny,

but just showing all the differences and all the different types of beauties.

I had a feeling that I was gonna change the beauty world.

This was my way to get back.

[music ends]

And so a couple of weeks later, I was at drinks

at the Standard Hotel with Ken Mok.

[inspirational music playing]

[music ends]

[Ken] I remember getting the call from my agent saying,

"K, listen, Tyra Banks wants to meet you."

[inhales deeply] I was like, "Really?"

I remember that meeting to this day.

I walked up there and I thought,

it's gonna be basically a vanity project for her.

She's not gonna do any of the work. I mean, she's just a model.

She's probably not very bright.

I said, "Look, Tyra, what is it that you wanna do?"

And she said she wants to do the show about modeling, the making of a model.

[audience applauding]

[Tyra] There was a show called American Idol.

Kelly Clarkson had won that first season,

but I was always curious of, like, what is Kelly doing when she goes home?

I wanna marry American Idol and The Real World

and set it in the modeling industry.

And I pitched him the idea and he said…

"Oh, I can make this work."

[Tyra] Ken is like one of the godfathers of reality television.

[Ken] I had created a show called Making the Band

that followed the journey of people auditioning

and then creating this boy band…

O-Town!

[Ken] …and seeing if this boy band could succeed.

So he explained to me, you can't just be follow people.

You have to have a format.

[Ken] We had ten girls living in an apartment.

Each week, they would be taught a modeling skill.

Then one model would be sent home.

The last model standing would then be named…

America's Next Top Model.

[Ken] I knew that one key to the success of the show

would be to have really great coaches and judges that popped on TV.

[cameras clicking]

And then she said, "We need a runway coach."

I thought she was gonna mention some woman

who, like, ran some modeling school or something like that.

She goes, "No, there's this guy named J. Alexander."

"He's this six foot five African American guy."

I'm like, "What?"

I was J. Alexander, queen of the catwalk.

[groovy music playing]

Our motto is "walk like it's for sale, and the rent is due tonight."

He just blew me away.

[newscaster] For most models, getting that supermodel stride isn't that easy.

So who do they turn to for guidance? J. Alexander.

Miss J taught me how to walk.

[Miss J] I've known Tyra since she was 16.

She had an idea. America's Next Top Model.

He's the first person I called.

Hey! Oh my God!

He was just this, like, godfather, mother, diva, extraordinaire.

He was the real deal.

[Miss J] I came out of my mother's stomach wearing high heels.

He had the most beautiful legs.

[Tyra] And J is a pioneer in himself.

The best fashion show you can get is watching Black women

going to church on Sunday.

Because back then, a lot of people were not expressing themselves

like he was expressing himself.

Girl, I knew who I was.

I knew that he had something special.

I like the craziness. I just like the crazy.

Then we said, "Okay, well, you know, obviously in fashion,

the photo shoot is everything."

Tyra tapped Jay Manuel, who was her makeup artist,

to be our photo shoot director.

[rock music playing]

[Jay] My phone rang.

I picked up. It was Tyra, and she was in LA.

So I'm thinking, "Oh my God, it must be almost 6:00 a.m."

She's like, "Oh my God, I have this idea."

It was the excitement in her voice that I responded to.

In my teens, you know, most teenagers put music posters on their walls.

[rock music intensifies]

I had on my bedroom wall all the fashion ads of the time.

[quirky music playing]

It's funny to look back because it was really a vision board.

I had done a lot in my career at that point,

but I felt like I was always trying to prove myself.

Tyra gave me that trust.

[Tyra] He was such a visionary.

One of the most talented creators I've ever worked with, ever worked with.

I was so, so grateful for the opportunity to just be me.

[Ken] We were a complete team.

We were ready to go out and pitch the show.

[energetic pop music playing]

[Jay] Tyra was given pitch meetings at all the major studios.

[Ken] We went to NBC. We went to ABC. We went to CBS. We went to Fox.

If anyone was going to make the show a reality, it was her.

[Tyra] We pitched this model reality show everywhere.

-And… -It was just no.

-What? -No. No.

Networks were turning it down.

Doors slamming, slamming, slamming.

[Jay] They were like, "Oh, no, rea-- reality? No."

Nope. No, no. Nope, no, no.

No!

There was a stereotype with models. Models are unsympathetic characters.

They are vapid.

And that stayed with me and followed me for a very, very long time. And then…

[presenter] UPN is gonna make this ball cooler than ever.

[Tyra] …we go to UPN.

[intriguing music playing]

I can guarantee you UPN was the last stop on the pitching train.

By far in absolute dead last place.

We need to find a hit, or there probably won't be a UPN.

When Tyra first came in, I thought, "Okay, vanity pitch."

"Let's hear what she has to say and, you know, move on."

[Tyra] I was so nervous because that was the last one.

That was it.

So I stood up, and I started walking like Miss J…

[upbeat music playing]

…talking like Miss J…

[Miss J] You need to be able to slinky ink down the runway.

If you can't slinky ink, you may look stinky stink.

[Tyra] …acting like different characters and…

It was unlike anything anybody'd really heard.

I just saw her face went from… to…

[cameras clicking]

[Dawn] When you're at the very bottom of the mountain, you have nothing to lose.

We had no idea. Nobody had done a reality show like this.

It was just guessing.

But if it did work, we had everything to gain.

[phone ringing]

[Tyra] I… was freaking out.

If Top Model wasn't picked up, what would I do?

Where would I go? What would I be?

I picked up the phone.

-[phone beep] -We got a yes.

[enigmatic music playing]

[cameras clicking]

I'd never had that before.

I'd never gotten a call that somebody said

that they wanted to make my idea come to life.

Like, wow. It was my payback.

[indistinct chatter]

You just have a magazine? I have a TV show.

And so many people are gonna see way more of this TV show

than your magazine that is closing off so many beauties.

I'm going to show you what beautiful is.

Let's go. Let's do this.

[energetic pop playing]

[Tyra] It all began a few months ago,

when we started a process that would change lives.

I was looking for America's Next Top Model.

So I launched a nationwide search,

and people sent tapes in from all over the country.

[music continues]

[music ends]

Right away, I could see girls with potential.

…'cause I am the true diva.

I come here and morbidly write my horrible poems.

I want to shake the dust off this small town.

[gentle music playing]

[Shannon] At the age of 5, I wanted to become a model.

It was just so glamorous-looking.

And I didn't think it was possible because I had buck teeth, stringy hair.

I was a little bit, um, chunky.

I had a growth spurt and I was like, "Hmm, maybe this dream could become a reality."

I want to become America's supermodel. I am ready.

I sent in a video, a few pictures. I was so excited.

-Hello. Hi. -[judge] Hi.

-Hi, I'm Shannon. -[Ken] Hi, Shannon.

-Hi. -Hi, Shannon.

-[woman] Hello. -Hello.

[Ken] Shannon, I take it you're a religious person.

-Have you always been religious? -Yes, ever since I was little.

I was probably saved around the age of 10,

but I got stronger over the years because, you know, practice makes perfect.

[Ken] I loved Shannon. Super Christian girl.

-It says you're a virgin. -Yes.

Oh gosh, they played that up so much.

But when I get married, I told my mom,

"My wedding's gonna be cut short, and I'm gonna be gone, baby."

My heart was, like, pounding out of my chest,

but then I got the call, and Tyra Banks come on the phone,

and I about lost it.

"You made it on the show," and I'm like… [screams]

[joyful music playing]

It was a moment I will never forget.

[Tyra] When it comes to casting, I had a percentage of,

okay, let's give the public what they think pretty is

because you have to meet people where they are.

[inaudible]

But now let me show you what's not obvious.

My name is Ebony, and I'm actually originally from Harlem.

I know that I'm unique.

I knew nothing about modeling,

but I knew that my skin was popping and I had a great smile.

With my exotic look, girl-next-door look.

When I was a little girl, my nickname was actually "Ugly."

I am so serious.

I kind of blocked that out, I think, because of emotional issues with that.

I always had this dream that one day I'd become an African princess.

I grew up in a beauty salon in Harlem.

Women would come into the beauty salon,

and my grandmother would say, "Oh, let me let you meet my great-grandbaby."

"Her name is Ebony. Tell her she's Black and beautiful."

Here I am in this beauty salon,

and the universe just brought all this love.

I started to understand the importance of beauty.

I always get that something's different.

Whether it's my look, my personality, something is different.

[Ken] She had a very striking, beautiful face.

You know, Ebony had a very, very different look.

That was a reason why Tyra really wanted her in the show.

[indistinct chatter]

[Tyra] I remember walking in there, and I used to love this brown catsuit...

I used to wear that brown catsuit whenever I felt hot.

-Hey, pretty girls. -[models] Hi.

I was like, "I'm gonna change some lives today."

[Ebony] The fact that I was the only girl from New York and my name's Ebony,

I had great pride in that.

[Tyra] The next girl that's coming to New York City

really doesn't have far to go because she's from New York City,

and it's Miss Ebony Haith.

[models cheering]

I remember when I called her name, she just… she just lost it.

And she pulled it together real fast.

But I remember being in that room and feeling that energy from her.

It was beautiful.

[Ken] When we were casting, we got a lot of pushback from the network.

If you had one person of a different color,

that was their definition of diverse.

That was not my definition or Tyra's definition of diversity.

[intense music playing]

We had to do the final casting with the president of Viacom,

the parent company of CBS and UPN, a guy named Les Moonves…

[reporter] Les, over here, Les.

How are ratings over other networks?

Well, I think we have more new shows that are working than the other guys do…

[Ken] …arguably the most powerful man in Hollywood.

We really wanted a Hispanic Latino girl on the show.

And he did not want this Latino girl on the show.

What the hell? I lost it.

Tyra was arguing with Les to the point it almost got physical.

How dare you? Do you understand?

And if you wanna talk business, let's talk business.

Tyra, pull back right now. It's Les Moonves.

Let's not torpedo the show

before we even get it on the air. We had to replace her.

Then we went searching again, searching again, and we found Giselle.

[producer] Take one.

[angelic vocalization]

My name is Giselle Samson, and this is my mom.

Okay, so with the audition process on that first day with Tyra Banks,

I do remember her asking me, "So, Giselle,

if this show made you famous… what would you do?"

Wow, why is this making me emotional now? This is weird.

Because the feeling was, oh my God, I made it.

As a young girl,

I just was so excited, and I was so happy

to feel like you're gonna make it.

Like this is something, you're gonna be part of something so big.

[voice breaking] And, um…

I was a part of something so big.

[energetic music playing]

Is this real life?

Get some food!

I'm from a small town. I have a dream of modeling.

[models] Oh my God!

[Shannon] Now I'm living in this New York City apartment

with nine other girls,

and I have eight weeks to prove I'm America's Next Top Model.

Oh my gosh, Tyra!

Have you seen her walk and take pictures? She just moves.

[Giselle] I was like, "Oh my God, I'm gonna be on TV."

[Ebony] Nobody knew what to expect. Everybody was nervous, you know?

Everybody's taking a chance. Mr. Mok, Tyra…

We're all young people with a dream.

[inaudible]

We shot that whole thing in a hotel.

The girls were living in one room, or suite really.

The judging room was in another room.

I had an acid burn in my stomach because there was just so much to do.

Ken Mok turned into a cameraman

because we were a cameraman short, didn't have the budget.

There was this moment that was just Tyra and I sitting in the control room.

And I could see in her face, she's like, "Okay, I'm doing this. It's surreal."

The producers didn't have a lot of experience.

Tyra certainly didn't have experience.

The show had a lot to prove.

[Tyra] There are so many things that it takes to be a top model.

And you guys are gonna be put through lots of different tests.

-Teach. -Today's lesson is going to be about

establishing a look for yourselves.

-Challenge. -Today we're gonna do go-sees.

You've got four hours to do this, and you've got five castings.

-Photo shoot. -Today, we're doing beauty shots.

Smile with your eyes a bit.

-[man] Good. -[Tyra] We got it.

-Judging. -Once a week, you'll be evaluated.

And someone will be eliminated.

Whoever's name I call will go on

and will still be in the running to become America's Next Top Model.

Oh my gosh, how many times she had to say that.

You're still in the running to become America's Next Top Model.

You're still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Model.

You're still in the running towards…

…becoming America's Next Top Model. That's it. Got it on the first try. Okay.

[Tyra] The winner will receive a contract with Revlon,

a fashion spread with Marie Claire,

and a contract with one of the world's top agencies, Wilhelmina.

[cheering]

It was a prize package that would help them get a head start

into the modeling industry.

By the end of the show,

we would build the perfect model that could now go out into the real world

and try to pursue a modeling career.

If I win this, I can become a supermodel.

I was like, "This is gonna change my life forever."

[upbeat music playing]

[camera clicking]

We were showing the behind the scenes of what the fashion world was.

And most of it is not glamorous at all.

You got the air push-up bra, two silicone inserts, and toilet paper.

You've got enormous cha-cha, oh my God.

[woman] I was sent here by Tyra Banks

to help all the girls with a Brazilian bikini wax.

This is gonna go on television?

[laughing nervously] No!

Real fucking funny. Really, really funny.

-Brutal. -Ah, man.

-[waxing strip rips] -Ooh!

I must really want to go to Brazil bad.

Let me tell you something. They got me good with that.

I didn't even know what a Brazil wax was.

-[screaming] -[wax strip rips]

I have never, ever, ever done a Brazilian wax again, ever in my life.

I better be the damn supermodel after this. That's all I have to say.

[exhales deeply]

[upbeat music playing]

[Ken] This was not just a show about modeling,

but it was a Cinderella story.

-Hello, everybody. -[models] Hi.

Today, as you guys can see, you're at the Lépine salon.

You guys are already fierce. We're gonna make you…

[snapping fingers] ...fierce.

No one will walk out looking like what they walked in.

-All right? Be brave. -[Jay laughing] Everybody's scared!

From day one, I knew that we needed to have a makeover.

Shannon, I want to bleach you out more. I want to just brighten you up.

We might even add a little bit more hair extensions to thicken you up.

When you see this beautiful specimen, this beautiful, like, little fawn,

and then you put her through this process,

and then she turns into this princess, it also shows possibility.

But you know they hated it. They hated it.

[Adrianne] I don't like to show anybody I'm going through pain.

So I didn't say anything. But Giselle cried. Giselle whined.

Giselle moaned. Giselle groaned.

I can't. Okay? I can't. [chuckling]

I'm just used to the way I had my hair. So I'm kind of concerned about the length.

[Jay] Don't look so sad. Models are canvases.

Yeah.

No, you don't.

Hey, girls.

[models] Hi!

Wow, you guys have been busy.

[Shannon] Jay Manuel is, like, a genius.

Some of them actually liked him. He's so cute.

But then Adrianne's like, "He's gay."

So just because you're not well, you don't wanna go?

-Should there be another reason? -Well, I mean, you don't look deathly ill.

Oh, yeah, that's the shady part. [laughs]

So then it's silly, and you go back home, and you do what? Work at Burger King?

The Burger King line. That was probably a little shady.

[laughing]

-It's one of Miss J's favorite moments. -He's very direct with some of the girls.

Marry rich and have a baby.

Well…

Yes, I made fun of them, and I was just doing my thing.

[Tyra] The one and the only top runway trainer.

I have known him since I was 17 years old.

His name is J. Alexander. Come out here, J.

[all cheering]

[Miss J] I'm going to show you how to walk in a tight skirt.

[laughing]

Oh, loved Miss J.

Forgot to brush her teeth!

[Jay] We had this natural banter.

J loves to do an expression and then an eye roll.

And I, like, I feed into it. Like, we… we literally just fold together like this.

Don't listen to her. She's crazy.

She's just… gray and green. What a combination.

[Jay] And then there was a support.

Because it was like… [chuckles] Like, "Gay Wonder Twins activate."

We were together, so, you know, they can't attack us.

Again, I know it sounds ridiculous today, but it was such a different time.

[Tyra] People would write and say, like, "What the hell is this on my screen?"

Like, how are you, like, showing this?

I say, suck my dick. [chuckles softly]

I wanted to know if it's okay if my girlfriend

can come over for about an hour or two today.

Ebony's a lesbian, and I find this offensive.

[Ebony] When I first auditioned for the show,

the first thing Tyra says to me, she goes, "We see that you're gay."

[Tyra] We know you're a lesbian.

How do you feel about expressing that on national television?

That's kind of how the world found out I was gay and how the world met me.

I hoped at least they'd pull me to the side and say,

"How do you wanna approach this?" They forgot the danger of that.

Not a problem, honey. I'm very open about it.

I wanted to come out because I wanted other celebrities to do the same.

[woman] Nice, sweetie.

[chuckling]

[Ebony] I was just happy that they showed me and my partner together,

smiling and showing the reality.

I think it was new to see that on TV.

[Jay] At the time, there was just no queer representation on television,

and like, God knows what this was gonna look like on TV.

[Ebony] You know, I'm very serious about this.

We are in a competition,

and my plan is to win. There is nothing else but that.

Uh-oh, Tyra mail. Eliminations.

[Ebony] Tomorrow, one of you will be eliminated.

[model] Dun-dun-duun.

I'm really nervous about our next elimination.

-I didn't know who was gonna win. -I really, really, really want this.

[Tyra] Who are we gonna cut this week?

Shannon.

[Shannon] Judges could be a little cruel.

I hated walking into the judging room.

Like, oh my gosh, what are they gonna say to me this time?

Looks like you landed from another planet because you have so much teeth.

Maybe she should have a few removed.

I'm thinking to myself, which teeth would you like me to pull out?

Would it be my two front teeth? Like, who says that?

Iconic reality TV villain, Janice Dickinson.

She looks kind of like a child prostitute.

[mimicking Janice] You gotta get over it! I'm sorry, you gotta get over it!

Janice was obviously extremely provocative.

Zip it, bitch! Zip it. You're dead in my book.

And she's a diva.

World's first supermodel.

You want to talk about a legitimate, bona fide supermodel

who'd had such a career?

[Janice] I've been in this industry for quite a long time,

making me probably the most opinionated person on the panel.

I love Janice.

Like, she was very outrageous as a character.

This is the worst photograph I have ever seen.

You look deranged. And it looks like you have a penis.

-She had no filter. -You gotta work on the thighs.

You got the booty thing, you gotta kind of,

you really watch the diet and exercise.

It's not all about your gorgeous face. It is about the booty too.

[whispers] I know.

[judge] Let's just call it as it is.

Robbyne, first of all, is too old to be starting modeling.

[Janice] And fat. She's huge!

-She's not going to be a top model! -She won't. That's the reality.

She should work for a car toppling company.

[Jay] You know, Janice offered that very harsh opinion

that absolutely exists in the industry.

My name is Jon, and I'm gonna be your trainer.

We're gonna do a little test. Height and weight.

I had an eating disorder.

Terrific. 114.

Am I the lightest one?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

-[Miss J] Yeah. -[model] Yeah.

[Shannon] It started when I was 14.

I got tall, and then all of a sudden, my baby fat was gone.

And so I was like, "Wow! What do I have to do to keep this?"

At one point, I got down to like 114. I think that's when I passed out.

And I was like, "Oh my gosh." I could see it, but still.

It was just like this wicked taskmaster

constantly telling me, "You're not thin enough."

And the pressure that the industry can put on you to be a certain size…

It's… It's actually quite awful.

The full-figured market's changing.

I'm going to say the exact opposite

than what these people in fashion have been telling women for years,

which is, "Be small."

I think that you guys are the problem with America.

I think you are the problem of why women are leaning over the toilets

at this very moment and vomiting after they've eaten

or taking laxatives after they've eaten.

I thought, "Oh my God, I love the fact that she is fighting for this."

I really do think she was not just wanting to produce a show,

but she was also trying to help us.

Tyra was just trying to teach us how to pose in front of the camera,

how to walk down the runway.

Longer strides.

Come together, girl. I ain't mad at you.

Oh, you're pulling together. Oh, you're pulling it together. Okay.

You're practicing.

-[Miss J] Okay. -Practice makes perfect.

[Miss J] I taught a girl how to walk with confidence.

When that clicks, it's like, whoa.

Oh my God, you are really, really quite beautiful.

[Shannon] When you see me in the last runway challenge,

I really just left it all out there.

I had to walk that runway like my life depends on it.

The decision is made. America's Next Top Model is…

[intense music playing]

Adrianne. [echoing]

[Shannon] I was devastated.

[melancholy music playing]

But after the show, Tyra sent me flowers.

It was the biggest bouquet of flowers I have ever seen in my life.

I came to New York. I called IMG. That was like my dream agency.

And they signed me. I was so excited.

I was gonna dream big, no matter the cost.

[intriguing music playing]

[Giselle] Two or three months after I had filmed Top Model,

I'm back home in LA,

and somebody was like, "Are you, like, on a show or something?"

I'm like, "What do you mean? Why? What?"

"There's, like, a billboard of you in Hollywood."

[Ken] There was a huge billboard in downtown LA.

And the whole side of the building said America's Next Top Model.

[music continues]

I remember saying, "Look at that girl.

She's beautiful." You know, "What?"

"Oh my God, look at her. She's fierce!"

And my mother, I'll never forget her saying,

"That's you." And I was like, "That is me?"

Okay, we're off now.

[camera clicking]

[Giselle] I was just so excited for the show to air

because it was something I was so proud of

and that I thought was gonna catapult me into things.

So here I am trying to do my own PR.

I made postcards, and I put my little picture,

my headshot on one side,

and then the premiere date of America's Next Top Model on UPN.

And I mailed it to every manager, every agent.

I'm gonna get discovered, and it's going to be amazing,

and I'm gonna make it.

[Tyra] Even though we had been in the editing bay

for weeks and weeks and weeks doing this,

watching it when the world was watching it was a whole different situation.

When we were shooting Cycle 1, I had no clue what was gonna go on air.

The viewing party was at my apartment.

Tyra was there. Even her mom came.

I was extremely nervous. Oh my God.

Shannon, you're still in the running to becoming America's Next Top Model.

[Jay] When the episode ended,

Tyra immediately went into my office to the computer

to go check out, like, chat rooms.

I was freaking out.

[Jay] Tyra was nervous.

There was a lot riding on her.

Networks want ratings. They want things to, like, resonate.

It was very, very intense.

[phone ringing]

[Jay] My phone rang, and it was Iman that called.

I had been working with Iman

and her husband David Bowie on his Heathen album,

and she said, "We watched," and she hands the phone to David.

I believe I might be of service.

And David said to me,

"You found the place where you need to be."

I'll never forget it.

[cheering]

The fairy tale began.

[reporter] It's hot babes, catfights, and a whole lot of drama.

The addictive reality TV hit, America's Next Top Model.

I remember thinking to myself,

"This is so much better than I ever could have thought."

I am hooked on 30 seconds of it.

-I'm so happy. -I'm telling you, it is--

You have to TiVo. Do you?

Believe me, I already called. It's in the TiVo right now.

Like, damn, okay. These ratings are crazy.

They realize, "Huh, Tyra may be on to something here."

Tyra has designed a program

in which, um, models just get their… their crotches waxed.

It wasn't just about, "Oh, let's have their coo… I mean, their…"

-[Kimmel] Right. -[laughing]

[wax strip rips]

[Tyra] It wasn't about let's have their area waxed…

When the show started to air, it really was shocking

because it wasn't what I thought it was going to be.

My face is definitely pimple-ized.

Giselle found out that pretending to be insecure

is a great way to fish for compliments.

In our confessionals, I could feel the push of producers

trying to navigate us against each other.

[Ebony] You're asking for massages while we're cleaning up

instead of cleaning the tub like you said.

That's immaturity. I have no time for that.

So-and-so said this about you.

Excuse me? What?

Giselle, you ******* worthless *****.

You are so bitchy, stupid.

You're worthless. Your parents must be ashamed of you.

[Tyra] Giselle? I like Giselle.

I like Giselle because it just seems like she wants this.

[male judge] But she needs to tighten up.

-[Janice] She's got a wide ass. -[Tyra] It's kind of wide.

I'm walking away, I'm 18 years old,

growing into my body, and she's like, "Giselle, she's got a wide ass."

[male judge] But she needs to tighten up.

-[Janice] She's got a wide ass. -[Tyra] It's kind of wide.

They did these girls so dirty.

[Giselle] They chose to put that in there.

How I left feeling about myself in that moment

has stayed with me forever.

[quirky music playing]

Why does my ass have to be so wide?

Like, that's how I talk to myself, you know?

To this day.

[music ends]

[Ebony] When I went on that show,

I knew people'd be against anything I represent,

being a Black woman that's gay or whatever it is.

But I did think that I would be protected.

[all cheering]

I thought the first episode was fabulous.

I was so excited to be a role model. And then when I saw the makeovers…

Ebony, this little piece of hair right here, that extra little thing, gone.

-Gone. -Work me.

[Ebony] That's when I felt the full disappointment

of the way I was represented.

[melancholy music playing]

I'm sitting there, and I have three of the top stylists over my head,

laughing at my hair texture. It was really just frustrating.

People did not have the correct clippers.

Everybody basically said they didn't know what to do.

-Should we leave a little tuft? -How can they go wrong with a scissor?

[clipper buzzing]

-Should we write our name in it? -Yeah.

[stylist giggling]

[Ebony] I kept thinking this was a test,

that at any moment, Mr. Jay would say,

"Ebony, you're fabulous!" You know? Or, "Ebony, you handled this well."

They ended up giving me three bald spots.

Yeah, very disappointing.

And it's very upsetting to an African American woman

to go into a salon

and the person do her hair incorrectly. It's very inappropriate.

Tyra would not have this. She's too fit for this.

She be like, "What did you do? This is not a style."

As I'm trying to figure out how can I fix my hair,

Tyra calls me. It's the end of the day.

And this was like the first time we really even had a conversation

because she barely spoke to me on the show.

So I'm thinking that my sister is going to understand.

I thought she was gonna say, "Girl, don't worry, I'll go to Harlem."

And she says, "The judges have been talking to me,

and they've been saying that you have been showing up ashy every day."

And I'm blown away.

[tense music playing]

She didn't say, you know, "You're dealing with acne."

Or, "You know what, Ebony, your skin looks a little irritated."

I didn't understand why they chose those specific words

when this is a word that's been used in history to make us feel less than.

With your skin texture, being an African American woman,

it should be like butter.

At the retouching session, your photo was the hardest that we had to do.

Wait a minute. Am I being treated differently 'cause I'm Black?

What's happening?

[intriguing music playing]

I was like, let me just be quiet.

Supposed to make my skin fabulous.

There's grease all over because of her new moisturizing regime. Ugh.

After you put the, um, your stuff on,

could you make sure you, like, thoroughly clean your hands?

Just because it gets on the doorknobs. And it's, like, slippery.

[music continues]

Um, okay, I'll try to concentrate on that.

Just that. That's all I have a problem with.

I mean, I don't even know if it's a big problem or anything.

I remember on the show thinking to myself,

"Oh my God, there's so much I want to say."

But I really had to be still.

There's nothing I can do here that's gonna make it better.

Whatever narrative they're creating, they're gonna do this.

I love the color of her skin. I really do. But up close, she just looked so old.

It's gonna be hard with Ebony. She's very aggressive and very angry.

Ebony just is much too harsh for me.

I just don't get it.

You and I both know, looking at Ebony, her skin is actually gorgeous.

Ebony was ahead of her time.

She was dark-skinned, she had a shaved head, and she was gay.

That wasn't cool on TV, so she got the aggressive edit.

[Ebony] I realized that Tyra and the judges aren't gonna help me.

I know I have to protect myself,

but you're forgetting I was in high school three, four years ago.

And I… I felt that. I felt that innocence.

And I just… Oh my God. I'm so sorry.

[soft music playing]

I actually haven't thought about this in years.

And I've actually never talked about this, but…

My heart was breaking as I'm on this national show,

thinking that the world would be proud of me.

[pensive music playing]

[Tyra] Will Giselle and Ebony please step forward?

Giselle,

even as you stand here right now,

it's like, where is the self-esteem?

Ebony. When you come into the room, we sense a chip on your shoulder,

a type of anger that makes you push yourself too hard

to the point where you lose focus and you become difficult to work with.

When I was eliminated, I was so brokenhearted.

I go to run, and literally I make it up the first flight of steps

and my body just gave out.

And I started to cry.

The producers were like, "Ebony, you're gonna get work. You are so amazing."

And in my mind, I just knew that wasn't true.

[music ends]

After the show,

I would hear a lot of young girls come up to me and go,

"Oh I probably can't be a model 'cause my skin is rough like yours."

My heart was broken.

[melancholy music playing]

[Giselle] The agents and managers were not interested

in having anything to do with me because they just saw reality,

that I was the girl who had no confidence, and who's going to want to hire that girl?

Who's gonna want to sign that girl?

I believed now that I wasn't good enough.

I'm not gonna make it.

[breathing heavy]

I started to think that it really wasn't a model show,

that this was really a new way of making TV shows.

And I don't think that any of the girls were prepared

for what reality was gonna become.

They say for UPN, this show is what Survivor was to CBS.

-Yes. -Huge.

Putting UPN on the map, I'm very happy and proud of that.

It's the most-watched show on the network, like by this much.

Yes.

Much to everyone's surprise, it became the breakout show.

[Jay] This show became the water cooler show,

where people then went to work the next day and said, "Oh did you watch?"

[model] You don't even have to believe…

[Adrianne] My tummy just really hurts still and I'm really weak.

I'm really proud of myself.

You think the Next America's Top Model is not a plus-size model?

Why?

And Tyra was everywhere.

-If we do another-- -[host] Oh, you're doing another one.

-Are we really? -[host] Yeah. [laughs]

And then my team were telling me, "Tyra, this is not normal."

"You may never be able to repeat this success

with anything that you ever do ever again."

And I was like, "What you talking about? I'm going to do it again."

[host] So are you gonna bring that show back?

Yes, we got picked up for a second season.

Our ratings were really skyrocket ratings on UPN.

So we'll be… we'll be back in January.

America's Next Top Model airs Tuesday nights at 9:00 on UPN,

and very soon, there'll be an orgy.

[audience laughing]

Oh my God. [chuckling]

It's like, we're a big hit now. Now I've got to deliver a second season.

[light music playing]

[woman] Modeling never crossed my mind growing up.

[laughing] It wasn't something I aspired to do.

My boyfriend at the time, Eric, he was like, "You could be a model."

"Like, why couldn't you be a model?"

We just were watching TV one day,

and a commercial came up about a casting for this show that I'd never heard of.

[invigorating music playing]

[Tyra] Being a top model ain't no picnic.

Sure, there's the glamour,

but on the road to the top, there's cutthroat competition.

Okay, let's go.

My name is Shandi. I work at a Walgreens. I'm a service clerk.

At the casting, I just yelled,

"I don't want to work at Walgreens anymore." [laughs]

Really loud, like, just really, really loud, just screamed it.

And then I made myself laugh, and everybody else started laughing.

[laughing]

All right, well, whatever. That was an experience. Okay.

Just went back to our little life in Kansas City.

But yeah, they called me at work while I was at Walgreens.

And they're like, "So you made the cut."

[music continues]

And I was like, "Oh, okay." [laughs]

No idea what I'm getting myself into...

at all.

[energetic pop music playing]

"Welcome to your new crib. Go to the fourth floor."

"It's a bling-bling, punk-funk, mod kind of world up in here."

"Stake your claim. Tyra."

[all cheering]

[Shandi] Come look at this place.

Look at the bedrooms!

[screaming]

After the success of the first cycle our budget grew tremendously.

We had our own soundstage,

and we built this beautiful table for the judges

and a beautiful backdrop for the girls,

and we had a runway on an aircraft carrier.

I'm not wasting any time. I'm throwing you straight on a runway.

No training, no nothing. I want to see what you got.

[Shandi] Oh my God. I'm looking at these heels, these boots,

thinking, "Oh goodness, I better not fall."

Yeah, I had no idea how to do a model walk whatsoever.

-Shandi, your runway walk… -[music warps]

…I've never seen a runway walk that bad in my life.

[laughing]

Look up. Look up. Look up!

She should learn how to walk.

[Jay] In cycle 2, it became sport for Janice to bait Tyra.

If the body could just slim down 150 pounds, that would be good.

Then she'd be 30 pounds.

That would be better.

[Jay] It was definitely getting to her,

and I was like, "Why is she doing that to her?"

And Tyra would talk to me. She's like, "I let it go."

"She's driving me crazy, but I let it go."

But I knew it was getting to her,

and I considered myself, like, besties with Tyra.

And she spent a lot of time at my house.

Sleeping over, if I'm in LA, I'd spend time at her house.

You start sharing secrets, you're very much in each other's world.

I feel like she knew… [sighs] I would do anything for her, and…

She's got to go.

You gonna throw someone away 'cause they have one bad shot?

Yes.

So I was armed and ready.

-She looks like a porno star. -No, she does not.

-[Jay] Yes, she does. -So do you.

And I was ready to go back at her.

We're talking Silicone Valley at the other end of the table.

I felt like I was getting one for the team

because she'd been battling Tyra and everybody. [laughing]

I mean, I revered her.

[Janice] Stand up. Let's see the girdle you're wearing.

Janice, yours is already surgically cinched.

I snap one thread and it's down.

I wasn't my best self during the judging. Not nice at all.

Honey, look at your face, please, and your dyed hair, please.

Okay.

But that… that was the Janice thing. And to balance her out, we needed Nigel.

[smooth music playing]

Come in, come in. I'm Nigel Barker.

I'm gonna be your photographer for your fashion shoot.

The network said to me, "We need a judge who is a photographer,

but this is what we want. Good-looking, straight, and white."

[smooth music continues]

I know he's got his Sri Lankan, you know, from his mom.

I'm half Sri Lankan, half English.

My mother's success as a fashion model gave her the ability to go to the UK

and start a completely new life.

So perhaps more than other people,

we were acutely aware of what fashion and beauty could do.

I started modeling in the '80s,

and I was surrounded by the world's greatest photographers in fashion.

I looked at the industry and I thought, "Well, if I want to stay here,

there's only one side of this camera I need to be on and it's not this side,

it's that side."

I remember looking at Ken and being like, "I think this is the one."

I had no idea what I was in for.

Come on out, Nigel.

[Nigel] Hi, ladies.

-[models] Hi. -[Nigel] How are you?

He's just instantly charismatic.

-Don't you look glamorous? -[Jay] Charming, the British accent.

We're like, "That guy's hot." [laughs]

I'll never forget. They were like, "That guy's really hot."

-We talked about this. -He's been waiting to undress me for days.

Oh my God. Whew.

We've got the tall, sexy, and very English Nigel Barker, our photographer.

Hi, ladies.

[all cheering]

When the network said to me, "We're looking for a good-looking,

straight, white photographer," it did eat away at me.

It's like, well, the J's are a hit, but we're not straight, we're not white.

I mean, networks are really that blunt.

They know what they want to see in what role.

So I, you know, I didn't need to be the mean one or the funny one.

I would be the straight man, eye candy, and luckily that was my role on the show.

The theme for today's shoot is the Garden of Eden.

My first major shoot, they were nude.

Bring in the Adams.

All right, guys.

[Shandi] There were hundreds of people in this room

and we're just standing butt-naked.

I was nervous, but it was like nervous and excitement all at the same time.

Oh my goodness. Look at my butt. I have a butt. [laughs]

Shandi, did you ever think you could look that beautiful?

The ugly duckling to the swan. That was my story.

[Tyra] Miss Shandi with that brown hair

that just looks like I'm stocking the shelf at Walgreens…

[men laughing]

…we are going to make you a platinum blonde.

I didn't feel really pretty then, even though I was told I was pretty

and that I was like the norm for beauty standards,

but I didn't feel that way.

Everything just looks so good.

Everything's come together, and I feel so pretty right now.

I finally felt pretty

and had some confidence that I didn't have before.

[pensive music playing]

[Ken] A lot of these girls came from very difficult family backgrounds

who were not supported by their mom or their dad.

You heard a lot of those types of stories from girls who came to the show

who were not getting validation at home,

but they were coming to the show to get validation.

I've gone through my life being, you know, the black sheep of the family

and not having anyone to talk to or explain my feelings to.

I left home the summer after high school ended when I was 18.

I packed up two suitcases and just bought a plane ticket

and didn't tell my parents I was leaving.

And just, I saw my dad on the way out.

He's like, "Where are you going?" I was like, "I'm moving. I'm leaving."

He's like, "All right, have a nice life." I was like, "All right, bye."

I haven't felt loved by my parents in a long, you know,

probably since I was a little kid.

-[woman] Hi! -Hello.

[Miss J] Hi, darling!

-Hi, how are you? -Fine, honey.

-You're psychic? -Yes.

Hi.

The psychic intuitive works. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

[Shandi] Suzannah's a psychic,

and we're going to get a psychic consultation.

See, I think what's going on with Shandi is Shandi needs family.

Does anybody hug you?

[tender music playing]

It's okay, Shandi.

[sobbing]

[Miss J] Give mama some sugar.

[Ken] It was heartbreaking.

And you want to be able to tell their story

of what they've gone through in their life and how it's affecting their journey here.

[Shandi] I've grown more in the past couple of weeks

than I've grown, like, in the past couple of years.

And if I go back home to, like, my life…

I don't want you to go back to your life going, "There's always Walgreens."

Yeah, I'm with you now. No more Walgreens for Shandi.

Look at that as your past,

and look at this whole experience as being your future.

[clapping] ♪ Uh, uh, uh ♪

♪ I'm 5'9", I look so fine Yes, all my fans are so divine ♪

♪ Top models pack quick On the road always gone ♪

♪ Pack your bags, y'all You're going to Milan! ♪

[all cheering]

I've never been out of the country.

Wow!

I'm pretty much in shock. I'm just like, "Okay, let's go."

[chuckling] "Let's go now."

[upbeat music playing]

[Jay] Going to Milan,

that was the first time we went abroad for the end of the show,

which is what the show became known for.

We tried to take the models to places where the industry was,

you know, major.

Those early cycles, they really gave me complete autonomy with certain things.

[angelic vocalization]

We went to Verona because I knew we could get the location.

I just had this vision of this strong editorial with these women

and just these gowns on these steps.

You're fabulously thin. You're a designer's dream.

[Jay] Shandi looked awesome with the hair, the glasses, the gown.

[camera clicks]

Shandi, she looks like she's in Italian Vogue period.

Hands down, baby.

[Jay] I don't know how she came from Walgreens to this.

That's where they all come from, Walgreens and Dairy Queen.

Shandi completely blew me away.

This is perfection personified. I'm crazy about it.

And you know what? Your long limbs really work very well.

[Tyra] The photographer gave notes on everyone.

Not only were you his hands-down favorite girl,

yours were some of the best photographs he's taken all year.

Woah.

Once I started hearing feedback from the judges on the photos, I was like,

"Wow."

"I might actually have a chance to win this whole thing. Cool."

[laughing]

[angelic vocalization continues]

[producer] Did you want to stay in the running?

Did you want to win it all?

I did until…

until what happened in Milan. And then I didn't care.

When we first got there, they said, "You're gonna go do a bunch of go-sees."

-[men] Ciao. -[models] Ciao.

[man] Here's how you'll be getting around Milan. Now come and choose your driver.

I was like, "That sounds really fun." [laughs]

That was all day long. That took all day long.

And then we went back to, like, our little house that we were staying at.

And I don't remember who said it, but somebody was like,

"How would you guys feel about having, like, the guys that were on the mopeds,

like, come by and have dinner with you guys,

and we'll have some wine and stuff." I was like, "Yeah, that sounds fun."

[suspenseful music playing]

I was just excited to just, like, have a night.

We were just, like, talking, drinking.

[indistinct chatter]

-[man] To you! -[model] To Lively and Shandi!

I don't think I'd eaten anything at all or had any sleep.

[inaudible]

I remember getting in the hot tub.

I remember April and Mercedes getting in the hot tub.

[cheering]

And then I just remember the guy looking at me, and I looked at him,

and I was pretty drunk at that point.

[disturbing music playing]

Everything kind of after that...

is just a blur.

[music stops]

All I remember is just like, just like remember him on top of me.

I was blacked out.

No one did anything to stop it.

And it all got filmed, all of it.

Every moment of it.

[unsettling music building]

[producer] A more difficult territory is Shandi.

Shandi, okay.

[producer] You remember the story with Shandi?

Um...

[lively electronic music playing]

♪ Left foot, right foot, never miss ♪

♪ Strike a pose, blow a kiss ♪

♪ Left foot, right foot, let them know ♪

♪ Center stage, steal the show ♪

♪ Flash, flash, camera pop ♪

♪ Paparazzi on the block ♪

♪ Miss Thang, do your thing ♪

♪ Top model, runway queen ♪

♪ Top, top, top model ♪

♪ Top, top, top model ♪

♪ Top, top, top model ♪

♪ Top, top, top ♪

♪ Now some ice spice with your eyes ♪

♪ Serve them face, hypnotize ♪

♪ Some ice spice with your eyes ♪

♪ Serve them face, hypnotize ♪

♪ High hems, high stakes ♪

♪ …make no mistake ♪

♪ High heels, high stakes ♪

♪ …make no mistake ♪

♪ Miss Thang, do your thing ♪

♪ Top model ♪

♪ Top, top, top model ♪

♪ Top, top, top model ♪

♪ Top, top, top model ♪

♪ Model ♪