‘Top Models’ go bottomless in German series’ wild challenge that’s leaving everyone soaked
and wrong reasons—as America’s Next Top Model.The brainchild of supermodel Tyra Banks, the series saw a group of aspiring models (initially all women) compete in increasingly absurd challenges that involved themed photoshoots, runway walks, faux commercials, and more, all to see who’d wind up on top, winning a coveted modeling contract.Even if you never watched the show, chances are you’re very familiar with countless moments that have become memes (“I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you!,” among many, many others) and more—even RuPaul himself has said Drag Race was initially inspire by the show.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.To put it bluntly: ANTM changed pop culture as we know it.It’s also been plagued with controversy since the very beginning.
Body-shaming, weird racial politics, challenges that seemed designed to humiliate the contestants, harsh critiques from judges that felt way too personal, numerous stories of behind-the-scenes drama… it was a mess!
And it only looks much, much worse in hindsight.While it remained on air for a shockingly long time (24 seasons between 2003 and 2018!), it’s probably for the best that ANTM has been put to rest for now.
Unless it came back with some serious re-tooling—more inclusive casting, less problematic challenges, etc…—there’s just no way the series could survive in today’s media landscape.Janice Dickinson has seen and done it all and is spilling the tea to Queerty.
