Revisiting ANTM

May 2024 · 6 minute read

Before I begin: Yes, I am ashamed of myself for watching this.

Now: Amazon Prime rolled over automatically from the new 'Making the Cut' episode to the first-ever episode of ANTM and I did not turn it off. Wow, is it a time capsule.

All the girls are skinny, of course. One is considered plus size because she has thighs. Tyra laments that the girl's top half doesn't match her bottom half, being thinner, and thus making it harder to fit her into either 'normal' or 'plus size' category, and yet all the judges basically say she is too fat to be a model. She's not fat at all, though.

One contestant is a HS graduate who is positioned as a 'scientist' and 'an academic' becsuse she applied to medical schools. She has not yet gone to college because 'I can always do that, but I can't always be 20.' She describes herself as a militant atheist and she is being harassed by three Christian girls who made her read from the Bible. She is emaciated and the other models and some of the judges have questioned whether she has an eating disorder, even as all the judges, Miss J., the runway coach, all say she has the most potential because "she's the only one with a body for clothes."

The militant atheist/academic who has never been to college is a smoker, and she and another girl smoke inside. That was shocking to me. I can't imagine that happening now.

Janice Dickenson is a horrible human being but still entertaining.

Kimora Lee Simmons was an ANTM judge during the first season?!

It's kind of bizarre to see these starved-looking '90s versions of models call one another fat in these days of fat asses and fake boobs and duck lips.

It's a little surprising that the cast is as ethnically diverse as TV shows today are. Notably missing is an Asian American girl (one may be of Indian descent but I'm not sure) but all the other boxes are checked.

One late addition to the cast is a Latina and she has been chastised several times already for looking too sultry because that is how her face looked. Miss J dressed her in a suede fringed crop top and told her she has the perfect "sexy Pocahontas look."

I iterate that I am ashamed of myself for watching this. And I will keep watching.

by Anonymousreply 25November 2, 2023 1:05 AM

Oh, and one of the contestants is gay, and Tyra said: "You are a LESBIAN! Are you going to be comfortable putting it out there for the world to see?!"

Things have changed a lot in the past 20 years.

by Anonymousreply 1August 21, 2022 3:04 PM

Love ANTM. Used to watch it religiously through season 16, after which it just got too ridiculous. But looking back now, Tyra was kinda ahead of the game with all the dIvErSiTy, which you noted. She also was way too biased toward the black girls: casting some who had no business being in a modeling competition, dragging them along week after week despite terrible performance, and giving them a disproportionate number of wins. Despite all that, she still got canceled later on by the Twitter mob for not being woke enough.

by Anonymousreply 2August 22, 2022 1:31 AM

Ugh, so many of the contestants from the first few seasons have had awful lives. Most don't seem to have had much success in modeling or entertainment after the show. Amanda Swafford did become legally blind and she crowdsourced funds to repair broken teeth years ago.

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by Anonymousreply 3August 23, 2022 10:26 AM

I liked the serious parts of this show. The photo shoots, the concepts, the ho-sees, the runway show. The at home drama and the canned remarks by the judges was annoying.

by Anonymousreply 5August 23, 2022 10:34 AM

R4 I can't afford Doritos, nor can I chew them without teeth. Have mercy. Donate today.

by Anonymousreply 6August 23, 2022 10:40 AM

I rewatch Cycle 1 at least once a year--it is the absolute pinnacle of reality TV. Impeccable casting & entertainment value! Sooo many quotable moments thanks to Adrianne and Elyse. I could watch Bible thumpers get triggered by their atheist and *GASP* homosexual roommates until the end of days and never tire of it! 10/10!

by Anonymousreply 7October 29, 2023 9:03 AM

[quote]r3 Amanda Swafford did become legally blind and she crowdsourced funds to repair broken teeth years ago.

This guy has over a hundred video interviews with ANTM contestants.

Amanda’s is adorable. As is her queeny son, who insists on gate crashing the talk [bold] : )[/bold]

She says something that never aired was the models being filmed getting mandatory colonics (!!) She was just floored. “I had not agreed to be… penetrated on the show.”

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by Anonymousreply 8October 29, 2023 9:28 AM

ANTM alum Marvin Cortes has found a new profession....fucking guys in gay pron.

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by Anonymousreply 9October 29, 2023 2:12 PM

Unfortunately that interviewer at R8 is extremely difficult to listen to. He feels the need to be "on" and *extra* at all times, which leads to him screaming incessantly. It's downright exhausting.

by Anonymousreply 10November 1, 2023 1:00 PM

Almost nobody from ANTM became successful.

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by Anonymousreply 11November 1, 2023 3:10 PM

I really liked Mirjana, she was killed in a triple murder.

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by Anonymousreply 12November 1, 2023 3:13 PM

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

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by Anonymousreply 13November 1, 2023 3:14 PM

Here is Tyra being a bitch to Kimberly who went on to commit suicide.

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by Anonymousreply 14November 1, 2023 3:18 PM

Tyra's just as bad as Dr. Phil when it comes to exploiting others' misfortune for her own financial gain.

by Anonymousreply 15November 1, 2023 7:37 PM

Agree with R7, season 1 of ANTM is reality tv at its absolute best. Elise rolling her eyes at the Bible group, then in one episode finally breaking down and partaking in the Bible group….the Bible group head girl refusing to do a nude photo shoot and then flashing Mr. Jay for fun and getting called out on it….its too funny.

by Anonymousreply 16November 1, 2023 8:00 PM

"Ebony is a lesbian and I find this offensive."

by Anonymousreply 17November 1, 2023 8:12 PM

Elyse was one of the few who had a modeling career, albeit it was in Asia.

by Anonymousreply 18November 1, 2023 8:51 PM

The most successful has been Eva Pigford

by Anonymousreply 19November 1, 2023 11:29 PM

Excuse me? It's Eva MARCILLE.

by Anonymousreply 20November 1, 2023 11:36 PM

[quote]R19 The most successful has been Eva Pigford

[quote]r20 Excuse me? It's Eva MARCILLE.

Yaya DeCosta and Analeigh Tipton have done important roles in actual movies. That’s not success as a model, but it’s a bigger success, achievement wise (?)

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by Anonymousreply 21November 2, 2023 12:50 AM

The most successful is clearly Winnie Harlow.

by Anonymousreply 24November 2, 2023 12:59 AM

The most successful is, was, and always will be me.

by Anonymousreply 25November 2, 2023 1:05 AM

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