WEBVTT - Introducing Curse Of: America's Next Top Model

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<v Speaker 1>Think back to the early two thousands. You're flipping through

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<v Speaker 1>TV channels and then you hear this.

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<v Speaker 2>I was rooting for you. We're all rooting for you.

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<v Speaker 2>How damn you learn something from this?

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<v Speaker 1>America's Next Top Model was my show, and it might

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<v Speaker 1>have been yours too. But these days, that iconic show

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<v Speaker 1>that so many of us love seems pretty horrified.

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<v Speaker 2>Robin, first of all, is too old to be starting

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<v Speaker 2>that model.

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<v Speaker 1>She's huge, She's got rolls of skin that hang over

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<v Speaker 1>her jeans.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you really think you can have a coverball contract

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<v Speaker 2>with the gap in your mouth?

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<v Speaker 3>Today?

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<v Speaker 1>Some people think A and TM was cursed because of

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<v Speaker 1>what happened to so many of the models once the

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<v Speaker 1>camera stopped rolling.

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<v Speaker 2>I was in debt after the show.

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<v Speaker 3>We've basically sold our souls and they got rich.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Bridget Armstrong, and this is the curse of America's

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<v Speaker 1>Next Top Model. I'm a journalist covering pop culture. For

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<v Speaker 1>the past six months, I've been investigating the real story

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<v Speaker 1>of A and TM by talking to the models, the producers,

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<v Speaker 1>and the people who profited from it. All were starting

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<v Speaker 1>at the very beginning with the story of how the

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<v Speaker 1>show almost didn't happen.

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<v Speaker 2>They ran out of money. They were like using bread

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<v Speaker 2>bag ties to like hold curtains together. I guess we were,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, the guinea pigs.

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<v Speaker 1>And exploring how a show that was supposed to be

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<v Speaker 1>about making dreams come true ended up ruining so many contestants' careers.

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<v Speaker 3>No one wanted to see me after the show.

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't get an agency, Like they completely destroyed me.

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<v Speaker 1>Back then, we believe they just didn't have what it

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<v Speaker 1>took to be on top. But after talking to many

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<v Speaker 1>former contestants, I think it's much deeper than that. Maybe

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<v Speaker 1>they were set up for a failure.

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<v Speaker 3>If someone had a particular fear, we would find out

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<v Speaker 3>in the costings skin of hots. Maybe this socle we

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<v Speaker 3>should do a run wape thirty five. I have stories

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<v Speaker 3>in the air and let them walk off the plank.

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<v Speaker 2>Somebody had a sick relative. They would push her and

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<v Speaker 2>push her and push her, like are you afraid they're

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<v Speaker 2>gonna die while you're here? The challenges turned into let's

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<v Speaker 2>see what kind of crazy shit can come out of this.

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<v Speaker 1>I talked to Katz crew and producers who were there

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<v Speaker 1>for some of the show's most shocking moments.

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<v Speaker 2>She like, we're running for you, We're already for Like,

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<v Speaker 2>if you were so rooting for her and saw her drowning,

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<v Speaker 2>what did you help her? There was a huge chunk

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<v Speaker 2>that got cut out of that. Tyra got real personal

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<v Speaker 2>with her and she hit her alow the belt. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>just clutching my pearls. Okay at this point, it is

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<v Speaker 2>oh scary.

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<v Speaker 1>Top Model had so many viewers in a trance. But

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<v Speaker 1>when it was all over, what were we left with?

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<v Speaker 2>Putting it all across America that I have a white ass.

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<v Speaker 2>I ended up having an erexia issue after that, bolimia

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<v Speaker 2>issues after that.

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<v Speaker 1>Why would you humiliate someone like this and make them

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<v Speaker 1>feel as if.

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<v Speaker 2>Their very normal body is wrong?

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<v Speaker 1>America's Next Top Model taught me that, like everything is

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<v Speaker 1>a woman's fault, it didn't matter what was always your fault.

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<v Speaker 1>And in the end, maybe the Curse of America's Next

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<v Speaker 1>Top Model wasn't just about what happened to the contestants.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe it was what the show revealed about us, what

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<v Speaker 1>we wanted to believe, and what we were willing to watch.

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<v Speaker 1>Listen to the Curse of America's Next Top Model starting

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<v Speaker 1>on September sixteenth on the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you get your podcasts.