How America's Next Top Model went from groundbreaking reality show to looking cringeworthy and exploitative

Mel Magazine

"Like the young models it cast, ANTM was super-eager when it began in 2003," says Matthew Rodriguez. "It dove headfirst into deep conversations about race with a neutral moral stance of “bothsidesism” that reflected the morale of earlier reality shows like The Real World, even though it espoused the progressive viewpoint that the modeling world needed change. Its penchant for tough conversations about race often forced young Black women to face racist situations head-on with little support from the show itself, which would simply encourage models to develop a thicker skin. Now, despite years of undying loyalty, longtime fans have begun to air out long-standing grievances. They’re ready to go beneath the surface and find the rotten pulp in the show’s teeth. And at the top of the list is its unfair, exploitative and downright antagonistic attitude toward many of the models, especially the young Black ones. Just as ANTM served as a blueprint for much of the current reality-TV landscape, the 2020 discourse around ANTM has served as a blueprint for a widespread move toward greater accountability for media that employs racist tropes. This summer alone, 30 Rock, Community and other shows have pulled episodes featuring the use of blackface from streaming services. An episode of Golden Girls featuring Blanche and Rose wearing mud masks was also removed, courting a minor controversy. Most of this happened after the death of George Floyd and the subsequent nationwide protests in support of Black Lives Matter, as well as after several media companies, including Condé Nast, were forced to answer for a longstanding history of racism in their workplace. Cringeworthy moments like these weren’t uncommon on the 24-cycle show. Like the young models it cast, ANTM was super-eager when it began in 2003. It dove headfirst into deep conversations about race with a neutral moral stance of 'bothsidesism' that reflected the morale of earlier reality shows like The Real World, even though it espoused the progressive viewpoint that the modeling world needed change. Its penchant for tough conversations about race often forced young Black women to face racist situations head-on with little support from the show itself, which would simply encourage models to develop a thicker skin. Now, despite years of undying loyalty, longtime fans have begun to air out long-standing grievances."