Top 20 Outrageous America's Next Top Model Moments

Cycle 6

Move over, Ellen DeGeneres. Host and mentor Tyra Banks was just as good at scaring the hell out of innocent bystanders as the prank-loving talk show host ever was. In Cycle 6, Banks decides to introduce the weeks acting challenge by putting on a performance of her own. Addressing the models, she begins to feel lightheaded and collapses in a heap in front of them. Tyra makes a miraculous recovery, only to then shout in their horrified faces that she was just acting. But the women are clearly shaken up, with one contestant terrified to the point of tears.

Cycle 5

The makeover episode is a sticking point for a lot of Top Model contestants. Tyra Banks and her team often make dramatic changes to their appearance for the sake of shock value, pinpointing features that are often very important to the contestants. Cycle 5s Cassandra Whitehead was not having it. Her new look was supposed to be a blonde pixie cut somewhat similar to Mia Farrows in Rosemarys Baby. Banks, dissatisfied with the result, tells Whitehead shell have to undergo an even more dramatic cut the next round. She refuses and is immediately guilted and shamed by Jay Manuel, before quitting the competition entirely. It marks the first time a model quit the series.

Cycle 3

Most of the best drama on this show happens in the dorms. Put a bunch of models together in a house, and theres going to be a lot of tension. Besties and frenemies Eva Marcille and Ann Markley could agree on one thing: castmate Cassie Grisham was a messy roommate. Fed up with cleaning up after her, the two decide to leave a message in her brownie dessert. Their helpful but pointed message to Grisham is petty Top Model antics at their finest. Grisham doesnt think its funny at all, and it sets off a whodunit mystery that ends with an argument about the maturity level of mutilating someone elses brownies.

Cycle 6

Tasked with walking and talking at the same time, like many of her castmates, Jade Cole was stumped by the CoverGirl commercial challenge. The prompt seems simple. Casually stroll through a party set, improvise some lines, hit a mark, and then give the product pitch. Jade is stunningly over-the-top. Sure, she doesnt remember a word of the script. It doesnt matter. Shes fabulous, and she believes shes nailing this. Her complete belief in herself, no matter the circumstances, is endearing and unhinged all at once. Even when she fails, the incomparable, unflappable Cole delivers comedy gold.

Cycle 4

Facing the judges panel can be nerve-wracking. For Cycle 4s Rebecca Epley, the stress of it looked like it became too much. During her critique in week 3, Epley faints and hits the ground with alarming force. This is a rarity on this list. Its a crazy Top Model moment that doesnt seem like the shows fault, as fainting spells are a symptom of Epleys medical condition. But according to many contestants, this wasnt the first nor the last time a contestant would faint during filming due to the stress of the show and its long production hours.

Cycle 6

Sometimes, the early-season makeover isnt just some cosmetic trims and cuts. As competitors Danielle Evans and Joanie Dodds found out, this could require extensive dental work. Evans refused to get her front tooth gap closed, but she accompanied Dodds while she had 12 hours of extensive work done on her smile. The cameras arent afraid to get up close and personal either. Dodds bleeding, swollen mouth is put on display for us to see. And despite a sleepless night of surgery, shes not even excused from the challenges, and then has to get even more work done. Its just another case of beauty-focused reality shows that went a little too far.

Cycle 14

Tyra Banks and company didnt even give this cycles cast a chance to work up to one of the shows deadliest runways. This segment sees the models of Cycle 14 walking a runway and having to avoid two huge swinging pendulums crossing their path. Shockingly, immediate disaster does not ensue. Most of the models miss getting hit, if only by inches. Then, Alexandra Underwood walks. Her problems begin almost immediately. She takes a spill on the stairs, long before she even makes it down to the pendulums. And then everything goes wrong. Her face isnt right, her footsteps are wobbly, and a pendulum comes and makes her take a Top Model tumble right off the runway.

Cycle 5

Lisa DAmato first became known on the shows fifth season, where she proved that outrageousness was her bread and butter. Her antics both on set and in the house made her a fan favorite. But her most notorious moment has to be when she wore, and then used, an adult diaper on screen at the urging of the cast of Jackass. This moment earned mixed reviews from fans and her fellow castmates. Most felt it tanked her chances, and Entertainment Weekly accused her of being more interested in becoming a reality star than a supermodel. This didnt stop DAmato from coming back and winning the shows all stars edition, though.

Cycle 7

Only 18 years old at the time of filming, Jaeda Youngs time on the seventh season was a rollercoaster. She was constantly in the bottom when it came to critiques. But her eventual elimination is one of the most uncomfortable in the whole franchise. While in Spain, Young was paired with a male model named Nacho for a commercial. His seemingly unprompted admission that he is not attracted to black women puts Jaeda off. The judges blame her for letting her self-consciousness show through, and their insensitive suggestions just drive the unfairness home. She is eliminated based on her performance, even though her deep discomfort is understandable.

Cycle 15

Heres what happens when Top Model meets Fear Factor. In this unforgettable episode, Miss J Alexander drops a massive bomb on the models of Cycle 15. The runway is going to move. As soon as the first contender, Chelsey Hersley, hits the moving walkway, she stumbles over herself to the entertainment of the gathered onlookers. It just goes downhill from there. These models have barely experienced a stationary runway. Sure, lets slap some trains and heels on them and push them onto a fast-moving conveyor belt in front of a gawking audience. And then Miss J has the nerve to criticize them for not looking comfortable. Its not the most dangerous or most punishing challenge, but its awfully close.

Cycle 3

In one episode, the models are tasked with choosing a hat to represent their personal style. The judges express surprise that Yaya DaCostas pride in her African heritage hasnt translated into her picking the provided fake kente cloth hat. But the sideways comments from the panel are the real outrageous part here. Panelist Nolé Marin makes a strange comment about riding giraffes. Guest judge Rebecca Weinberg tells DaCosta that shes constantly throwing her African heritage in their faces. When the eventual runner-up dares to push back, Tyra Banks chastises her for her defensive tone and even suggests she should apologize to the hat at one point? DaCosta has since spoken about the racism she endured on set. This scene is a blatant example.

Cycle 2

Weve seen the producers throw a lot at the Top Models. Shandi Sullivan contends that producers initiated the visit from the male models that would end up costing her her relationship. But a breakup in real time is something that not even Tyra Banks and company could orchestrate to this effect. Cycle 2 finalist Shandi Sullivan was incredibly charmed by one of their guests. So much so that she went to bed with him, and called her boyfriend to tell him in front of Top Models cameras. Her boyfriends devastated reaction and uncomfortable if understandable anger pushes the boundaries of decency, even for this show. Unfortunately, their tearful, angry argument is probably catnip for reality TV producers.

Cycle 8

The cast finds themselves invited to a particularly star-studded party in this wild episode from the shows eighth season. One person who is not intimidated by her surroundings is the late Jael Strauss. She starts treating some of these celebrities, like 50 Cent himself, like shes old friends with them. In fact, she starts to look a little bit like an annoying little sister. Then, theres a jump cut, and 50 Cent pushes Jael into the swimming pool. This turns into an all-out champagne fight and an impromptu swim. Its a weird moment, and theres clearly a lot of footage missing, so it just looks like 50 Cent pushed Strauss out of irritation.

Cycle 4

Michelle Deighton was clearly struggling to make friends in the models house. When a rash begins to spread over her face, a call from a fellow models mother sends her castmates into a frenzy that it was a contagious and deadly flesh-eating bacteria. It ultimately became another way of ostracizing Deighton further. While these models are definitely overreacting, a bunch of models being cut from the world when a deadly bacteria breaks out sounds like a horror movie wed totally watch. Eventually, the rash just turns out to be impetigo, which is contagious but mostly harmless. Crazily, as youll see later, this is actually the second most outrageous thing to happen in this now hard-to-find episode.

Cycle 1

Its been over 20 years, and we still dont know why Elyse Sewell signed up for this show. But without her, the shows very first season would not have been such must-see TV. The med student-turned-model cant suffer these other fools. Its an argument about religion that finally sets her off. Taking to the janky, low-budget confessional room to unload her deeply-held resentments. Expletive-laden and incredibly thorough, Elyse tears into her fellow competitors with the cutting precision of a surgeon. Not even Miss J is safe from her withering commentary. Her frustration culminated in one of reality TVs most iconic rants.

Cycle 4

Having these models pose in a fresh grave in a real cemetery is questionable enough. But a personal tragedy for one of them was still fresh when the coffin photoshoot came along. The Top Model cast are often sequestered from their daily lives to shoot a season. News from home can be sporadic. While she was filming for Cycle 4, Kahlen Rondot received news that her friend passed away and she had already missed the funeral. The show, her competitors, and the judges frame it as a personal challenge for her to overcome. Viewers still accuse the show of being insensitive to her grief, although Tyra Banks insists the photoshoot was pre-planned. The timing was just horrendous.

Cycle 13

For the annual season trip, the final six of the 13th season were flown to Hawaii. There, Tyra Banks and Jay Manuel introduce their unconventional photoshoot challenge. The models are tasked to represent different biracial identities from around the world. But its not just clothes theyre changing into. Makeup artists also smear their bodies with colorful body paint, effectively putting them in brown, black, and yellowface. This didnt escape the notice of the models themselves, and it wasnt even uncontroversial at the time. Even in 2009, Banks explained away the problematic nature of the shoot by saying that she was trying to celebrate the blending of cultures.

Cycle 6

Beauty is pain but this is kind of insane. The models of Cycle 6 are made to strap on some impossibly high, 10-inch heels, and stomp the runway for the judges. Who would have thought this would be borderline dangerous? Even the stars of the competition cant quite manage to look like theyre not terrified of breaking something. Some are not so lucky. Danielle Evans takes a nasty spill that sprains her toe and leaves her crawling backstage. And then theres Tyra Banks, cringing and talking them through it like a birthing coach. Its almost like shes being forced to watch something she doesnt have total control over.

Since its become a near-ubiquitous meme, its easy to just laugh at Tyra Banks be quiet, Tiffany rant. But the original scene is genuinely disturbing. Tiffany Richardson has just been cut, and the fact that the eliminated contestant isnt offering her tears for the camera seems to irk Banks to no end. She was rooting for Tiffany, after all. But her reaction seems completely outsized to the moment. For all the great sound bites, its actually ridiculous. What it comes down to is the host is shouting at Richardson for having a completely mature reaction to her own loss.

Cycle 4

We had a lot of time on our hands in 2020. Some of us decided to start watching Top Model again from the beginning, and judging from the reaction on social media, a lot of people forgot this Cycle 4 Got Milk photoshoot. For the shoot, the models are made up as women of other ethnicities, holding actual babies of the ethnic group they were meant to pass as. Theres a lot to unpack here, as the saying goes. Rediscovering this moment probably did more than anything else to make people reevaluate the cultural impact and cultural missteps of a show that defined 2000s and early reality TV.

What else should have been in the running to become Americas Next Top Models most outrageous moment? Let us know in the comments.