Some new America’s Next Top Model tea has been spilled!
By now, we all know that the competition series was secretly one of the most problematic shows on television, with many former contestants and judges calling out Tyra Banks for alleged unfair treatment, toxic work environment, and more over the years. It is certainly no secret, but this latest claim from an ANTM alum about just how awful things had been behind the scenes for contestants (at least in the paycheck department) may just shock you…
Related: ANTM Winner Lisa D’Amato COMES HARD For Tyra Banks In Emotional Video
Sarah Hartshorne, a retired model who appeared on cycle 9 of the series back in 2007, took to Twitter on Monday to respond to a fan who wrote:
“The fact that girls on ANTM were getting paid $40 an episode and Tyra and them judges were making BANK, is kinda sick.”
When tagged and asked by another follower, “@sarahhartshorne this for real???” she replied in a quote tweet:
“$40 a day, no residuals, and we had to pay for food.”
$40 a day?! AND THEY HAD TO PAY FOR FOOD???
Considering the popularity of the series at the time AND everything the women went through for the show, they certainly deserved a better salary than just a measly $40 a day!
Following the callout, Hartshorne also apparently started receiving criticism for keeping “ANTM Cycle 9” in the bio of her social media accounts if she seemingly disliked her time on the reality show, prompting her to hop on Instagram to clarify a few things. (BTW, she also urged her fans to check out her TikTok account, in which she talked more about the behind-the-scenes issues of Top Model, when the tweet went viral. Anyways…)
She expressed on Wednesday:
“I woke up to about 30 DMs and even more comments asking why I put Top Model in my bio if I hated it so much, and the answer is twofold. Number one: I am an old fat comedian now. So when I talk about Top Model, sometimes people are like, ‘What? For whomst?! For where?’ and then I’m just clarifying I was on the show. Also, I never said I hated it. Show me where I said that. The tweet that has everyone all up in the feelings is literally just numbers and facts. I don’t hate the show. I’m glad that I did it. I also think we should have been paid. Some people regret that they did the show, and they have a lot of anger and that is really valid. And I do not want to take away from that at all even though it is not my personal experience. I’m glad I did the show. I met some amazing people. I got some opportunities from it. I still think we should have been paid, and I think that that’s fair.”
Hartshorne continued:
“I realize that the people who posted all the hate probably won’t see this and aren’t watching and this might be pointless but on the off chance that you are, I just want to say that I think it’s really beautiful that you love the show and Tyra so much that this is stirring up so much in you. I really do. I hope that you bring that passion to everything in your life! But I also hope you can come to a reconciliation and a feeling of peace with the fact that something that you loved was harmful for other people. Both those things are true, just like it’s true that I don’t hate the show but I think we should have been paid.”
True! Ch-ch-check out the entire video message (below):
As we mentioned before, this is not the first time that Sarah has been vocal about what happened behind closed doors on ANTM. Most recently, she detailed a nondisclosure agreement she and other competitors were forced to sign before being featured on the show. The comedian claimed that producers informed that if they “talked about anything that had happened or was going to happen we would be sued for 10 million dollars” per their contract. Not only that, according to Hartshorne the attorneys told the aspiring models they would just keep suing their family members if they were unable to shell out the money themselves. Damn!
Ultimately, she felt that “even though they had complete control over our lives at the time, they wanted to make their power seem larger than life, and it absolutely worked.”
Yeesh!
While Sarah may have been thankful for the experience, it clearly wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the contestants! Reactions to what she revealed, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below)!
[Image via WENN/Avalon, America’s Next Top Model/Hulu]
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