America’s Next Top Model stars claim show used ‘cult techniques’ to control them, with contestants banned from opening windows, using the toilet or knowing the time while host Tyra Banks became ‘the air we breathed’

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Former contestants on America’s Next Top Model have shared details about the show’s incredibly strict rules, alleging that producers used manipulative tactics similar to those seen in cults.

Recent weeks have brought to light disturbing details from the show, following Netflix’s documentary, Reality Check. The documentary revealed that producers concealed a sexual assault and also brought renewed attention to past instances of racism and fat-shaming.

A new documentary from E!, called Dirty Rotten Scandals, has revealed further claims of mistreatment.

This documentary series in two parts includes interviews with past contestants and judge Janice Dickinson, but Tyra Banks, the show’s host, did not participate.

Sarah Hartshorne, a contestant on cycle nine, started the competition as a plus-size model. However, the pressure of competing caused her to lose weight.

She reflected on the bizarre feedback she’d received: being told she wasn’t thin enough for plus-size modeling, yet wasn’t considered traditionally thin enough for shows like America’s Next Top Model.

She explained the extent of control over the contestants on the show, noting she’d read the book Cultish, which details the methods used by all kinds of cults. She said America’s Next Top Model employed all those same techniques.

She described how they dictated every aspect of their lives – controlling when they could use the restroom, eat meals, sleep, and even talk to one another.

We were cut off from the people we cared about, and weren’t allowed any access to things like magazines or newspapers – anything that could tell us the date or time.

They repeatedly warned that breaking the confidentiality agreement would result in a lifetime of reduced wages.

We were completely caught up in trying to please everyone and blindly followed instructions, because Tyra Banks had such a powerful influence over us. We were eager to do whatever she asked.

She explained that they were informed the cameras would be recording them constantly, both while they were working and during their free time in the house.

Honestly, the only time they ever seemed comfortable touching was when they were completely alone in the bathroom. And get this – she said the producers actually told them to shower together, claiming it was ‘for the environment’! I couldn’t believe it, it just felt so forced and weird.

Sarah explained that if they didn’t follow the rules, they would get in trouble. As a consequence, they might lose privileges like their books and iPods, and would have to spend hours in quiet time.

Sarah explained that filming the elimination days would be a very long process, taking anywhere from 12 to 18 hours, and often lasting until the early morning.

She remembered being warned on her first day that someone on the crew fainted about once a week. She was told not to try to be brave if she felt unwell, but to ask for help immediately. And, she admitted with a laugh, she was the one who needed assistance that very first day!

Cycle two winner Yoanna House also struggled with the strict rules. 

She explained: ‘The rules in the house were challenging. 

The lights stayed on constantly, even at bedtime. Cell phones weren’t permitted, and no one could leave the house or open the windows.

‘You’re almost an animal. It felt like it was an experiment, to see how easily we could break.’ 

Lisa D’Amato, a contestant on both seasons five and seventeen of the show (and the winner of season seventeen), explained that everyone was exhausted from lack of sleep and didn’t have enough to eat.

‘They know what they’re doing and it’s intentional.’

Lisa says that after being filmed while drinking on the show early on, she’s felt unfairly labeled as someone with a drinking problem ever since.

As a child, she experienced abuse from her mother. Later, she said producers repeatedly pushed her to talk about this painful past on television, which deeply upset her and contributed to her unpredictable actions.

Looking back on a night when she overdid it and passed out outdoors, she said she hadn’t been taking care of herself – she wasn’t eating well, wasn’t getting enough sleep, and had likely had a bit too much wine.

I constantly felt on the verge of breaking down. They were deliberately using my past trauma against me, trying to upset me emotionally. Tyra intentionally portrayed me as unstable and irrational.

She noted that when co-star Coryn Woitel labelled her an ‘alcoholic b**h’, it ‘set the tone of what I’ve been called around the globe for 15 years.

‘I was set up to be publicly humiliated on repeat forever, so Tyra could make money.’

I was so thrilled to see Lisa return to the show after six years! I know her first time was really tough, and she came back for the All Stars season hoping to prove herself and finally get the chance she deserved – she really wanted to turn things around and create a better future for herself, and I was rooting for her the whole time.

However, she explained that she soon realized things wouldn’t improve the second time around. She said the contestants were gathered and made to sit in a van for four hours with bags over their heads to prevent them from seeing where they were.

She said the experience felt similar to the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, a well-known and often debated psychological study.

Tyra Banks didn’t respond to questions from E! News. E! News and The Daily Mail have contacted both Tyra and her co-producer, Ken Mok, for comment.

The new season of America’s Next Top Model starts March 11th at 9 PM Eastern and Pacific time, with two episodes airing back-to-back.

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2026-03-07 15:49