<\/p>\n
Some aspects of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Next Top Model\u201d aren\u2019t aging well.<\/p>\n
Created by Tyra Banks, the reality competition series followed aspiring models vying to win a modeling contract. During the makeover phase of the competition, contestants underwent dramatic hair transformations, some of which had lasting consequences.<\/p>\n
Cycle 1 winner Adrianne Curry claimed in a Thursday, Oct. 30, Instagram video<\/a> that she still has patches on her scalp that won\u2019t grow hair 22 years after her \u201cAmerica\u2019s Next Top Model\u201d makeover.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m partially bald right here and there,\u201d Curry said, gesturing to her scalp. \u201cThe reason is, when I was on \u2018Top Model\u2019, Tyra Banks told them to put a weave in my hair. The Black stylists that were putting it in pulled her aside, and I heard them tell her, \u2018This white chick\u2019s hair is too fragile for this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the stylists\u2019 warnings, Curry said Banks told them, \u2018\u201cJust do it.\u2019\u201d As the competition went on, Curry developed \u201can oozing wound from the braids.\u201d <\/p>\n Once the show ended, Curry went to a \u201cBlack salon\u201d to get the weave removed. <\/p>\n \u201cIt took hours and hours for them to get it out. I was left with a horrific mullet [and] scabs all over my head,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThey were so sweet. They just couldn\u2019t believe that this was done to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Curry couldn\u2019t tell the salon employees who gave her the weave due to an NDA agreement, but said they joked it must\u2019ve been \u201csomeone who hates you.\u201d <\/p>\n Although the weave is long gone, Curry said her hair is \u201cpermanently damaged\u201d from the experience. While filming \u201cAmerica\u2019s Next Top Model,\u201d the weave was \u201cso painful\u201d and itchy. <\/p>\n READ MORE: <\/b>Why everyone is talking about this \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 star\u2019s messy split<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201c[Fellow contestant] Kesse [Wallace] was trying to teach me how to itch it, but I didn\u2019t know. I didn\u2019t know any of this. Before that, she saw me [scratching it] with a fork,\u201d Curry recalled. \u201cI think most of those makeovers were done just to torture us, honestly. \u2026 It felt so validating to be in that salon with all those women who were like, \u2018Who would do this to you?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Her name is Tyra.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica\u2019s Next Top Model\u201d premiered on UPN in 2003. It ran for 24 seasons, or cycles, later moving to the CW and then to VH1. The show was the subject of a 2024 episode of the AppleTV+ docuseries \u201cThe Dark Side of Reality TV.\u201d <\/p>\n \u2018\u201cANTM\u201d has been called out for perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards and for controversial challenges, such as a \u201cbiracial\u201d photo shoot in cycle 13 for which some contestants had to darken their skin and a cycle 4 photo shoot that forced contestant Kahlen Rondot to pose in a coffin one day after her friend died. <\/p>\n Banks addressed some of the controversy while accepting the first Luminary Spotlight honor at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards in March. <\/p>\n \u201cDid we get it [all] right? Hell no. I said some dumb s\u2014, but I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the Internet when there were 24 cycles of changing the world,\u201d Banks said after highlighting ANTM\u2019s diversity. \u201cWe all evolve. We all get better together. And I am so excited that I, and so many of us, have opened that door for others to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica\u2019s Next Top Model\u201d is <\/b><\/i>available to stream on Hulu<\/b><\/i><\/a>. <\/b><\/i><\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n