{"id":2277157,"date":"2026-02-11T11:19:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T11:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2277157"},"modified":"2026-02-11T11:19:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T11:19:07","slug":"americas-next-top-model-contestant-shandi-sullivan-claims-production-framed-her-sexual-assault-as-a-cheating-storyline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/americas-next-top-model-contestant-shandi-sullivan-claims-production-framed-her-sexual-assault-as-a-cheating-storyline\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAmerica&#8217;s Next Top Model\u201d Contestant Shandi Sullivan Claims Production Framed Her Sexual Assault as a Cheating Storyline"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Shandi Sullivan was working at a Walgreens in Missouri when she auditioned for <em>America&#8217;s Next Top Model<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Being part of cycle 2 was exciting for Shandi until a trip to Milan led to a traumatic experience that was captured on camera<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Shandi is opening up about her assault and the aftermath in Netflix&#8217;s new docuseries,\u00a0<em>Reality Check: Inside America&#8217;s Next Top Model<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/shandithecatlady\/?hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Shandi Sullivan;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Shandi Sullivan<\/a> wanted to be a top model.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As she reveals in Netflix&#8217;s new docuseries,\u00a0<em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81928842\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Reality Check: Inside America&#8217;s Next Top Model<\/a>, <\/em>Shandi was excited to go from her small-town life working at Walgreens to the bustling world of modeling. From early on, Shandi knew it was hard work, describing her storyline as &#8220;ugly duckling to swan.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Everything in her journey on the show and in modeling changed after the cycle 2 group was taken to Milan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;When we first got there, they said, you&#8217;re gonna go to a bunch of go-sees,&#8221; she recalls, as a scene where the women are introduced to Vespa drivers plays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:PEOPLE's free daily newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><i>Shandi Sullivan cries the morning after her assault <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Hulu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;That was all day long. It took all day long. And then we went back to our little house that we were staying at,&#8221; she recalls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;And I don&#8217;t remember who said it, but somebody was like, &#8216;How would you guys feel about having like the guys that were on the mopeds come by and have dinner with you guys? And we&#8217;ll have some wine and stuff.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Shandi thought the idea &#8220;sounded fun,&#8221; but she had no idea what that night had in store. &#8220;I&#8217;m just excited to just have a night. We were just like talking, drinking. I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;d eaten anything at all or had any sleep,&#8221; she began.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Shandi Sullivan breaks down on the phone with her boyfriend Hulu\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"320\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/2xXqJyVf8lsLXnyWidFYEw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTQ4MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/24db97ca75728569e0798e7f40483b9d\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\"><i>Shandi Sullivan breaks down on the phone with her boyfriend <\/i><\/p>\n<p>Hulu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I remember getting in the hot tub. I remember April, Mercedes getting in the hot tub. And then I just remember the guy looking at me and I looked at him. And I was pretty drunk at that point. Everything kind of after that is just a blur.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Shandi was emotional as she continued her account, claiming, &#8220;I remember him on top of me. I was blacked out. No one did anything to stop it. And it all got filmed, all of it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I was hammered. I think I had two bottles of wine by myself. I just remember, like, little bits and pieces. He threw me in the shower and then just sitting in the shower. And then we&#8217;re in the bed. I was blacked out for a lot of it. I didn&#8217;t even feel sex happening. I just knew it was happening. And then I passed out,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The next day, I woke up. I was, like, &#8216;Holy s&#8211;t, what the f&#8211;k happened last night?&#8217; It all fucking hit me. It just flooded over me. I just sat there and cried.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Footage from the next morning shows a hysterical Shandi say, &#8220;I just want to die,&#8221; as she realizes what transpired. As the storyline unfolded, the incident was portrayed as a drunk Shandi cheating on her boyfriend back home, rather than what she describes in the docuseries as a sexual assault. It&#8217;s something that&#8217;s still hard for the one-time model to process to this day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81928842\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Reality Check: Inside America&#8217;s Next Top Model<\/a> <\/em>is available to stream on Netflix beginning Feb. 16.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to <\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rainn.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:rainn.org;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong><em>rainn.org<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/americas-next-top-model-contestant-shandi-sullivan-claims-production-framed-her-sexual-assault-as-a-cheating-storyline-11901694\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:People;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">People<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEED TO KNOW Shandi Sullivan was working at a Walgreens in Missouri when she auditioned for America&#8217;s Next Top Model Being part of cycle 2 was exciting for Shandi until a trip to Milan led to a traumatic experience that was captured on camera Shandi is opening up about her assault and the aftermath in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2277158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[25850,23191,392150,440960,440961],"class_list":["post-2277157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-hulu","tag-netflix","tag-reality-check","tag-shandi-sullivan","tag-walgreens"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Americas-Next-Top-Model-Contestant-Shandi-Sullivan-Claims-Production-Framed.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2277157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2277159,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277157\/revisions\/2277159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2277158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2277157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2277157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2277157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}