America's Next Top Model Contestant Reveals The Fakest Part About The Entire Show
Even though it's reality television, you know that shows like America's Next Top Model can still be scripted with fake moments for the drama. In fact, the creator of The Bachelor said in 2012 that most reality TV shows are "fake" (via The Washington Post). However, it's not always based in pre-scripted storylines that producers are coming up with behind the scenes, but more so in putting the footage they've collected together to make one cohesive story in the edit room.
That can be why, they film more footage than they need. Sometimes, they even make you do a second take of a moment to get better camera angles and expressions. Reader's Digest even points out that some producers have to redo scenes or "frankenbite" whole conversations together. So, unless you know someone behind the scenes, you might not know the truth about some of your favorite reality TV shows.
The 'ANTM' contestants were told to act excited whenever Tyra arrived
Luckily for fans of America's Next Top Model, one former contestant is getting real over on TikTok. Sarah Hartshorne (@sarahbhartshorne) — who you may remember from Cycle 9 of ANTM — posted a TikTok answering one user's question about whether or not the contestants were "required to always be excited when Tyra showed up." It seems they were.
Using a moment from Cycle 9, Hartshorne tells a story about a time when the girls were asked to scream loud for a musical performance Tyra Banks was doing. The retired model claims they had to do about eight or nine takes, and by the end, she was exhausted. That's why she claims there weren't many cut to's of her in the audience acting excited, because her face cannot lie.
Someone else who has been sharing secrets about the behind-the-scenes of the modeling competition show is former judge Jay Manuel (via Variety). His novel The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown, which was released in August 2020, is based heavily on his time at the show, and even dives into the culture behind the scenes that "was something that shifted over time."