September 30, 2025 • 56 mins
We explore one of ANTM’s most infamous controversies. Angelea Preston won the All-Stars season of America’s Next Top Model. Later, she was stripped of the title, and her win was given to Lisa D’Amato. But what really happened behind the scenes? Angelea and Lisa tell very different stories. We hear from the models at the center of ANTM’s messiest win and discuss the contestant contract that enabled it all.
Looking to place a face to the name and hear bonus content? Check out our Instagram account, @glasspodcasts, where we recap each episode with show notes that include the people, places, and even video clips referenced in the episode.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We've all heard about A and TM's controversies, race wapping, challenges,
dangerous photoshoots, and we'll get into all that later in
the season. But I want to tell you about one
controversy that only the real fans know about, and it's
the most telling of them all. It happened to one
model who told me her story. I'm Angelie Preston.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I am from Buffalo seven, one, six, All Day. People
may remember me from America's sex Top Model cycles twelve, fourteen,
and seventeen, the original winner of Cycle seventeen All Stars period.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
But if you look it up, Lisa Demato is the
official winner of Cycle seventeen. So what happened. Well. To
understand Angelee's story, the first thing you need to know
is how hard she worked to even get cast on
A and TM. It was Angelie's dream to be on
the show. She auditioned three times before making it. The
(01:01):
first time, Angelie didn't even get a call back. The
second time Angelie sent in an audition tape.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
The producer called me was like, we want you to
come to New York New York City. Had never been
to New York, So I go down there and I
had nowhere to sleep. I was just a girl with
a dream, like, come on, let me just go down here.
This is my chance to see the cast and director
slip into port authority and the staw.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
It was so gross. Yes, I was so hungry, so
hungry for it. Girl Angelie always knew she wanted to
be a model. As a kid, she was teased for
being tall and skinny. She knew in the modeling industry
her body type would be celebrated. Plus, she experienced a
personal tragedy after her first audition that made her want
(01:47):
it even more.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I ended up getting pregnant with my daughter, so I
kind of like put that dream on hold and was.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Just like, Okay, I'm gonna just be a mom.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Maybe the modeling a for me.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
My daughter passed away not too long after she was born,
and this was in two thousand and seven, so I
kind of took that as a sign like maybe I'm
not supposed to be a mom yet.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
And then that's when I auditioned again. That was cycle twelve.
She didn't make it on the show. During the auditions,
she got into a huge argument with another contestant.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
And I showed my ass in Vegas and got set
the fuck home I got said, oh I was Filin'.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
But Angelie was determined to make it on A and TM,
so she auditioned again and finally made it into the
house on Cycle fourteen. Angelie quickly became a fan favorite.
She's one of my favorites too. Remember Alicia Keys in
the early two thousands. Angelie kind of looks like her
and has her vibe. But if Alicia Keys was loud
(02:55):
and outgoing and didn't play the piano, but you get
it the same kind of homegirl vibe and Angelie's hilarious.
When I interviewed her, it was our first time meeting,
but it felt like I was talking to an old friend.
You ever met someone and just felt like they were
born to be famous? That's Angelie. But all the controversy
around her All Star season overshadowed her charisma and talent
(03:20):
before All Stars. When she was on Cycle fourteen, Angelie
did well. She made it to the final four, but
she was still a little rough around the edges. She
got into it with a few girls on her season. Bitch,
I'm uneducated.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Are you why I'm not educated?
Speaker 5 (03:39):
You know what?
Speaker 1 (03:39):
I really don't know how I.
Speaker 6 (03:41):
Went to a red boschool.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Look it up tonight.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It's really unfair that people assume that I'm uneducated because
I talked this way.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
You want educated, and you ignorant, and you really When
the judges eliminated her on cycle fourteen, they said they
were worried an TM would be the end for her,
not the beginning. But not too long after, producers reached
out to invite her back on for Cycle seventeen. It
would be A and TM's first and only all Star season.
(04:13):
They invited former A and TM contestants to compete against
each other for the title of America's next Top Model.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
This is an opportunity to do it right this time,
and they're talking about the format is going to be
different for All Stars. They're going to be branding us
as celebrities and you're gonna get paid.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Angelie decided to do it this time. She was going
to show a more poised side of herself. At first,
the judges were like, where's the old Angelie? But eventually
her new approach paid off. When it came time to
shoot the finale in Greece, the set was built and
the cameras were rolling. Angelie and the other two finalists
stood in front of Tyra, and Angelie's picture was the
(04:52):
final one on the screen. Angelie was crowned the winner
of A and TM. She burst into tears. Everything had
been worth it. She'd finally won a win that came
with one hundred thousand dollars cover Girl contract. When I
won first, all was had. I was like, hell, yeah,
I want yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
My life has changed forever, Like my mom was gonna
be taking care of I'm I'll take care of her
how she takes care of me.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I wish I could play you a clip of Angelie's win,
but I can't because it never aired. Want to Beyond Some,
Want to Beyond Some. Welcome to the Curse of America's
(05:40):
Next Top Model. I'm Bridget Armstrong. Last episode, we did
a deep dive on cycle one because it's the blueprint
for what A and TM became, which was a mega
hit the production group, and so did the show's popularity.
They were filming multiple cycles within the same calendar year,
(06:00):
turning out winner after winner. They'd struck TV gold In.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Two thousand and three, supermodel Tyra Banks had an idea
for a reality show. She called it America's Next Top Model,
where she and a panel of judges set out to
find out the next.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
It girl on the runway.
Speaker 7 (06:15):
Fifteen years and twenty four seasons later, the hit show
has become the longest running reality function series, airing in
seventy three Country You.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Go Girl, and as the Boss's back as.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
The show's success also meant it had a reputation to protect,
they had more to lose. That's a big part of
how Angelie ended up having her win revoked by A
and TM executives. A and TM never told viewers the
real story behind Angelie's disqualification. Fans have wondered what really
happened and how the show was even allowed to take
(06:48):
the title from a winner. And I'll tell you now,
the reversal was completely within the show's rights because of
the contract Angelie signed. I've talked to more than a
dozen former A and TM models and their contracts came
up a lot. So on this episode, they'll take you
back to who they were when they signed on the
dotted line, tell you what they thought they were signing
(07:10):
up for and what it actually turned out to be,
and you'll hear the story behind one of A and
TM's most shocking controversies from the two models at the
center of it. Despite Angelie being the first winner of
A and TM All Stars, Lisa Demodel's win is what
actually aired on the show.
Speaker 8 (07:29):
There will be one final shot which will announce who
America's next top Model is.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Lisa, it's absolutely present. You deserve this lesson. You are
the religional, you are a star. I called up Lisa Demato,
the official winner of A and TM All Stars, to
hear her side of the story.
Speaker 9 (08:01):
I have thought receipts, I have got research, I've got names,
I've got stories these days.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Lisa lives in Portugal. She's a mom of two sons
and a caregiver to her father. She seems to be
going through a nasty divorce. Lisa started a company that
makes a food storage bib for toddlers. It was featured
on Shark Tank. When she joined me, she was sitting
outside on a noisy patio, possibly at a rental house.
She was saying it while her castle was being renovated. Honestly,
(08:30):
it's a little hard to follow because our interviews started
out on a chaotic note which felt on brand but
true to model form. Lisa looked great, her hair wasn't
that different than when she was first on A and
TM on cycle five, she was rocking a dirty blond
asymmetrical bob. In fact, Lisa pretty much looks the same,
(08:50):
same deep set eyes, same big, wide smile. But from
the moment Lisa joined our call, she let me know
she did not come to play. She's probably one of,
if not the most publicly critical former A and TM contestants.
We talked for almost four hours across two days. Lisa
told me about what she sees as a pattern of
(09:12):
manipulation from Tyra Banks and the A and TM producers.
She said the show completely ruined her professional reputation. Lisa
is one of the most infamous contestants to ever grace
an A and TM set. The first time she appeared
on the show in cycle five, she was chaos personified.
There was her perceived drinking problem that alienated her from
(09:33):
a lot of the other contestants.
Speaker 10 (09:35):
Lisa drinks. She's going through like bottles of wine, like
whole bottles in less than forty five minutes.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Is sick.
Speaker 10 (09:43):
Definitely thinks that Lisa's drinking is hurting her.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
The Josh is not gonna want.
Speaker 8 (09:47):
Someone who's an alcoholic to represent America's next Top Model.
Speaker 11 (09:51):
Her attitude and like her drinking and everything that she's
doing here is just bizarre to me.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And the time she peeded in a diaper a photo
shoot with the guy from MTV's Jackass.
Speaker 10 (10:07):
No woman of class, especially a supermodel and making is
gonna do something as disgusting as p on herself at
her job.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
She managed to shock Stevo, which is an amazing feat.
Lisa didn't seem to get along with most of the
girls on her season. She came off like a drunk
no at all. She was definitely one of that cycle's villains,
but she made such great TV A and TM brought
her back for cycle seventeen All Stars. Despite the controversy
(10:36):
around her winning that season, Lisa believes she was actually
predetermined to win the whole thing. She thinks this because
of something she says was in her contract.
Speaker 9 (10:47):
I actually signed the winning contract before even going on
All Stars. My manager was told by production not every
girl signed the winning contract. And I asked some of
the girls why we're filming, and they said no. I
was set up to win from the very beginning. That
(11:07):
was all planned from the very beginning. For the finale.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
She thinks the whole thing was an elaborate plot and
that they never intended to give Angelie the win they did.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Angelie so dirty.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Lisa says, producers manufactured a fake win for Angelie. She
said the finale said in Greece, didn't even look complete.
Lisa believes they leaked the alleged fake win to stir
up controversy around the season and hopefully boost the ratings,
which had dropped. It is true that news of Angelie's
win had leaked before the finale aired. An A and
(11:43):
TM producer told me that was the real reason the
show picked a new winner and reshot the finale. They
were worried no one would watch the season if they
already knew the outcome. But Angelie told me neither of
those stories are correct. She told me she leaked the
information about her win after it was revoked. According to Angelie,
the real reason ANTM producer stripped her of her win
(12:06):
is much more disturbing. She says, shortly after filming ended,
she got a call.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
A week or two later, somebody from the network production
called me. I was like, you know, they want to
have a meeting with you, and they basically told me
we can't air you as the winner because you violated
your contract.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
There's a rumor that Angelie was disqualified because she spoke
publicly about her win before it aired. The contract explicitly
forbids contestants from doing that, but Angelie says she didn't
violate this part of the contract because remember, she says
she didn't leak her win until after it was revoked.
Angeline says producers told her she breached the morality clause
(12:52):
in her contract. The morality clause basically says producers can
strip the winner of the prizes and title of America's
Next Top Model if at any point before or after
their win, they are caught or exposed doing something that
causes public disgrace, outrage, embarrassment, or otherwise constitutes an act
of moral turpitude. The examples the contract gives are getting arrested,
(13:16):
charged and or convicted of a crime, or appearing in
sexually explicit material. I know you're wondering what exactly did
Angelie do to violate the morality clause? And I promise
you we're going to get there. Whether you believe the
rumor or Angelie's story, what you need to know now
is the outcome as the same. The contract states if
(13:39):
a winning contestant breaches any part of the contract, A
ANDTM producers have the right to strip them of their
title and the winnings. So either way, she couldn't fight it,
and she was heartbroken. Remember, Angelie really wanted this. She
auditioned for A and TM three times before getting cast
on the show. I was balling.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I was crying right obviously, because you guys just put
a dagger through my heart. Iden had all this plans
for this money. This was to be my second, my
third chance to make it right. I was going to
do right this time, and now you're basically telling me, Nope,
you just did all this for nothing.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Again. I got my hands on a copy of that contract,
and after the break we take a look and find
out what A and TM considered a moral violation. Contracts
on reality TV are a pretty standard thing. The contracts
(14:35):
ensure that the rights and obligations of talent and producers
are clear. On the talent side, on a very basic level,
it spells out the payment terms, and on production side,
the contracts ensure cast members don't gossip and spoil the
show before it comes out or divulge the behind the
scenes production secrets. They also want to make sure the
cast members can't sue if they don't like their edit
(14:57):
wants to show airs. Sophie Sumner is the model I
talked to from A andtm's British Invasion season. That was
the season where models from the UK competed against American models.
She was the winner of that season, but before coming
on A and TM, she competed on Britain's Next Top
Model and she told me the A and TM contract
(15:17):
was a whole different beast.
Speaker 9 (15:19):
I do remember the America one being like WHOA.
Speaker 6 (15:23):
I swear the America one was literally like we own
you for the rest of your life and everything you do,
honestly literally like what they said.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
And I think Britains was like you gotta be on
camera and baby like.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
You might make money after him, We'll take it for
a year.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
I've read an A ANDTM contract, actually a few of them,
including one from cycle seventeen, and I agree with Sophie,
it's WHOA. When I talked to the rest of the
models about their contracts, this idea of A and TM
owning them kept coming up. Here's Uvi Gomez from cycle four.
I was like barely twenty one, just signing my life away,
(16:00):
and Hannah cat Jones, who was the second runner up
on Cycle sixteen, I.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Felt like I was signing my soul away, and I
thought about how the opportunity would be life changing, so.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Life changing that Hannah looked the other way on a
particularly concerning clause in the contract.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
And another thing that was in the contract that I
always remember standing out was if something happened to me
on the show, if I got insured.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Or even died, my family wouldn't be owed anything.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
If you're thinking, well, that probably just meant Hannah couldn't
sue the show should something happen. I'm sure ANTM had
insurance to cover the contestants if they were hurt. You
would be wrong. The contract made the contestants acknowledge that
they were personally responsible for maintaining accident and health insurance
to cover any bodily injury they suffered on set, while
(16:52):
traveling or in housing provided by producers. Contestants had to
acknowledge they were responsible for insurance to cover and long
term disability and any insurance that would cover their deaths.
They also had to irrevocably waive their right to sue
the other contestants, the producers, the production company, the network,
(17:12):
and its subsidiaries, should physical, emotional or mental injury occur
or should they die because of something that happened on
an A and TM set, Which is kind of wild
when you remember that on Hannah season they did a
photo shoot with live bees, a photo shoot in an
actual landfill, and a runway wearing gloves that had been
(17:34):
set on fire. Sarah Harthorn competed as a plus sized
model on cycle nine. She recently wrote a tell all
book about her experiences on A and TM. She has
a lot of perspective about A and TM now, but
when she signed up for it, she didn't understand what
she was getting into.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
At the time, we knew we were signing our life away,
but I'm not sure I had the prefuntal cortex to
really understand the ramifications of that.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Sarah told me she wasn't the only one who had
to sign. Anyone she planned to talk to while in
the house also had to sign a contract.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
If you want to be able to call anyone on
the phone while you were there, you had to have
them basically sign their life away too.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
My boyfriend, my friends, I talked to my.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Grandpa every week and he was like, I can't sign this,
Like I can't and I was like, no, I know,
you're signing your life away. And he's like, no, you're
signing your life rights away. Do you understand that? And
I was like, I do not.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Sarah's granddad was referring to a part of the contract
that gave A and TM the right to depict Sarah
any way they wanted to, wherever they wanted to, or
whenever they wanted to. Here's something strange, u V remembers
in her contract.
Speaker 12 (18:45):
It said something wild like we cannot talk about it
on this planet or any other planet.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
It was something so odd. I was like, do they
know something though we don't know. Actually, I want to
read you the part of the contract UV and Sarah
are talking about. So here are some verbatim quotes, and
bear with me, y'all, this might be one of the
longest sentences you've ever heard. I irrevocably grant and release
(19:13):
Podle Poddle is Tyra and Kim Max's production company, in
perpetuity and throughout the universe, the exclusive right to depict, portray,
and represent me in my life and all episodes, exploits, events, incidents, situations,
and experiences contained in or associated or related to my life, including,
without limitation, my experiences in connection with the program, my
(19:37):
life story and yes, it actually says life story in
the contract and the material in theatrical motion pictures, television
programs and series, theatrical stage, presentation, radio, internet websites, programs
and presentations, other audio visual, audio visual and or print productions,
books and other print publications, the production, reproduction, exhibition, broadcast, distribution, advertising, promotion,
(20:06):
and other exploitation of the productions in any and all media,
whether now known or hereafter devised. Who Now, this didn't
mean that after the show, A and TM could barge
into the contestants' home and film them eating dinner. What
it meant was that any footage A ANDTM got of
(20:28):
the contestants, whether it aired or not, could be used. However,
and whenever A and TM wanted, and here's something disturbing,
they could even use footage of the contestants partially clothed
or naked, whether they were aware or unaware of such videotaping.
To this day, Tyra and Kimmock's production company could use
(20:51):
old A and TM footage and edit it in any
way they wanted to, and the contestants can't sue. Signing
this contract gives the production company need the right to
inaccurately portray the contestants to convey whatever story they wanted to.
Here's what the contract actually says. Poddle and producers may
depict and portray me in my life story, either accurately
(21:14):
or with such liberties and modifications as producers determined necessary
and their sole discretion, for the purposes of fictionalization, dramatization,
or any other purposes, including without limitation, to achieve a
humorous or satirical effect, and by means of actors who
may or may not resemble me. Remember now, this is
(21:37):
a reality TV contract. I asked a few crew members
about this actor clause, and to my knowledge, the show
never actually passed off an actor is one of the contestants.
But let me explain a situation in which they could
have used this clause on CYCLEPHOM. According to a contestant,
she had a loved one in a car accident and
(21:57):
she wanted to leave. The show asked her to stay
for a few days so they could make a plan
for writing her off. So she stayed until the next elimination,
where of course she would sit home.
Speaker 13 (22:08):
Now.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
One of the things the contract doesn't allow the show
to do is physically restrain contestants or keep them on
set when they're asking to leave. So if she had
insisted on leaving the minute she got the news, legally
the show could have replaced her with a look alike
or a look similar. Now, signing this contract might sound
worth it if you wanted to use your new found
(22:29):
theme to become a public figure, But there was a catch.
A ANDTM contestants told me they couldn't derive money from
the show for at least ten years. They couldn't do
a paid interview about A ANDTM, couldn't write a book
about it, an article, make a YouTube video, anything for
ten years. The All Star season seemed to have a
shorter window, but most of them were still under their
(22:50):
contract from their first appearance, and there wasn an NDA.
If you violated it, you could be fined up to
five million dollars. In Sarah Harttorn's memoir You Want to
Be on Top, she would count to the producers practically
threatened her with this NBA. They told her that if
she talked about her experience on ANTM. Her wages would
(23:12):
be garnished, and her children's wages would be garnished, and
her children's children's wages would be garnished until that five
million dollar penalty was collected. Here's Gina Turner, who made
it to the final two on cycle twenty four after
being eliminated and brought back.
Speaker 8 (23:30):
A lot of people are given hush orders, a lot
of people are forced to shut up. We have a
contract that states if you breach it, if you speak out.
I don't know about other past contestant cycles. Mine was
a contract breach of four point five million dollars, Like
where do you think I'm going to put four point
five million dollars? Barely any supermodels to this day even
make that amount of money. But it's like they use
(23:51):
more of scare tactics and threatenings via the contract to
I think convince people not to talk and not to speak.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
You may be wondering who and the right mind would
sign this contract, and the answer is kids. These were
naive teenagers and twenty somethings who were being offered the
false promise of a career in the modeling industry. Sharon
Brown was the first person eliminated on cycle eleven. She
was really cute, with big, bright eyes and an infectious smile.
(24:21):
She looked super young because she was she was eighteen,
but she hadn't even graduated high school when she was
on the show.
Speaker 8 (24:29):
I missed my from my graduation, all the se year
festivities and everything to be on Americas recent hol.
Speaker 6 (24:36):
It actually the day that I got eliminated was the
day of my graduation.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Sarah Hartstorms was in college, but she'd barely watch television
when she signed up for A and TM.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
I was eighteen when I auditioned and nineteen when we
shot the show. I am from a town of seven
hundred and sixty five people. My graduating class was fifteen kids.
There is no TV in my hometown still to this day.
(25:06):
You can't get regular cable because the cables don't reach.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
It's too high up the mountain.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
So I didn't know anything, you know, I had never
seen any reality TV.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Sarah went to college in Boston and that's when she
was introduced to TV and A and TM. She remembers
going to the casting call and being told to do
her best runway walk.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
They were saying, well, you've all seen models walk the runway,
and I realized that the only models I'd ever seen
walker runway was like the one season of Top Model
that I've watched before.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
I was on the show. Kenya Hill was a finalist
on cycle four. I remember Kenya, she was my pick
to win when I was watching her season, I was sixteen,
and to me, Kenya looked like a sophisticated adult. She
had that sharp jawtline and thousand watts smile that made
her looked like she belonged on a college brochure. I
(25:58):
didn't realize it back then, because to a high schooler,
a college student looks like a sophisticated adult. But when
Kingya was on the show, she was barely older than me.
Speaker 12 (26:08):
I was seventeen years old. I was a freshman in
college and I was living on campus. I actually auditioned
for Top Model twice. I did the first audition while
I was living in my dorms at school, and I
had to go rent a VHS recorder. Okay, we're talking
(26:32):
ancient times, so I had to go rent one from
like the campus's radio section and self tape like me
walking on the runway, which was like the dorm at
my school, and I remember having someone take some photos
of me on a disposable camera. Because I had zero
modeling experience. I just knew from watching America's Next Top
(26:55):
Model the first like two cycles that I needed to
be on this show.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Kenya wanted to be a model because it was one
of the few places where she saw people who looked
like her, and she thought the best way to get
into the industry was to go on A and TM again.
She was seventeen.
Speaker 12 (27:12):
I had always wanted to model, However, I was bullied
pretty badly in junior high and in high school. In
my community where I was living, it was cooler to
be thick and curvy, and I was not that can
we curse on this thing? I didn't have no ass okay,
(27:32):
and I felt like modeling is the one area where
I'm accepted, Like, Okay, I'm really slim, I'm tall, and.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I would be able to thrive in this area. If
you're like me, you would probably never go on a
reality show. So it might be hard to understand why
anyone would sign such a one sided contract. These days,
the answer is generally fame and money. Nini leaks of
the Royal Housewives of Atlanta were portedly made two point
eighty five million dollars a season at her peak, but
(28:03):
numbers like that are usually reserved for the biggest stars
in reality TV. The cast of Love Island USA season
seven allegedly got fifteen hundred dollars a week. Now, no
one's getting rich off that, but it is something to
help with expenses back home while the show is in production.
For most reality TV personalities, the big paycheck comes after
(28:23):
the show. These days, they can roll their new found
fame into influencer status, and that means lucrative brand and
endorsement deals. But here's what you have to remember about
A and TM. The first twenty seasons of that show
were shot before Instagram became popular. I mean, King is
sentent a VHS tape for her audition. This was before
(28:47):
reality TV contestants could cash in on becoming influencers, and
back when A and TM was on, there were no
standards for how much reality stars should get paid. There
barely are today. The contracts the A and TM can
testant sign outlied a per diem, a small daily stipend
meant to cover essentials like personal items and food for
(29:07):
when they were in the model house. The amount ranged
from season to season. Sarah remembers hers being so low
she had to choose between eating and saving money. Most
days we.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Weren't getting paid except for a stipend that we had
to use to pay for our own food.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
It was thirty seven dollars a day. The exact amount
differed from season to season. In fact, it laid that
out in the eligibility requirements the contestants saw before auditioning.
It said they would receive a per diem allowance, with
the amount to be determined by the producers. Sarah was
(29:44):
paying her way through college. She'd lined up a summer
job at a blueberry farm before she got on A
and TM. She of course chose the show, but that
meant she wasn't going to get those blueberry earnings.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
And so I got very obsessive about saving money and
eating as cheaply as I could, and eating.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
As little as I could.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
If I bought food that wasn't good, I had to
throw it away, like that would be the end of
the world.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Here's cycle two, winner, you want a house?
Speaker 6 (30:11):
We were not paid. We were given a per dim
I believe it was like fifty dollars, and I saved
the per diem because I stayed till the end of
the show, so.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
I never blew through my per diem. I saved it.
Speaker 6 (30:23):
And that was actually the money I used to move
to New York was the per dims.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
By the time Gina Turner came around on the last season,
the budgets were a bit tighter.
Speaker 8 (30:33):
Our per diem started at like twelve dollars a day,
and then if you made it past the next following elimination,
it got bumped up to like nineteen twenty dollars a day,
and then if you made it past another one and
it was twenty four dollars a day. If so, it
was like gradually increasing the more that you made it.
But it's not like you can pocket any of that money.
We live in the hills in La Everything is expensive,
(30:56):
and then people don't understand we're paying for our own food.
And then not only that, we didn't have a washer
and dryer in our house.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
So they even had to pay to get their laundry done.
There are people who would say, well, this is what
they signed up for. Their payment was the opportunity to
be on the show. In fact, Fairhart's one got this
very comment from someone on.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
Twitter, and I was like, no, we got forty dollars
a day and we had to use that to pay
for our own food.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
That was the tweet, and.
Speaker 4 (31:28):
People were like a surprised to hear that, but also
they were.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
So mad at me.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
There were so many people who were applied to that tweet, like,
you knew what you were getting into, you got paid
in exposure, You're just bitter that you.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Didn't win, And I'm like, I'm not bitter that I
didn't win.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
I'm bitter that there were a lot of girls who
couldn't afford the mental health help that they needed after
the show.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
I've been so surprised by the.
Speaker 4 (31:52):
Backlash when I have said that I think.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
We deserve to be paid.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
It feels so not controversial to say I think people
should be paid for their work.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
That's interesting because according to A and TM, the contestants
weren't employees. That's how they were able to avoid paying
them a real wage. Even though they showed up on
set for twelve plus hour days and made Tyra in
the network a lot of money, they signed a contract
that only entitled them to a minuscule per dim Now
(32:24):
to a teenager in the early two thousands, a few
hundred dollars might seem like a lot of money. Kenya
Hill made it to the finals on her season, which
meant she went on the international trip to South Africa.
Speaker 13 (32:36):
We'll best believe by the time we got to South Africa,
I spent all that money shopping. I definitely spent that money.
But later on, like a couple of years after doing
the show, I remember feeling like this sucks, Like this
show now is blowing up, and it is in over
one hundred and seventy countries, and we don't make a
dollar off of this, And so it just at that point,
(33:00):
like after I saw how big this show really was,
like it felt like, oh, they get to make money
off of my likeness forever.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Just a little context. In two thousand and nine, two
years after Sarah went on the show, Tyra Banks was
on the Forbes Top Earning Women in Primetime list. She
reportedly made thirty million dollars between A and TM and
her talk show in one year. Of course, A ANDTM
was Tyra's idea and she was the star, so she
deserved to make the most money from it. But damn
(33:31):
she couldn't break the models off a little one thousand
dollars or something. You might be like the people who
clap back at Sarah online and disagree with me. There
are a lot of people who say, per the contract
they signed, the only contestants who deserved to make money
from A and TM were the winners, except there are
a few winners who also didn't get paid. You want
(33:53):
to house one cycle too. If you google A andtm's
best photo, her iconic helmet photoshoot, her hair is swept
up and she's just serving face still comes up to
this day. She's definitely one of the faces of A
and TM. But you may be surprised to know she
didn't win any money from the show.
Speaker 6 (34:13):
It was just a contract, and then there was a
contract with Sephora, and that was only for a short time.
There was no financial reward. There was nothing as far
as monetary compensation.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Nothing you want. This agency representation did meet. It was
easier to book jobs, but she couldn't use any of
her top model portfolio photos because they were too unrealistic,
which meant that after her win, she had to move
to New York and immediately start booking test photoshoots.
Speaker 6 (34:45):
I had to test that day, go to some incredible
photographers that have been doing international vogues and start testing,
and I was getting billed for everything. I was getting
built for every car, for every prece event, was getting
billed for the testing. I was getting billed for the
dresses that I thought were given to me. And that
(35:05):
was me not asking, thinking oh this is so cool,
They're making sure I'm dress. No, everything was builled. So
after a month of doing a press tour, you know,
having these interviews and having to look like a million dollars,
then comes the bills. So now I'm having to pay,
and I'm in debt, and I don't have a place
to stay. I'm living on a couch from a makeup
artist who extended their couch for me, and yet I'm
(35:29):
like famous, and everywhere I go people are wanting my autograph,
taking pictures with me. And it was a very stressful time.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
And not only that her win meant she had to
continue to promote A and TM after her season ended.
Speaker 6 (35:43):
I also had to do a lot of continual press
for the show, and it was not paid, so that
would take precedence over any sort of jobs or castings
that would pay. Tyra owned me for that year. The
network owned me for that year. That's where the frustration came.
I started getting angry. I started kind of almost not
(36:06):
liking the show anymore. And it was really hard to
not get kind of in that headspace of being better
towards the show, because I'm like, Okay, you spit me
on as a winner. I won it rightfully so and
now I'm having to look and be a million bucks
but I'm not making any money right now.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
On cycle three, the cycle after Yawana's Top Models started
awarding one hundred thousand dollars prize. Iva Marphil who went
by Eva Pickford back then, was the first winner to
get it, but ANTM was not contractually obligated to give
any winner anything even if the prize was announced on
the show, As we heard last episode, Cycle one winner
(36:47):
Adrian Curry says she didn't get what she was owed.
The contract was very clear that these prizes were given
at the producer's discretion and they didn't have to live
up to what was promised on the show. Here's another
thing in the contract. Producers could take a win from
a contestant and award it to someone else, even if
they take the finale episode crown the model the winner
(37:10):
and sent them home to wait for their prizes. There
were clauses that protected the producers if they decided to
strip the winner of their title and the contestant couldn't
do anything about it, which is exactly what happened to
Angelie Preston during the all star season of Top Model.
Coming up, you'll hear the disturbing truth about Angelie's revoked win.
(37:36):
When I won first, all was had. I was like, hell, yeah,
I want yeah, yeah, my.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Life has changed forever, Like my mom was gonna be
taking care of I'm I'll take care of her.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
How she took care of me. That's Angelie Preston talking
about how she felt after winning A and TM. I
told you the story at the top of this episode
about how Angelie was originally given the crown at the
end of season seventeen. My team has talked to contestants
and crew who were there when Angelie was named the winner.
(38:06):
Even the official winner, Lisa Demato, remembers Angeline's face after
Angelie won and they were heading home.
Speaker 9 (38:13):
I remember in the airport, Angelie looked finally at peace,
like her chin was held so high.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
She was so proud of herself, but Angelie being the
original winner is about the only thing they agree on
in this story. Here's what Angelie says happened after she
went home.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
I got a phone call from somebody associated with the show,
maybe like a week or two later, and was like, Hey,
have you been telling any of the girls about what
happened to you.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Here's what happened to Angelie, the thing that got her disqualified.
After her first full season, cycle fourteen, Angelie was trying
to start her modeling career. She had trouble booking jobs.
She'd done well in the competition, but the edit made
her seem difficult to work with, like a loose cannon.
(39:04):
She couldn't get signed with an agency. She also had
trouble finding a regular job. Things got bleak and she
got desperate. One day, she was in Queen's walking with
a model friend she'd met in New York.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Were just walking out Jamaica ab the AB just two
lost models, not knowing where to go, what to do,
and this guy pulls up. He pulled up in this
nice Mercedes and I was just looking real regular and
hang out. The car had nice shoes, silk shirt like.
(39:41):
He looked like somebody and he was like, you know,
cap trying to talk to me.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
He got her number and they started talking, but Angelie
said something felt off. He started asking her about how
she made money.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Because I was telling him, yeah, I got money problems,
like I'm a struggling model, and he like mentioned something
about like going on dates, and I was like, what
the fuck? This is like some models inc shit, Like
I heard about models, you know, being escorts or whatnot,
but I.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
Don't think this shit was real. So that kind of
turned me off. She stopped talking to him for a while,
even booked a modeling job that paid her five hundred dollars,
but when that ran.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Out, curiosity just peeked and ended up texting him.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
I was like, are you a pimp? And he was like,
are you a hope?
Speaker 2 (40:33):
I was like what No, I was so effective and he.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Was like, look the girls I have, they just make money.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
So I'm like, but is there like sex involved and
he was like, no, you don't have to sleep with
anybody if you don't want to.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
My dumb ass.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Elite believe in it, Like, oh my god, a world
where you go on dates with guys and they just
give you money because you're beautiful.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Angelie was twenty five at this point, but she told
me she was really naive. Buffalo was a small town
compared to New York City, and she was about to
become a cautionary tale.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
I ended up meeting two of his girls. They were
like in this like ritty Manhattan hotel. One of the
girls had a cute little dog, dad Louis bags.
Speaker 14 (41:18):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
They were giving makeup, hair.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Lubaton, shoes, roles, and I'm like, dang, these girls ain't
got to sleep with these.
Speaker 6 (41:27):
Guys to get on this.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
I could do that. I could be pretty and go
on dates and get the bag. She told Silk Shirt
she was down.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
We ended up flying to North Carolina, and I had
nothing to tell anybody like what I was doing, you know,
because I was like.
Speaker 6 (41:46):
Well, I'm just I'm just going on a modeling trip, you.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Know, because I don't want nobody to worry, because at
the time I wasn't worried myself. And when I got there,
the girls, the same two girls I had met, They were.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Like, they're going to the strip club. They were going
there to pick up clients, and.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
I was like, I was like, you don't know at
the strip club and so they looked at me like
I was crazy, Like I didn't have a choice. The
one girl was like, I don't know what you think
this is, but he is going to expect you to work,
and I'm like work and they were like yeah. And
(42:24):
I'm like, so y'all, y'all be having sex with these
people for money? What the fuck did I get myself into?
So I'm like, okay, well I don't got no money.
I'm already here. I can't get signed, and I gave
up on modeling. I had given up on my dream.
(42:47):
I thought it was over for me with the modeling,
and I'm like, shit, I need money and I'm here
why not? And I don't want to tell anybody. Look,
I done got in this situation because it was embarrassing
and I didn't want people to be worried, and I
didn't want people to be like, I'll pay for you
to get home, because I'm like, well, I'm gonna go
back to New York and then I got nothing. I'm
back to square one anyway, so I might as well
try and make some money.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
Angelie was so lost and dejected she didn't even think
about the danger she was in.
Speaker 2 (43:15):
Not even just putting my body on the line, but
just meaning up with strangers, you know, no protection, like
I could have been killed.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
The fear only started kicking in when they went to
Vegas and she was worried about getting arrested. I didn't,
of course want people to know.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
I didn't want to go to jail. You know, this
girl's on Top Model and I'll look at her out
here doing this crazy.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Shit, right, she told filk Shirt she wanted out.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
He said, I'm gonna pay for your flight to go
back to New York, but you have to work.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
Angelie didn't have the money to leave on her own.
Plus she was scared because he'd threatened her and he'd
been physically abusive before. Two of her friends eventually found
found out what was happening to her. One of those
friends lived in Vegas. Angelie had actually met her on
Top Model she won Angelie season. That friend got Angelie
(44:10):
to call her sister and tell her what was going on.
Her sister thought she was on drugs. Angelie was still
too afraid to tell her best friend.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
He kept me away from New York because there were
people like my best friend that cared about me, and
he didn't want me to go and have some sense
being knocked into my head.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
The guy eventually took Angelie to New York, but to work.
Angelie says it had been a month since she left
New York to go to North Carolina. Her top model
friend says it was longer. When Angelie got back to
New York, she finally called that best friend she was
too afraid to tell.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
I was out in a hotel on Long Island and
she was like, just meet me out Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.
I just want to know you are okay. I said, okay, cool.
I said, I got my bag here. She said, just
Lee get back, just thin get back. I'll take it over,
get it. So I took the Long Island Railroad went
to go meet her and she said, bitch like I
gave her the longest hug and she said, bitch, you
(45:12):
ain't going back.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
And that's how Angeline got out through the kindness of
a friend who wouldn't take no for an answer. The
whole ordeal was short, but she learned a lifetime of lessons.
A few months later, she got that call from A
and TM All Stars. It was the lifeline sheet needed.
Months before Angeline signed on to do the season, but
(45:36):
she was worried the producers would find out about that
chapter in her life. That fear was confirmed when she
met up with casting director Michelle Mack.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Ended up having to go to la to meet with Michelle.
So when I met with her, it was filmed. There
was a camera there and she.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
Was like, so, what have you been up to. I
was like, oh, you know, just modeling, and she was like,
that's it in my life.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
I'm like, oh, she knows something. She knows something, and
I'm like, yeah, that's it. And she asked me, she
flat out asked me, was I being pinned?
Speaker 1 (46:19):
Angelie lied told her no because she thought if she
told the truth, they wouldn't let her back on the show.
But her mind started racing to figure out who snitched. Remember,
I said two of her friends knew about the situation
when she went to Vegas. Well, the one who'd been
an A and TM contestant with Angelie said she reached
out to top model producers, crew members, Tyra's assistant, and
(46:43):
Tyra herself to try to get Angelie out of that situation.
The friend said she didn't get much of a response.
So this was Angelie's first time hearing that anyone from
the show other than her friend knew anything about what
she'd been through. She thought for sure she was going home,
so she said in her hotel, waiting for a plane
ticket back to New York. Before we went in the house.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
We were in the hotel, Michelle came by with someone
else and was like, I just want to tell you
I know what happened. I just want you to take
this opportunity and run with it. She gave me a hug,
and I was like, Okay, this is.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
Our little secret.
Speaker 1 (47:27):
Angelie believes. She genuinely wanted to keep it between them
so she could have another chance, and it almost worked.
Angelie won. Then the whole thing blew up.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
A week or two later, somebody from the network production
called me. I was like, you know, they want to
have a meeting with you in New York City. Because
at this time I was back in Buffalo with my family.
They want to have a meeting with you to discuss
sponsorships because you are the winner.
Speaker 1 (47:59):
I said, okay, who.
Speaker 2 (48:03):
When I got down there, the man in an oriental hotel,
I'll never forget Columbus Circle.
Speaker 5 (48:07):
I'll walk up in that room.
Speaker 2 (48:09):
The attorney was there from CBS. Laura Feuse was there,
Michelle Mock was there, Doctor Zachary was there.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
That's the show.
Speaker 2 (48:18):
Psychologist Can Mock wasn't there, but they put his ass
on the phone and they basically told me we can't
air you as the winner.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
Angelie says the execs told her being trafficked violated the
morality clause. Of course they didn't use the word trafficked,
but that's what I'm calling it, and her violating that
part of the contract meant she wouldn't be getting the
one hundred thousand dollars or any of the other prizes.
We don't know how the other execs found out about
(48:50):
what happened to Angeline, but if her top model friend
called people who worked on the show to get Angelie
some help, then there were several people who potentially knew
about her situation. Angelie thinks it was another friend she
confided in off show. The guy was a photographer and
knew some of the top model girls. Angelie thinks he
blabbed to them. One of them ended up on All Stars,
(49:12):
and Angelie says when she got eliminated before Angelie, she
complained that she couldn't believe top model was going to quote,
let a prostitute win. That's Angelie's theory, and we can't
confirm that that was the real reason. We just know
the cat was out of the bag. After they gave
(49:34):
Angelie the bad news, producers flew Lisa Demado and Alison
Harvard in to TAPA New Finale with Lisa as the winner.
Lisa says when they flew into La she and Alison
had a talk with Ken Mock before the reshoot. She
says he separated them and asked them what projects they
were working on and what they would do if they
won the show. Then, she says, he had a conversation
(49:55):
with them both.
Speaker 3 (49:57):
He goes, don't you fucking say a word about this reshoot?
And he put his finger in our faces. Me and
Ellison were standing right next to each other in the
hallway and he goes, both of you, don't say a
fucking word, do you hear me? Like threatened us.
Speaker 9 (50:14):
Then we got driven to the studio in the volley
and it.
Speaker 3 (50:19):
Was the same set that they were shooting cycle eighteen.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
Lisa says, the next season was already in production and
they used that set to tape the new finale. The
whole thing was done in a day, and Lisa was
the new and official winner of Cycle seventeen. In a way,
both Angelie and Lisa fell victim to the A and
TM curse because even though Lisa was given the title,
(50:45):
she didn't enjoy her win. It had a dark cloud
over it. When the finale of Cycle seventeen finally aired,
Angelie's win had already leaked and Angelie wasn't there for
the reshoot, so the judges had to address Angelie's absence. Well,
we're back in.
Speaker 8 (51:01):
Los Angeles on the Top Model set and we're here
for a special finale that's being conducted under unusual circumstances.
Speaker 7 (51:09):
Yeah, it turns out that after shooting was wrapped, our
production team and the network learned information from Angelie that
disqualifies it from the competition.
Speaker 1 (51:19):
So what does that mean.
Speaker 7 (51:20):
Well, it means we're now going to do our final
judging with the remaining two girls, and in the interest
of fairness, that producers and the network thought it best
to evaluate Alison and Lisa on their own without the
added competition of Angelae.
Speaker 4 (51:34):
You know, guys, we wish Angelie the best in all
her future endeavors.
Speaker 8 (51:38):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely, So we're ready to proceed with our
final judging.
Speaker 3 (51:42):
Yes, let's do this.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
Are you ready?
Speaker 1 (51:44):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (51:44):
All right?
Speaker 1 (51:46):
That statement overshadowed Lisa's victory. Fans were angry because Angelie
was a fan favorite and Lisa was not.
Speaker 3 (51:54):
I got so much backlash after winning All Stars.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
Oh my god.
Speaker 14 (51:58):
Everyone thought that I hate somebody off, that I blackmailed somebody,
that I just stole her whin That was undeserving.
Speaker 3 (52:09):
It's like, you don't know my story.
Speaker 11 (52:10):
Nobody knew my story, Nobody knew what I had gone
through my whole life leading up to that point. It
was so devastating to get the backlash again when I
went on that show to redeem myself, and the way
that they also weaponized this whole finale that also really
hurt me as well.
Speaker 1 (52:31):
Lisa was the villain all over again. I think that's
why she clings to this story that she was always
going to be the winner. Whether it's true or not,
it eases the sting of her win being Angelie's misfortune.
Lisa may have gotten the America's Next Top Model title
and one hundred thousand dollars, but she never got to
redeem her image. She still gets hate mail to this day,
(52:57):
Angelie was devastated. For a long time. She tried to
sue A and TM for three million dollars, but eventually
dropped the suit when she realized the contract she signed
was ironclad. She didn't have a leg to stand on.
She thought signing that contract was going to make her
dreams come true, but it ended up being her nightmare.
Angelie eventually gave up on modeling. She was getting older
(53:20):
and the damage was done, but she found a new dream.
She went to college got a bachelor's degree in journalism.
She's the first person in her family to finish college.
After graduation, she got a job as a host and
reporter at her local public radio station. Today, she's a
working journalist and a mom in her hometown, the seven
one six, Buffalo, New York. I don't think Angelie, Lisa,
(53:47):
or any of the other models I spoke with thought
their A and TM journeys would end up like this.
When they sent in those audition tapes and signed the contracts,
they thought they were getting a head start in the
fashion industry. They certainly didn't think they would be talking
to me twenty years later about how the show still
haunts them. As this podcast continues, You're going to hear
(54:10):
more from the models if they tell you about the
experiences that have stuck with them. These contestants weren't just
tyrist props. They were real people, real people whose NDAs
have finally expired, and they want to tell their side
of the story. On the next episode, we're going to
get into one of the most disturbing parts of A
(54:32):
andtm's casting process. I'm talking about the psychiatric evaluations. Psyche
vows are standard in reality TV. They're used to make
sure a potential cast member is mentally capable of handling
the stress of being on reality TV. But what I've
been told about ANTM psyche vows raises serious ethical questions.
(54:53):
Contestants told me about deep personal trauma they shared that
was later used by producers to manipulate them. I've also
heard about possible bias that kept certain contestants out and
let others slip through the cracks, some of whom met
tragic ends After the time on A and t M,
thanks for listening to the Curse of America's Next Top Model.
(55:16):
We really appreciate the support. We'd love for you to
really show your support by subscribing to our show on
Apple Podcasts and don't forget to leave us a five
star rating and review. If you love the show, tell
your group, chat, your co workers, your friends, your mama
to check us out, and if you don't, maybe keep
that one to yourself. Thanks again to all of our listeners.
(55:37):
The Curse of America's Next Top Model is a production
of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in
partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by
Nancy Glass, hosted and senior produced by me Bridget Armstrong.
Our story editor is Monique Leboard, also produced by Ben
Fetterman and Andrea Denning. Associate producers are a La Shaki Kristin,
(56:01):
Melcurriy and Curry Richmond. Consulting producers are Oliver Twist and
Kate Taylor. Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Kriincheck.
Audio editing and mixing by Andrew Callaway and Matt Delvecchio.
The Curse of America's Next Top Model theme music was
composed by Oliver Bains Music library provided by mid of Music.
(56:22):
Special Thanks to everyone we interviewed for this podcast, especially
the models for sharing their stories and for more podcasts
from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts. Also check out the Glass podcast
Instagram at Glass Podcasts for Curse of America's Next Top Model,
behind the scenes content, and more.
We've all heard about A and TM's controversies, race wapping, challenges,
dangerous photoshoots, and we'll get into all that later in
the season. But I want to tell you about one
controversy that only the real fans know about, and it's
the most telling of them all. It happened to one
model who told me her story. I'm Angelie Preston.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I am from Buffalo seven, one, six, All Day. People
may remember me from America's sex Top Model cycles twelve, fourteen,
and seventeen, the original winner of Cycle seventeen All Stars period.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
But if you look it up, Lisa Demato is the
official winner of Cycle seventeen. So what happened. Well. To
understand Angelee's story, the first thing you need to know
is how hard she worked to even get cast on
A and TM. It was Angelie's dream to be on
the show. She auditioned three times before making it. The
(01:01):
first time, Angelie didn't even get a call back. The
second time Angelie sent in an audition tape.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
The producer called me was like, we want you to
come to New York New York City. Had never been
to New York, So I go down there and I
had nowhere to sleep. I was just a girl with
a dream, like, come on, let me just go down here.
This is my chance to see the cast and director
slip into port authority and the staw.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
It was so gross. Yes, I was so hungry, so
hungry for it. Girl Angelie always knew she wanted to
be a model. As a kid, she was teased for
being tall and skinny. She knew in the modeling industry
her body type would be celebrated. Plus, she experienced a
personal tragedy after her first audition that made her want
(01:47):
it even more.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I ended up getting pregnant with my daughter, so I
kind of like put that dream on hold and was.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Just like, Okay, I'm gonna just be a mom.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Maybe the modeling a for me.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
My daughter passed away not too long after she was born,
and this was in two thousand and seven, so I
kind of took that as a sign like maybe I'm
not supposed to be a mom yet.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
And then that's when I auditioned again. That was cycle twelve.
She didn't make it on the show. During the auditions,
she got into a huge argument with another contestant.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
And I showed my ass in Vegas and got set
the fuck home I got said, oh I was Filin'.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
But Angelie was determined to make it on A and TM,
so she auditioned again and finally made it into the
house on Cycle fourteen. Angelie quickly became a fan favorite.
She's one of my favorites too. Remember Alicia Keys in
the early two thousands. Angelie kind of looks like her
and has her vibe. But if Alicia Keys was loud
(02:55):
and outgoing and didn't play the piano, but you get
it the same kind of homegirl vibe and Angelie's hilarious.
When I interviewed her, it was our first time meeting,
but it felt like I was talking to an old friend.
You ever met someone and just felt like they were
born to be famous? That's Angelie. But all the controversy
around her All Star season overshadowed her charisma and talent
(03:20):
before All Stars. When she was on Cycle fourteen, Angelie
did well. She made it to the final four, but
she was still a little rough around the edges. She
got into it with a few girls on her season. Bitch,
I'm uneducated.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Are you why I'm not educated?
Speaker 5 (03:39):
You know what?
Speaker 1 (03:39):
I really don't know how I.
Speaker 6 (03:41):
Went to a red boschool.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Look it up tonight.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
It's really unfair that people assume that I'm uneducated because
I talked this way.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
You want educated, and you ignorant, and you really When
the judges eliminated her on cycle fourteen, they said they
were worried an TM would be the end for her,
not the beginning. But not too long after, producers reached
out to invite her back on for Cycle seventeen. It
would be A and TM's first and only all Star season.
(04:13):
They invited former A and TM contestants to compete against
each other for the title of America's next Top Model.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
This is an opportunity to do it right this time,
and they're talking about the format is going to be
different for All Stars. They're going to be branding us
as celebrities and you're gonna get paid.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Angelie decided to do it this time. She was going
to show a more poised side of herself. At first,
the judges were like, where's the old Angelie? But eventually
her new approach paid off. When it came time to
shoot the finale in Greece, the set was built and
the cameras were rolling. Angelie and the other two finalists
stood in front of Tyra, and Angelie's picture was the
(04:52):
final one on the screen. Angelie was crowned the winner
of A and TM. She burst into tears. Everything had
been worth it. She'd finally won a win that came
with one hundred thousand dollars cover Girl contract. When I
won first, all was had. I was like, hell, yeah,
I want yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
My life has changed forever, Like my mom was gonna
be taking care of I'm I'll take care of her
how she takes care of me.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
I wish I could play you a clip of Angelie's win,
but I can't because it never aired. Want to Beyond Some,
Want to Beyond Some. Welcome to the Curse of America's
(05:40):
Next Top Model. I'm Bridget Armstrong. Last episode, we did
a deep dive on cycle one because it's the blueprint
for what A and TM became, which was a mega
hit the production group, and so did the show's popularity.
They were filming multiple cycles within the same calendar year,
(06:00):
turning out winner after winner. They'd struck TV gold In.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Two thousand and three, supermodel Tyra Banks had an idea
for a reality show. She called it America's Next Top Model,
where she and a panel of judges set out to
find out the next.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
It girl on the runway.
Speaker 7 (06:15):
Fifteen years and twenty four seasons later, the hit show
has become the longest running reality function series, airing in
seventy three Country You.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Go Girl, and as the Boss's back as.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
The show's success also meant it had a reputation to protect,
they had more to lose. That's a big part of
how Angelie ended up having her win revoked by A
and TM executives. A and TM never told viewers the
real story behind Angelie's disqualification. Fans have wondered what really
happened and how the show was even allowed to take
(06:48):
the title from a winner. And I'll tell you now,
the reversal was completely within the show's rights because of
the contract Angelie signed. I've talked to more than a
dozen former A and TM models and their contracts came
up a lot. So on this episode, they'll take you
back to who they were when they signed on the
dotted line, tell you what they thought they were signing
(07:10):
up for and what it actually turned out to be,
and you'll hear the story behind one of A and
TM's most shocking controversies from the two models at the
center of it. Despite Angelie being the first winner of
A and TM All Stars, Lisa Demodel's win is what
actually aired on the show.
Speaker 8 (07:29):
There will be one final shot which will announce who
America's next top Model is.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Lisa, it's absolutely present. You deserve this lesson. You are
the religional, you are a star. I called up Lisa Demato,
the official winner of A and TM All Stars, to
hear her side of the story.
Speaker 9 (08:01):
I have thought receipts, I have got research, I've got names,
I've got stories these days.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Lisa lives in Portugal. She's a mom of two sons
and a caregiver to her father. She seems to be
going through a nasty divorce. Lisa started a company that
makes a food storage bib for toddlers. It was featured
on Shark Tank. When she joined me, she was sitting
outside on a noisy patio, possibly at a rental house.
She was saying it while her castle was being renovated. Honestly,
(08:30):
it's a little hard to follow because our interviews started
out on a chaotic note which felt on brand but
true to model form. Lisa looked great, her hair wasn't
that different than when she was first on A and
TM on cycle five, she was rocking a dirty blond
asymmetrical bob. In fact, Lisa pretty much looks the same,
(08:50):
same deep set eyes, same big, wide smile. But from
the moment Lisa joined our call, she let me know
she did not come to play. She's probably one of,
if not the most publicly critical former A and TM contestants.
We talked for almost four hours across two days. Lisa
told me about what she sees as a pattern of
(09:12):
manipulation from Tyra Banks and the A and TM producers.
She said the show completely ruined her professional reputation. Lisa
is one of the most infamous contestants to ever grace
an A and TM set. The first time she appeared
on the show in cycle five, she was chaos personified.
There was her perceived drinking problem that alienated her from
(09:33):
a lot of the other contestants.
Speaker 10 (09:35):
Lisa drinks. She's going through like bottles of wine, like
whole bottles in less than forty five minutes.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Is sick.
Speaker 10 (09:43):
Definitely thinks that Lisa's drinking is hurting her.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
The Josh is not gonna want.
Speaker 8 (09:47):
Someone who's an alcoholic to represent America's next Top Model.
Speaker 11 (09:51):
Her attitude and like her drinking and everything that she's
doing here is just bizarre to me.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
And the time she peeded in a diaper a photo
shoot with the guy from MTV's Jackass.
Speaker 10 (10:07):
No woman of class, especially a supermodel and making is
gonna do something as disgusting as p on herself at
her job.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
She managed to shock Stevo, which is an amazing feat.
Lisa didn't seem to get along with most of the
girls on her season. She came off like a drunk
no at all. She was definitely one of that cycle's villains,
but she made such great TV A and TM brought
her back for cycle seventeen All Stars. Despite the controversy
(10:36):
around her winning that season, Lisa believes she was actually
predetermined to win the whole thing. She thinks this because
of something she says was in her contract.
Speaker 9 (10:47):
I actually signed the winning contract before even going on
All Stars. My manager was told by production not every
girl signed the winning contract. And I asked some of
the girls why we're filming, and they said no. I
was set up to win from the very beginning. That
(11:07):
was all planned from the very beginning. For the finale.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
She thinks the whole thing was an elaborate plot and
that they never intended to give Angelie the win they did.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Angelie so dirty.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Lisa says, producers manufactured a fake win for Angelie. She
said the finale said in Greece, didn't even look complete.
Lisa believes they leaked the alleged fake win to stir
up controversy around the season and hopefully boost the ratings,
which had dropped. It is true that news of Angelie's
win had leaked before the finale aired. An A and
(11:43):
TM producer told me that was the real reason the
show picked a new winner and reshot the finale. They
were worried no one would watch the season if they
already knew the outcome. But Angelie told me neither of
those stories are correct. She told me she leaked the
information about her win after it was revoked. According to Angelie,
the real reason ANTM producer stripped her of her win
(12:06):
is much more disturbing. She says, shortly after filming ended,
she got a call.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
A week or two later, somebody from the network production
called me. I was like, you know, they want to
have a meeting with you, and they basically told me
we can't air you as the winner because you violated
your contract.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
There's a rumor that Angelie was disqualified because she spoke
publicly about her win before it aired. The contract explicitly
forbids contestants from doing that, but Angelie says she didn't
violate this part of the contract because remember, she says
she didn't leak her win until after it was revoked.
Angeline says producers told her she breached the morality clause
(12:52):
in her contract. The morality clause basically says producers can
strip the winner of the prizes and title of America's
Next Top Model if at any point before or after
their win, they are caught or exposed doing something that
causes public disgrace, outrage, embarrassment, or otherwise constitutes an act
of moral turpitude. The examples the contract gives are getting arrested,
(13:16):
charged and or convicted of a crime, or appearing in
sexually explicit material. I know you're wondering what exactly did
Angelie do to violate the morality clause? And I promise
you we're going to get there. Whether you believe the
rumor or Angelie's story, what you need to know now
is the outcome as the same. The contract states if
(13:39):
a winning contestant breaches any part of the contract, A
ANDTM producers have the right to strip them of their
title and the winnings. So either way, she couldn't fight it,
and she was heartbroken. Remember, Angelie really wanted this. She
auditioned for A and TM three times before getting cast
on the show. I was balling.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I was crying right obviously, because you guys just put
a dagger through my heart. Iden had all this plans
for this money. This was to be my second, my
third chance to make it right. I was going to
do right this time, and now you're basically telling me, Nope,
you just did all this for nothing.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Again. I got my hands on a copy of that contract,
and after the break we take a look and find
out what A and TM considered a moral violation. Contracts
on reality TV are a pretty standard thing. The contracts
(14:35):
ensure that the rights and obligations of talent and producers
are clear. On the talent side, on a very basic level,
it spells out the payment terms, and on production side,
the contracts ensure cast members don't gossip and spoil the
show before it comes out or divulge the behind the
scenes production secrets. They also want to make sure the
cast members can't sue if they don't like their edit
(14:57):
wants to show airs. Sophie Sumner is the model I
talked to from A andtm's British Invasion season. That was
the season where models from the UK competed against American models.
She was the winner of that season, but before coming
on A and TM, she competed on Britain's Next Top
Model and she told me the A and TM contract
(15:17):
was a whole different beast.
Speaker 9 (15:19):
I do remember the America one being like WHOA.
Speaker 6 (15:23):
I swear the America one was literally like we own
you for the rest of your life and everything you do,
honestly literally like what they said.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
And I think Britains was like you gotta be on
camera and baby like.
Speaker 6 (15:33):
You might make money after him, We'll take it for
a year.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
I've read an A ANDTM contract, actually a few of them,
including one from cycle seventeen, and I agree with Sophie,
it's WHOA. When I talked to the rest of the
models about their contracts, this idea of A and TM
owning them kept coming up. Here's Uvi Gomez from cycle four.
I was like barely twenty one, just signing my life away,
(16:00):
and Hannah cat Jones, who was the second runner up
on Cycle sixteen, I.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Felt like I was signing my soul away, and I
thought about how the opportunity would be life changing, so.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Life changing that Hannah looked the other way on a
particularly concerning clause in the contract.
Speaker 5 (16:18):
And another thing that was in the contract that I
always remember standing out was if something happened to me
on the show, if I got insured.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Or even died, my family wouldn't be owed anything.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
If you're thinking, well, that probably just meant Hannah couldn't
sue the show should something happen. I'm sure ANTM had
insurance to cover the contestants if they were hurt. You
would be wrong. The contract made the contestants acknowledge that
they were personally responsible for maintaining accident and health insurance
to cover any bodily injury they suffered on set, while
(16:52):
traveling or in housing provided by producers. Contestants had to
acknowledge they were responsible for insurance to cover and long
term disability and any insurance that would cover their deaths.
They also had to irrevocably waive their right to sue
the other contestants, the producers, the production company, the network,
(17:12):
and its subsidiaries, should physical, emotional or mental injury occur
or should they die because of something that happened on
an A and TM set, Which is kind of wild
when you remember that on Hannah season they did a
photo shoot with live bees, a photo shoot in an
actual landfill, and a runway wearing gloves that had been
(17:34):
set on fire. Sarah Harthorn competed as a plus sized
model on cycle nine. She recently wrote a tell all
book about her experiences on A and TM. She has
a lot of perspective about A and TM now, but
when she signed up for it, she didn't understand what
she was getting into.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
At the time, we knew we were signing our life away,
but I'm not sure I had the prefuntal cortex to
really understand the ramifications of that.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Sarah told me she wasn't the only one who had
to sign. Anyone she planned to talk to while in
the house also had to sign a contract.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
If you want to be able to call anyone on
the phone while you were there, you had to have
them basically sign their life away too.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
My boyfriend, my friends, I talked to my.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Grandpa every week and he was like, I can't sign this,
Like I can't and I was like, no, I know,
you're signing your life away. And he's like, no, you're
signing your life rights away. Do you understand that? And
I was like, I do not.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Sarah's granddad was referring to a part of the contract
that gave A and TM the right to depict Sarah
any way they wanted to, wherever they wanted to, or
whenever they wanted to. Here's something strange, u V remembers
in her contract.
Speaker 12 (18:45):
It said something wild like we cannot talk about it
on this planet or any other planet.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
It was something so odd. I was like, do they
know something though we don't know. Actually, I want to
read you the part of the contract UV and Sarah
are talking about. So here are some verbatim quotes, and
bear with me, y'all, this might be one of the
longest sentences you've ever heard. I irrevocably grant and release
(19:13):
Podle Poddle is Tyra and Kim Max's production company, in
perpetuity and throughout the universe, the exclusive right to depict, portray,
and represent me in my life and all episodes, exploits, events, incidents, situations,
and experiences contained in or associated or related to my life, including,
without limitation, my experiences in connection with the program, my
(19:37):
life story and yes, it actually says life story in
the contract and the material in theatrical motion pictures, television
programs and series, theatrical stage, presentation, radio, internet websites, programs
and presentations, other audio visual, audio visual and or print productions,
books and other print publications, the production, reproduction, exhibition, broadcast, distribution, advertising, promotion,
(20:06):
and other exploitation of the productions in any and all media,
whether now known or hereafter devised. Who Now, this didn't
mean that after the show, A and TM could barge
into the contestants' home and film them eating dinner. What
it meant was that any footage A ANDTM got of
(20:28):
the contestants, whether it aired or not, could be used. However,
and whenever A and TM wanted, and here's something disturbing,
they could even use footage of the contestants partially clothed
or naked, whether they were aware or unaware of such videotaping.
To this day, Tyra and Kimmock's production company could use
(20:51):
old A and TM footage and edit it in any
way they wanted to, and the contestants can't sue. Signing
this contract gives the production company need the right to
inaccurately portray the contestants to convey whatever story they wanted to.
Here's what the contract actually says. Poddle and producers may
depict and portray me in my life story, either accurately
(21:14):
or with such liberties and modifications as producers determined necessary
and their sole discretion, for the purposes of fictionalization, dramatization,
or any other purposes, including without limitation, to achieve a
humorous or satirical effect, and by means of actors who
may or may not resemble me. Remember now, this is
(21:37):
a reality TV contract. I asked a few crew members
about this actor clause, and to my knowledge, the show
never actually passed off an actor is one of the contestants.
But let me explain a situation in which they could
have used this clause on CYCLEPHOM. According to a contestant,
she had a loved one in a car accident and
(21:57):
she wanted to leave. The show asked her to stay
for a few days so they could make a plan
for writing her off. So she stayed until the next elimination,
where of course she would sit home.
Speaker 13 (22:08):
Now.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
One of the things the contract doesn't allow the show
to do is physically restrain contestants or keep them on
set when they're asking to leave. So if she had
insisted on leaving the minute she got the news, legally
the show could have replaced her with a look alike
or a look similar. Now, signing this contract might sound
worth it if you wanted to use your new found
(22:29):
theme to become a public figure, But there was a catch.
A ANDTM contestants told me they couldn't derive money from
the show for at least ten years. They couldn't do
a paid interview about A ANDTM, couldn't write a book
about it, an article, make a YouTube video, anything for
ten years. The All Star season seemed to have a
shorter window, but most of them were still under their
(22:50):
contract from their first appearance, and there wasn an NDA.
If you violated it, you could be fined up to
five million dollars. In Sarah Harttorn's memoir You Want to
Be on Top, she would count to the producers practically
threatened her with this NBA. They told her that if
she talked about her experience on ANTM. Her wages would
(23:12):
be garnished, and her children's wages would be garnished, and
her children's children's wages would be garnished until that five
million dollar penalty was collected. Here's Gina Turner, who made
it to the final two on cycle twenty four after
being eliminated and brought back.
Speaker 8 (23:30):
A lot of people are given hush orders, a lot
of people are forced to shut up. We have a
contract that states if you breach it, if you speak out.
I don't know about other past contestant cycles. Mine was
a contract breach of four point five million dollars, Like
where do you think I'm going to put four point
five million dollars? Barely any supermodels to this day even
make that amount of money. But it's like they use
(23:51):
more of scare tactics and threatenings via the contract to
I think convince people not to talk and not to speak.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
You may be wondering who and the right mind would
sign this contract, and the answer is kids. These were
naive teenagers and twenty somethings who were being offered the
false promise of a career in the modeling industry. Sharon
Brown was the first person eliminated on cycle eleven. She
was really cute, with big, bright eyes and an infectious smile.
(24:21):
She looked super young because she was she was eighteen,
but she hadn't even graduated high school when she was
on the show.
Speaker 8 (24:29):
I missed my from my graduation, all the se year
festivities and everything to be on Americas recent hol.
Speaker 6 (24:36):
It actually the day that I got eliminated was the
day of my graduation.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Sarah Hartstorms was in college, but she'd barely watch television
when she signed up for A and TM.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
I was eighteen when I auditioned and nineteen when we
shot the show. I am from a town of seven
hundred and sixty five people. My graduating class was fifteen kids.
There is no TV in my hometown still to this day.
(25:06):
You can't get regular cable because the cables don't reach.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
It's too high up the mountain.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
So I didn't know anything, you know, I had never
seen any reality TV.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Sarah went to college in Boston and that's when she
was introduced to TV and A and TM. She remembers
going to the casting call and being told to do
her best runway walk.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
They were saying, well, you've all seen models walk the runway,
and I realized that the only models I'd ever seen
walker runway was like the one season of Top Model
that I've watched before.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
I was on the show. Kenya Hill was a finalist
on cycle four. I remember Kenya, she was my pick
to win when I was watching her season, I was sixteen,
and to me, Kenya looked like a sophisticated adult. She
had that sharp jawtline and thousand watts smile that made
her looked like she belonged on a college brochure. I
(25:58):
didn't realize it back then, because to a high schooler,
a college student looks like a sophisticated adult. But when
Kingya was on the show, she was barely older than me.
Speaker 12 (26:08):
I was seventeen years old. I was a freshman in
college and I was living on campus. I actually auditioned
for Top Model twice. I did the first audition while
I was living in my dorms at school, and I
had to go rent a VHS recorder. Okay, we're talking
(26:32):
ancient times, so I had to go rent one from
like the campus's radio section and self tape like me
walking on the runway, which was like the dorm at
my school, and I remember having someone take some photos
of me on a disposable camera. Because I had zero
modeling experience. I just knew from watching America's Next Top
(26:55):
Model the first like two cycles that I needed to
be on this show.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Kenya wanted to be a model because it was one
of the few places where she saw people who looked
like her, and she thought the best way to get
into the industry was to go on A and TM again.
She was seventeen.
Speaker 12 (27:12):
I had always wanted to model, However, I was bullied
pretty badly in junior high and in high school. In
my community where I was living, it was cooler to
be thick and curvy, and I was not that can
we curse on this thing? I didn't have no ass okay,
(27:32):
and I felt like modeling is the one area where
I'm accepted, Like, Okay, I'm really slim, I'm tall, and.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I would be able to thrive in this area. If
you're like me, you would probably never go on a
reality show. So it might be hard to understand why
anyone would sign such a one sided contract. These days,
the answer is generally fame and money. Nini leaks of
the Royal Housewives of Atlanta were portedly made two point
eighty five million dollars a season at her peak, but
(28:03):
numbers like that are usually reserved for the biggest stars
in reality TV. The cast of Love Island USA season
seven allegedly got fifteen hundred dollars a week. Now, no
one's getting rich off that, but it is something to
help with expenses back home while the show is in production.
For most reality TV personalities, the big paycheck comes after
(28:23):
the show. These days, they can roll their new found
fame into influencer status, and that means lucrative brand and
endorsement deals. But here's what you have to remember about
A and TM. The first twenty seasons of that show
were shot before Instagram became popular. I mean, King is
sentent a VHS tape for her audition. This was before
(28:47):
reality TV contestants could cash in on becoming influencers, and
back when A and TM was on, there were no
standards for how much reality stars should get paid. There
barely are today. The contracts the A and TM can
testant sign outlied a per diem, a small daily stipend
meant to cover essentials like personal items and food for
(29:07):
when they were in the model house. The amount ranged
from season to season. Sarah remembers hers being so low
she had to choose between eating and saving money. Most
days we.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
Weren't getting paid except for a stipend that we had
to use to pay for our own food.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
It was thirty seven dollars a day. The exact amount
differed from season to season. In fact, it laid that
out in the eligibility requirements the contestants saw before auditioning.
It said they would receive a per diem allowance, with
the amount to be determined by the producers. Sarah was
(29:44):
paying her way through college. She'd lined up a summer
job at a blueberry farm before she got on A
and TM. She of course chose the show, but that
meant she wasn't going to get those blueberry earnings.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
And so I got very obsessive about saving money and
eating as cheaply as I could, and eating.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
As little as I could.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
If I bought food that wasn't good, I had to
throw it away, like that would be the end of
the world.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
Here's cycle two, winner, you want a house?
Speaker 6 (30:11):
We were not paid. We were given a per dim
I believe it was like fifty dollars, and I saved
the per diem because I stayed till the end of
the show, so.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
I never blew through my per diem. I saved it.
Speaker 6 (30:23):
And that was actually the money I used to move
to New York was the per dims.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
By the time Gina Turner came around on the last season,
the budgets were a bit tighter.
Speaker 8 (30:33):
Our per diem started at like twelve dollars a day,
and then if you made it past the next following elimination,
it got bumped up to like nineteen twenty dollars a day,
and then if you made it past another one and
it was twenty four dollars a day. If so, it
was like gradually increasing the more that you made it.
But it's not like you can pocket any of that money.
We live in the hills in La Everything is expensive,
(30:56):
and then people don't understand we're paying for our own food.
And then not only that, we didn't have a washer
and dryer in our house.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
So they even had to pay to get their laundry done.
There are people who would say, well, this is what
they signed up for. Their payment was the opportunity to
be on the show. In fact, Fairhart's one got this
very comment from someone on.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
Twitter, and I was like, no, we got forty dollars
a day and we had to use that to pay
for our own food.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
That was the tweet, and.
Speaker 4 (31:28):
People were like a surprised to hear that, but also
they were.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
So mad at me.
Speaker 4 (31:33):
There were so many people who were applied to that tweet, like,
you knew what you were getting into, you got paid
in exposure, You're just bitter that you.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Didn't win, And I'm like, I'm not bitter that I
didn't win.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
I'm bitter that there were a lot of girls who
couldn't afford the mental health help that they needed after
the show.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
I've been so surprised by the.
Speaker 4 (31:52):
Backlash when I have said that I think.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
We deserve to be paid.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
It feels so not controversial to say I think people
should be paid for their work.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
That's interesting because according to A and TM, the contestants
weren't employees. That's how they were able to avoid paying
them a real wage. Even though they showed up on
set for twelve plus hour days and made Tyra in
the network a lot of money, they signed a contract
that only entitled them to a minuscule per dim Now
(32:24):
to a teenager in the early two thousands, a few
hundred dollars might seem like a lot of money. Kenya
Hill made it to the finals on her season, which
meant she went on the international trip to South Africa.
Speaker 13 (32:36):
We'll best believe by the time we got to South Africa,
I spent all that money shopping. I definitely spent that money.
But later on, like a couple of years after doing
the show, I remember feeling like this sucks, Like this
show now is blowing up, and it is in over
one hundred and seventy countries, and we don't make a
dollar off of this, And so it just at that point,
(33:00):
like after I saw how big this show really was,
like it felt like, oh, they get to make money
off of my likeness forever.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
Just a little context. In two thousand and nine, two
years after Sarah went on the show, Tyra Banks was
on the Forbes Top Earning Women in Primetime list. She
reportedly made thirty million dollars between A and TM and
her talk show in one year. Of course, A ANDTM
was Tyra's idea and she was the star, so she
deserved to make the most money from it. But damn
(33:31):
she couldn't break the models off a little one thousand
dollars or something. You might be like the people who
clap back at Sarah online and disagree with me. There
are a lot of people who say, per the contract
they signed, the only contestants who deserved to make money
from A and TM were the winners, except there are
a few winners who also didn't get paid. You want
(33:53):
to house one cycle too. If you google A andtm's
best photo, her iconic helmet photoshoot, her hair is swept
up and she's just serving face still comes up to
this day. She's definitely one of the faces of A
and TM. But you may be surprised to know she
didn't win any money from the show.
Speaker 6 (34:13):
It was just a contract, and then there was a
contract with Sephora, and that was only for a short time.
There was no financial reward. There was nothing as far
as monetary compensation.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Nothing you want. This agency representation did meet. It was
easier to book jobs, but she couldn't use any of
her top model portfolio photos because they were too unrealistic,
which meant that after her win, she had to move
to New York and immediately start booking test photoshoots.
Speaker 6 (34:45):
I had to test that day, go to some incredible
photographers that have been doing international vogues and start testing,
and I was getting billed for everything. I was getting
built for every car, for every prece event, was getting
billed for the testing. I was getting billed for the
dresses that I thought were given to me. And that
(35:05):
was me not asking, thinking oh this is so cool,
They're making sure I'm dress. No, everything was builled. So
after a month of doing a press tour, you know,
having these interviews and having to look like a million dollars,
then comes the bills. So now I'm having to pay,
and I'm in debt, and I don't have a place
to stay. I'm living on a couch from a makeup
artist who extended their couch for me, and yet I'm
(35:29):
like famous, and everywhere I go people are wanting my autograph,
taking pictures with me. And it was a very stressful time.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
And not only that her win meant she had to
continue to promote A and TM after her season ended.
Speaker 6 (35:43):
I also had to do a lot of continual press
for the show, and it was not paid, so that
would take precedence over any sort of jobs or castings
that would pay. Tyra owned me for that year. The
network owned me for that year. That's where the frustration came.
I started getting angry. I started kind of almost not
(36:06):
liking the show anymore. And it was really hard to
not get kind of in that headspace of being better
towards the show, because I'm like, Okay, you spit me
on as a winner. I won it rightfully so and
now I'm having to look and be a million bucks
but I'm not making any money right now.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
On cycle three, the cycle after Yawana's Top Models started
awarding one hundred thousand dollars prize. Iva Marphil who went
by Eva Pickford back then, was the first winner to
get it, but ANTM was not contractually obligated to give
any winner anything even if the prize was announced on
the show, As we heard last episode, Cycle one winner
(36:47):
Adrian Curry says she didn't get what she was owed.
The contract was very clear that these prizes were given
at the producer's discretion and they didn't have to live
up to what was promised on the show. Here's another
thing in the contract. Producers could take a win from
a contestant and award it to someone else, even if
they take the finale episode crown the model the winner
(37:10):
and sent them home to wait for their prizes. There
were clauses that protected the producers if they decided to
strip the winner of their title and the contestant couldn't
do anything about it, which is exactly what happened to
Angelie Preston during the all star season of Top Model.
Coming up, you'll hear the disturbing truth about Angelie's revoked win.
(37:36):
When I won first, all was had. I was like, hell, yeah,
I want yeah, yeah, my.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
Life has changed forever, Like my mom was gonna be
taking care of I'm I'll take care of her.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
How she took care of me. That's Angelie Preston talking
about how she felt after winning A and TM. I
told you the story at the top of this episode
about how Angelie was originally given the crown at the
end of season seventeen. My team has talked to contestants
and crew who were there when Angelie was named the winner.
(38:06):
Even the official winner, Lisa Demato, remembers Angeline's face after
Angelie won and they were heading home.
Speaker 9 (38:13):
I remember in the airport, Angelie looked finally at peace,
like her chin was held so high.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
She was so proud of herself, but Angelie being the
original winner is about the only thing they agree on
in this story. Here's what Angelie says happened after she
went home.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
I got a phone call from somebody associated with the show,
maybe like a week or two later, and was like, Hey,
have you been telling any of the girls about what
happened to you.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Here's what happened to Angelie, the thing that got her disqualified.
After her first full season, cycle fourteen, Angelie was trying
to start her modeling career. She had trouble booking jobs.
She'd done well in the competition, but the edit made
her seem difficult to work with, like a loose cannon.
(39:04):
She couldn't get signed with an agency. She also had
trouble finding a regular job. Things got bleak and she
got desperate. One day, she was in Queen's walking with
a model friend she'd met in New York.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Were just walking out Jamaica ab the AB just two
lost models, not knowing where to go, what to do,
and this guy pulls up. He pulled up in this
nice Mercedes and I was just looking real regular and
hang out. The car had nice shoes, silk shirt like.
(39:41):
He looked like somebody and he was like, you know,
cap trying to talk to me.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
He got her number and they started talking, but Angelie
said something felt off. He started asking her about how
she made money.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Because I was telling him, yeah, I got money problems,
like I'm a struggling model, and he like mentioned something
about like going on dates, and I was like, what
the fuck? This is like some models inc shit, Like
I heard about models, you know, being escorts or whatnot,
but I.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
Don't think this shit was real. So that kind of
turned me off. She stopped talking to him for a while,
even booked a modeling job that paid her five hundred dollars,
but when that ran.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Out, curiosity just peeked and ended up texting him.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
I was like, are you a pimp? And he was like,
are you a hope?
Speaker 2 (40:33):
I was like what No, I was so effective and he.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
Was like, look the girls I have, they just make money.
Speaker 2 (40:41):
So I'm like, but is there like sex involved and
he was like, no, you don't have to sleep with
anybody if you don't want to.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
My dumb ass.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
Elite believe in it, Like, oh my god, a world
where you go on dates with guys and they just
give you money because you're beautiful.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Angelie was twenty five at this point, but she told
me she was really naive. Buffalo was a small town
compared to New York City, and she was about to
become a cautionary tale.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
I ended up meeting two of his girls. They were
like in this like ritty Manhattan hotel. One of the
girls had a cute little dog, dad Louis bags.
Speaker 14 (41:18):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
They were giving makeup, hair.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
Lubaton, shoes, roles, and I'm like, dang, these girls ain't
got to sleep with these.
Speaker 6 (41:27):
Guys to get on this.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
I could do that. I could be pretty and go
on dates and get the bag. She told Silk Shirt
she was down.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
We ended up flying to North Carolina, and I had
nothing to tell anybody like what I was doing, you know,
because I was like.
Speaker 6 (41:46):
Well, I'm just I'm just going on a modeling trip, you.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Know, because I don't want nobody to worry, because at
the time I wasn't worried myself. And when I got there,
the girls, the same two girls I had met, They were.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Like, they're going to the strip club. They were going
there to pick up clients, and.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
I was like, I was like, you don't know at
the strip club and so they looked at me like
I was crazy, Like I didn't have a choice. The
one girl was like, I don't know what you think
this is, but he is going to expect you to work,
and I'm like work and they were like yeah. And
(42:24):
I'm like, so y'all, y'all be having sex with these
people for money? What the fuck did I get myself into?
So I'm like, okay, well I don't got no money.
I'm already here. I can't get signed, and I gave
up on modeling. I had given up on my dream.
(42:47):
I thought it was over for me with the modeling,
and I'm like, shit, I need money and I'm here
why not? And I don't want to tell anybody. Look,
I done got in this situation because it was embarrassing
and I didn't want people to be worried, and I
didn't want people to be like, I'll pay for you
to get home, because I'm like, well, I'm gonna go
back to New York and then I got nothing. I'm
back to square one anyway, so I might as well
try and make some money.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
Angelie was so lost and dejected she didn't even think
about the danger she was in.
Speaker 2 (43:15):
Not even just putting my body on the line, but
just meaning up with strangers, you know, no protection, like
I could have been killed.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
The fear only started kicking in when they went to
Vegas and she was worried about getting arrested. I didn't,
of course want people to know.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
I didn't want to go to jail. You know, this
girl's on Top Model and I'll look at her out
here doing this crazy.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Shit, right, she told filk Shirt she wanted out.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
He said, I'm gonna pay for your flight to go
back to New York, but you have to work.
Speaker 1 (43:47):
Angelie didn't have the money to leave on her own.
Plus she was scared because he'd threatened her and he'd
been physically abusive before. Two of her friends eventually found
found out what was happening to her. One of those
friends lived in Vegas. Angelie had actually met her on
Top Model she won Angelie season. That friend got Angelie
(44:10):
to call her sister and tell her what was going on.
Her sister thought she was on drugs. Angelie was still
too afraid to tell her best friend.
Speaker 2 (44:21):
He kept me away from New York because there were
people like my best friend that cared about me, and
he didn't want me to go and have some sense
being knocked into my head.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
The guy eventually took Angelie to New York, but to work.
Angelie says it had been a month since she left
New York to go to North Carolina. Her top model
friend says it was longer. When Angelie got back to
New York, she finally called that best friend she was
too afraid to tell.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
I was out in a hotel on Long Island and
she was like, just meet me out Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.
I just want to know you are okay. I said, okay, cool.
I said, I got my bag here. She said, just
Lee get back, just thin get back. I'll take it over,
get it. So I took the Long Island Railroad went
to go meet her and she said, bitch like I
gave her the longest hug and she said, bitch, you
(45:12):
ain't going back.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
And that's how Angeline got out through the kindness of
a friend who wouldn't take no for an answer. The
whole ordeal was short, but she learned a lifetime of lessons.
A few months later, she got that call from A
and TM All Stars. It was the lifeline sheet needed.
Months before Angeline signed on to do the season, but
(45:36):
she was worried the producers would find out about that
chapter in her life. That fear was confirmed when she
met up with casting director Michelle Mack.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Ended up having to go to la to meet with Michelle.
So when I met with her, it was filmed. There
was a camera there and she.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
Was like, so, what have you been up to. I
was like, oh, you know, just modeling, and she was like,
that's it in my life.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
I'm like, oh, she knows something. She knows something, and
I'm like, yeah, that's it. And she asked me, she
flat out asked me, was I being pinned?
Speaker 1 (46:19):
Angelie lied told her no because she thought if she
told the truth, they wouldn't let her back on the show.
But her mind started racing to figure out who snitched. Remember,
I said two of her friends knew about the situation
when she went to Vegas. Well, the one who'd been
an A and TM contestant with Angelie said she reached
out to top model producers, crew members, Tyra's assistant, and
(46:43):
Tyra herself to try to get Angelie out of that situation.
The friend said she didn't get much of a response.
So this was Angelie's first time hearing that anyone from
the show other than her friend knew anything about what
she'd been through. She thought for sure she was going home,
so she said in her hotel, waiting for a plane
ticket back to New York. Before we went in the house.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
We were in the hotel, Michelle came by with someone
else and was like, I just want to tell you
I know what happened. I just want you to take
this opportunity and run with it. She gave me a hug,
and I was like, Okay, this is.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
Our little secret.
Speaker 1 (47:27):
Angelie believes. She genuinely wanted to keep it between them
so she could have another chance, and it almost worked.
Angelie won. Then the whole thing blew up.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
A week or two later, somebody from the network production
called me. I was like, you know, they want to
have a meeting with you in New York City. Because
at this time I was back in Buffalo with my family.
They want to have a meeting with you to discuss
sponsorships because you are the winner.
Speaker 1 (47:59):
I said, okay, who.
Speaker 2 (48:03):
When I got down there, the man in an oriental hotel,
I'll never forget Columbus Circle.
Speaker 5 (48:07):
I'll walk up in that room.
Speaker 2 (48:09):
The attorney was there from CBS. Laura Feuse was there,
Michelle Mock was there, Doctor Zachary was there.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
That's the show.
Speaker 2 (48:18):
Psychologist Can Mock wasn't there, but they put his ass
on the phone and they basically told me we can't
air you as the winner.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
Angelie says the execs told her being trafficked violated the
morality clause. Of course they didn't use the word trafficked,
but that's what I'm calling it, and her violating that
part of the contract meant she wouldn't be getting the
one hundred thousand dollars or any of the other prizes.
We don't know how the other execs found out about
(48:50):
what happened to Angeline, but if her top model friend
called people who worked on the show to get Angelie
some help, then there were several people who potentially knew
about her situation. Angelie thinks it was another friend she
confided in off show. The guy was a photographer and
knew some of the top model girls. Angelie thinks he
blabbed to them. One of them ended up on All Stars,
(49:12):
and Angelie says when she got eliminated before Angelie, she
complained that she couldn't believe top model was going to quote,
let a prostitute win. That's Angelie's theory, and we can't
confirm that that was the real reason. We just know
the cat was out of the bag. After they gave
(49:34):
Angelie the bad news, producers flew Lisa Demado and Alison
Harvard in to TAPA New Finale with Lisa as the winner.
Lisa says when they flew into La she and Alison
had a talk with Ken Mock before the reshoot. She
says he separated them and asked them what projects they
were working on and what they would do if they
won the show. Then, she says, he had a conversation
(49:55):
with them both.
Speaker 3 (49:57):
He goes, don't you fucking say a word about this reshoot?
And he put his finger in our faces. Me and
Ellison were standing right next to each other in the
hallway and he goes, both of you, don't say a
fucking word, do you hear me? Like threatened us.
Speaker 9 (50:14):
Then we got driven to the studio in the volley
and it.
Speaker 3 (50:19):
Was the same set that they were shooting cycle eighteen.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
Lisa says, the next season was already in production and
they used that set to tape the new finale. The
whole thing was done in a day, and Lisa was
the new and official winner of Cycle seventeen. In a way,
both Angelie and Lisa fell victim to the A and
TM curse because even though Lisa was given the title,
(50:45):
she didn't enjoy her win. It had a dark cloud
over it. When the finale of Cycle seventeen finally aired,
Angelie's win had already leaked and Angelie wasn't there for
the reshoot, so the judges had to address Angelie's absence. Well,
we're back in.
Speaker 8 (51:01):
Los Angeles on the Top Model set and we're here
for a special finale that's being conducted under unusual circumstances.
Speaker 7 (51:09):
Yeah, it turns out that after shooting was wrapped, our
production team and the network learned information from Angelie that
disqualifies it from the competition.
Speaker 1 (51:19):
So what does that mean.
Speaker 7 (51:20):
Well, it means we're now going to do our final
judging with the remaining two girls, and in the interest
of fairness, that producers and the network thought it best
to evaluate Alison and Lisa on their own without the
added competition of Angelae.
Speaker 4 (51:34):
You know, guys, we wish Angelie the best in all
her future endeavors.
Speaker 8 (51:38):
Oh, absolutely, absolutely, So we're ready to proceed with our
final judging.
Speaker 3 (51:42):
Yes, let's do this.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
Are you ready?
Speaker 1 (51:44):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (51:44):
All right?
Speaker 1 (51:46):
That statement overshadowed Lisa's victory. Fans were angry because Angelie
was a fan favorite and Lisa was not.
Speaker 3 (51:54):
I got so much backlash after winning All Stars.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
Oh my god.
Speaker 14 (51:58):
Everyone thought that I hate somebody off, that I blackmailed somebody,
that I just stole her whin That was undeserving.
Speaker 3 (52:09):
It's like, you don't know my story.
Speaker 11 (52:10):
Nobody knew my story, Nobody knew what I had gone
through my whole life leading up to that point. It
was so devastating to get the backlash again when I
went on that show to redeem myself, and the way
that they also weaponized this whole finale that also really
hurt me as well.
Speaker 1 (52:31):
Lisa was the villain all over again. I think that's
why she clings to this story that she was always
going to be the winner. Whether it's true or not,
it eases the sting of her win being Angelie's misfortune.
Lisa may have gotten the America's Next Top Model title
and one hundred thousand dollars, but she never got to
redeem her image. She still gets hate mail to this day,
(52:57):
Angelie was devastated. For a long time. She tried to
sue A and TM for three million dollars, but eventually
dropped the suit when she realized the contract she signed
was ironclad. She didn't have a leg to stand on.
She thought signing that contract was going to make her
dreams come true, but it ended up being her nightmare.
Angelie eventually gave up on modeling. She was getting older
(53:20):
and the damage was done, but she found a new dream.
She went to college got a bachelor's degree in journalism.
She's the first person in her family to finish college.
After graduation, she got a job as a host and
reporter at her local public radio station. Today, she's a
working journalist and a mom in her hometown, the seven
one six, Buffalo, New York. I don't think Angelie, Lisa,
(53:47):
or any of the other models I spoke with thought
their A and TM journeys would end up like this.
When they sent in those audition tapes and signed the contracts,
they thought they were getting a head start in the
fashion industry. They certainly didn't think they would be talking
to me twenty years later about how the show still
haunts them. As this podcast continues, You're going to hear
(54:10):
more from the models if they tell you about the
experiences that have stuck with them. These contestants weren't just
tyrist props. They were real people, real people whose NDAs
have finally expired, and they want to tell their side
of the story. On the next episode, we're going to
get into one of the most disturbing parts of A
(54:32):
andtm's casting process. I'm talking about the psychiatric evaluations. Psyche
vows are standard in reality TV. They're used to make
sure a potential cast member is mentally capable of handling
the stress of being on reality TV. But what I've
been told about ANTM psyche vows raises serious ethical questions.
(54:53):
Contestants told me about deep personal trauma they shared that
was later used by producers to manipulate them. I've also
heard about possible bias that kept certain contestants out and
let others slip through the cracks, some of whom met
tragic ends After the time on A and t M,
thanks for listening to the Curse of America's Next Top Model.
(55:16):
We really appreciate the support. We'd love for you to
really show your support by subscribing to our show on
Apple Podcasts and don't forget to leave us a five
star rating and review. If you love the show, tell
your group, chat, your co workers, your friends, your mama
to check us out, and if you don't, maybe keep
that one to yourself. Thanks again to all of our listeners.
(55:37):
The Curse of America's Next Top Model is a production
of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group, in
partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by
Nancy Glass, hosted and senior produced by me Bridget Armstrong.
Our story editor is Monique Leboard, also produced by Ben
Fetterman and Andrea Denning. Associate producers are a La Shaki Kristin,
(56:01):
Melcurriy and Curry Richmond. Consulting producers are Oliver Twist and
Kate Taylor. Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Kriincheck.
Audio editing and mixing by Andrew Callaway and Matt Delvecchio.
The Curse of America's Next Top Model theme music was
composed by Oliver Bains Music library provided by mid of Music.
(56:22):
Special Thanks to everyone we interviewed for this podcast, especially
the models for sharing their stories and for more podcasts
from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts. Also check out the Glass podcast
Instagram at Glass Podcasts for Curse of America's Next Top Model,
behind the scenes content, and more.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.