We weren't the only 2000s kids who obsessed over America's Next Top Model like we were preparing for Paris Fashion Week. Were we models? No. Did we still take notes on how to perfect your smize and tooch your booty? Absolutely.
However, some clips have now resurfaced that make me think that the show I remember was not only unbelievably problematic — it was downright horrifying at many points.
Here are some of the most problematic moments from ANTM:
1. In Cycle 4, when Kahlen had to pose in a grave shortly after she found out that her friend had died.
2. Also in Cycle 8, when Jael had to pose as a corpse the week after her friend died of an overdose.
3. In Cycle 6, when Tyra Banks ridiculed Danielle for not wanting to close the gap in her teeth.
4. Then, in Cycle 15, the very same Tyra had Chelsey widen the gap between her teeth.
5. In Cycle 22, when Nyle — who's deaf — had to pose in the dark, which left him unable to sign or communicate with the photographer.
6. Also in Cycle 3, when Amanda — who's legally blind — had to walk a dimly lit runway.
7. In Cycle 10, when Isis — the first transgender contestant on the show — was bombarded with ignorant and transphobic questions and comments.
8. In Cycle 7, when Ginger was eliminated AFTER refusing to pose nude for a photo shoot.
9. In Cycle 7, when Jaeda had to kiss a racist guy in a photo shoot.
10. In Cycle 4, when Keenyah had to dress up as an elephant and pose as "gluttony" after gaining weight.
11. In Cycle 13, when the girls had to pose in a "biracial"-themed photo shoot.
12. On that subject, in Cycle 4, when the girls had to model as "different ethnicities" — some that involved brown- and blackface — for a photo shoot.
13. In Cycle 3, when Cassie was told that her hips and thighs were too big, even though her eating disorders were something she discussed on the show.
14. In Cycle 21, when Yu Tsai refered to Chantelle (aka Winnie Harlow) as "panda." Chantelle lives with a skin condition called vitiligo, which is when patches of skin lose their pigment.
15. In Cycle 3, when Yaya was criticized for an "overbearing" need to "prove [her] Africanness" and was then forced to apologize.
16. In Cycle 15, when Kayla was still forced to shoot a commercial with a man after disclosing to Jay Manuel that she had been sexually assaulted.
17. In Cycle 7, when CariDee got hypothermia from posing in a freezing pool.
18. And in Cycle 24, when Tyra made Liberty dye her hair red because she "voted red" in the 2016 election. Liberty then began to criticize redheads everywhere.
Wowza. This sure isn't the show we remember it as, huh?
CORRECTION
An earlier draft attributed a quote to the show that didn't actually happen. It has been removed.