A former America’s Next Top Model winner, India Gants, is revealing the grim reality of what it was like being on the show. India Gants, 28, competed on the show in 2017 and came in first place. Although it may have seemed all glitz and glam on the television screen, the model is revealing that the experience wasn’t all it was made out to be. Taking to TikTok, India gave some disturbing insight into what the reality show was like behind the scenes, even comparing it to living in a “prison.”
She shared a series of videos to her TikTok.
@indiagants Replying to @Ona Judge ♬ original sound - India Gants
India shared a series of videos to her TikTok answering users’ questions and detailing her experience. In one video, she confirmed that the models weren’t able to leave the house while filming.
“You do not get to leave the house for the entire six weeks during filming expect for photoshoots, challenges, things like that,” she said. She went on to reveal that the models didn’t have “any freedom” for activities such as taking a walk, going to the mall, or getting their nails done. They also were escorted to and from the house by a crew member on the production team.
She called it a ‘bubble.’
@indiagants Replying to @user6667814444059 #greenscreen ♬ original sound - India Gants
Continuing, India shared that they weren’t allowed to have their phones during filming and rarely had any access to the outside world. “It’s such a weird world, like you are in this literal bubble during filming.”
Because her hair was dyed, it was required that India go to the salon once a week for maintenance, so she experienced a little more freedom than the other girls.
Their bathrooms had no doors.
@indiagants Replying to @it’s 14 j’s ♬ original sound - India Gants
In another video, India responded after someone asked, “Is it true that the bathroom doors were removed? Was this all to get people in a bad mood so they’d fight on camera or something?” India replied that there were no doors but instead shower curtains to cover the bathroom entrance, but once inside, everything was “wide open.”
“There was really no privacy whatsoever and you just kind of had to get used to using the bathroom in front of other people,” she said, adding that if more privacy was needed for going “number two” there was one bathroom in the confessional for that.
Speaking about the hotel the models stayed in before filming, she described the ‘horrible’ living conditions.
@indiagants Replying to @Sam Azman ♬ original sound - India Gants
“They were so small, like you barely had room to move,” she said. She added that there was a “janky” TV with two channels, and they couldn’t have books or cellphones or “anyway to communicate with the outside world.”
She explained that they’d go 23 hours with no human interaction, and for one hour they’d get pulled out for some activity relating to the show. “It was literally like we were in prison,” she shared in the video.
People were taken aback by the realities of what it was like being on the show.
@indiagants Lil yap sesh about money 💰 and america’s next top model! ♬ original sound - India Gants
“I have a theory that antm is just tyra’s version of the stanford prison experiment,” one person commented.
“How can anyone think that’s acceptable? Besides to humiliate or stress the candidates what was their reasoning for doing that?” another TikToker asked.
“W ow. cant imagine going through all of that, and went home with nothing,” someone else wrote. “Feel sorry for girls who got eliminated early. thank goodness you managed to stick it out.”
It was all for TV.
@indiagants Replying to @…her? ♬ original sound - India Gants
Although many commenters questioned why things were done the way they were, India clarified that the show was for entertainment. “Primarily, it’s a TV show. They have to make good TV. It’s not a real modeling experience,” she said. “They are producing a TV show that has to get views. They have to make it interesting.”
After more than 20 cycles and nearly 20 years on TV, it goes without saying that America’s Next Top Model made history every now and then in its time. Some of the contestants on the show were truly groundbreaking, including Nyle DiMarco — the cycle 22 model who also happened to be the first deaf contestant on the show. Six years later, Nyle is opening up about his journey on the show in a new interview, along with how he feels about host Tyra Banks today.
Nyle won the show in 2015.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nyle DiMarco (@nyledimarco)
While talking to People, Nile described his time on ANTM as “challenging and exhilarating at the same time.”
“I had to push myself out of my comfort zone and adapt to situations that I had never faced before,” he said.
That even included posing in a pitch black photo shoot, which was even more challenging for him because he couldn’t see or hear.
He wanted a chance to represent the deaf community positively.
“It was also important for me to consistently insert myself in order to prove that being deaf does not limit one’s ability to move through life or succeed in any field,” he shared.
He has accomplished a lot since then.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nyle DiMarco (@nyledimarco)
Not only has Nyle started his own production company, Clerc Studio, but he also created the Netflix series Deaf U, a reality series that follows students at a liberal arts college for the deaf, Gallaudet University in Washington, DC.
He also competed on Dancing With the Stars and actually won season 22 of the show in 2016.
He looks back on his time on ‘ANTM’ fondly.
He was a teacher before he appeared on the modeling competition show, so it was like diving into a totally different world headfirst. As he told People, if he could do it all over again, he’d encourage himself to ask more questions.
“I was so new back then and had to figure out most things myself, but you might be surprised at how willing people are to help. The key to success is to ask!” he said.
He still keeps in touch with Tyra.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nyle DiMarco (@nyledimarco)
“Tyra and I do still keep in touch from time to time and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity she provided me and the doors that opened after,” he said.
Judging by everything he’s accomplished since the show, it looks like he has a lot to look forward to in his future, too.
Lots of drama on the season 15 opener of America’s Next Top Model .
Since it’s been around so long, Tyra Banks and her fashion-forward crew had to do something to up the stakes this go-round.
So, uh, can we say stunt casting anyone?
Sure, they’re amping up the prizes — including the usual CoverGirl cosmetics contract and representation — but this year they’re also including a spread in Italian Vogue , which is big-time for professional posers. And then there’s that fabulous house on the beach in Venice, California, where the girls will spend their time catfighting in between shoots and go-sees.
So the sharp producers at ANTM knew it would all be about the casting — and they played this hand very wisely.
Two to watch this season will be sisters Terra and Chris, from Arlington, New York. It’ll be interesting to see the dynamic between the pair — can we expect sibling revelry or rivalry? As one of the girls said, it’s nice to have that built-in support through this challenge — but the competition will no doubt put some strain on the sisters’ relationship.
The second stunt? Anamaria, a bitchy string bean of a woman from Queens who thought she had it all in the bag — and put down every other contestant in her path, saying they just weren’t up to par.
But the other girls in the house knew Anamaria was in trouble when they caught a glimpse of her 5’ 10", 110-lb. frame. Sure, some girls really do naturally have that body — but Anamaria clearly didn’t. She admitted as much, declaring that she was on a “no-calorie” diet and that some women have to work to maintain their figures.
Sure Anamaria. But all you saw was ribs and bones, with nary an ounce of muscle or fat. Turns out all her bravado was masking some deep body issues. She was emaciated! It was painful to look at her — especially during this week’s shoot, which, I must say, was just inspired.
Tyra’s crew has done some out-there shoots — in fact, I’d venture to say that Lady Gaga got her meat dress idea straight from last season’s Top Model . But this one was actually meaningful. Disney star Demi Lovato came on to talk to the girls about bullying and the effect it has — even on the beautiful people. So each girl chose the word that affected her the most in her youth: Tyra’s was her big forehead, for example. And then they co-opted it. The word was written all over the girls’ bodies — along with a word they chose to replace it. For small-town girl Kayla, it was Queer, replaced by free. She came out recently, and it was not an easy experience, as the tears evidenced.
But hey, the drama is just beginning, and you know they’ve gotta keep both sisters Terra and Chris around as long as possible. So Anamaria, with her body issues, was sent home.
Now, I have to say, I’m pretty sure Tyra and the crew cast Anamaria specifically so they could send her home. During casting, they make you rock a swim suit, so there’s no way they didn’t know what she looked like — how dramatic her eating issues were — before she made it to the finals. They were making a pointed statement of what a healthy skinny is, versus a clearly disturbing skinny. Not sure how to feel about that. I give them props for bringing the eating disorder thing to light in an interesting way. But it’s also weird that they put this girl who certainly has problems through that on national TV. Maybe seeing herself like that will make her get some help? One can only hope.
Do you think Anamaria’s body issue-led dismissal was pre-planned? Do you think both sisters will stick around for a while?
Image via CWtv
