ANTM producer admits 'disgusting' violence photoshoot was a 'mistake' as it resurfaces in Netflix documentary
An America's Next Top Model producer has taken 'full' responsibility for a controversial photoshoot that's resurfaced after being included in a new Netflix documentary.
We often revisit our early 2000s guilty pleasures only to realize there’s a lot they simply wouldn’t get away with today. America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) is no exception.
Perhaps that's why Netflix has decided to revisit the show with a three-part documentary series, Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model. The show gives us 'unprecedented access to former contestants, judges, and producers,' its synopsis says, exposing ANTM's 'complicated legacy' and asking 'how far are we willing to go for entertainment?'
ANTM creator Tyra Banks admits she went 'too far' with some aspects of the show, and she's not the only one to take some sort of accountability for its most controversial moments.
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There were several questionable photoshoots featured on the show, including homelessness and 'race-swapping.' Yikes.
During cycle eight of the reality show, which aired in 2007, participants had to pose in different scenarios, including being shot, in a fire, burned, and beaten.
Speaking out during the documentary, executive producer Ken Mok said: "I take full responsibility for that shoot. That was a mistake. I look back now and I think it was a celebration of violence. It was crazy. That one I look back on and I'm like, 'You were an idiot.'"
One contestant, Dione Walters, was positioned as if she had been shot in the head for her shoot.
The Alabama native reflected on the shoot in the documentary, adding: "When I was a kid, my mom was shot and she was paralyzed from the waist down.
"They knew about it from the application process, but they still chose to have me do this particular photoshoot that involved gun violence.
"I thought it was a coincidence at the time, but I don’t think it was."
Dione was then eliminated from the competition in that very same episode. She is now a realtor and small business owner, as AL.com reports.
The crime scene photoshoot has since regained traction online.
Over on Reddit, one person reflected: "Disgusting...Making women fashion corpses should never be a thing. Violence against women and femme people shouldn’t be normalized."
"Typical reality TV shamelessness," a second weighed in.
The discussion continued on Twitter, formerly X, where one viewer said: "ANTM was a moment but they allowed and excused some horrendous stuff. Shame on Tyra and Ken Mok."
"The way I grew up loving this show and then you look back now and it's actually wild how this was allowed on TV," another concluded.
Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model is streaming now on Netflix.
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Nostalgia, Social Media, Twitter, Reddit
Ellie Kemp