ENTERTAINMENT'America's Next Top Model' Contestants Were 'Tortured' to Boost Tyra Banks' 'Ego,' Claims Janice Dickinson: 'She Didn't Want Competition'
Janice Dickinson was a judge on 'ANTM' from 2003 to 2006.
March 12 2026, Published 11:00 a.m. ET
Janice Dickinson is coming clean about her time on America's Next Top Model amid a deep dive into the controversial series.
During her appearance on the docuseries Dirty Rotten Scandals, Dickinson chastised host Tyra Banks for the way she treated the contestants, claiming the series "really tortured these girls for Tyra's ego."
Janice Dickinson Labels Tyra Banks 'a Hardcore B----'
Janice Dickinson claimed Tyra Banks tore down 'ANTM' contestants to boost her own ego.
"[Banks] put the girls down for everything — their hairstyles, the way they walked, the way they hold their face. It really tore their ego and identity," she confessed. "I was there and I saw it for four seasons. She was a hardcore b----."
Some of her cruel demeanor may have stemmed from allegations that "Tyra didn't want any competition," Dickinson said.
"She would go harder on the Black girls on the show, because it's about competitiveness and jealousy and her being older than these young models," Dickinson, 71, spilled.
Janice Dickinson claimed the series 'encouraged' her to be 'cruel' to the contestants.
"She was always trying to be this tough team mom to the girls, but she just did not build up enough confidence in the girls," the former model continued. "They left the show completely depressed and depleted while she got so effing rich."
Dickinson also claimed she too was encouraged to be rude, claiming producers and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit star "were begging me to be harsher and cruel, like Simon Cowell was on American Idol."
Tyra Banks Admits She 'Went Too Far'
- 'She Was Hardcore': Janice Dickinson Goes Off on Tyra Banks in Scathing Interview
- Janice Dickinson Slams Kanye West, Gigi Hadid & Kylie Jenner, Says She Isn’t Getting Gigs Like Tyra Banks Because 'They Like Diversity On TV These Days'
- 'America's Next Top Model' Star Curses Out 'Bully' Tyra Banks, Claims Show 'Edited' Their Viral 'We Were All Rooting for You' Moment
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Tyra Banks admitted she 'went too far' while hosting the show.
While Banks, 52, didn't appear in Dirty Rotten Scandals, she did sit down for Netflix's Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model, which exposed the show's dark side and controversies.
"I knew I went too far," the Life-Size actress confessed. "It was very, very intense, but you guys were demanding it, so we kept pushing it, more and more and more."
Tyra Banks was 'very emotional' when she filmed for Netflix's docuseries on 'ANTM.'
Co-director Mor Loushy revealed it took "several months" of negotiations before Banks agreed to sit down.
"Tyra decided that it's time for her to speak up," Loushy said. "We didn't know what to expect. We came, and she was very emotional. She wanted to tell her side of the story, like the contestants are telling their side of the story."
Inside the Show's Controversial Moments
'ANTM' winner Yoanna House felt like 'an animal for spectator sport' while on the show.
Cycle 2 winner Yoanna House revealed being judged on the show was like being in a "narcissistic relationship," as they went "from the love-bombing back to getting devalued at the drop of a hat."
"One minute they're saying, 'You're so beautiful,' the next minute, 'Oh, your body, you have all these issues,'" she recalled.
"You're almost an animal for spectator sport versus a human being," House, 45, shared. "It felt like it was an experiment to see how easy we could crack and break."
Keenyah Hi, 40, commented on the show's notorious "race swapping" episode, where contestants altered their skin color: "You don't really have the courage at the time to say, 'Hey, this isn't politically correct,' or however you may feel."
