5 Of The Most Iconic ‘ANTM’ Moments From Its 72-Odd Years On Air

ANTM

What would reality TV do without Tyra Banks? She’s been hosting America’s Next Top Model since 2003 (holy hell that’s a long time) and she has never failed to produce some golden moments of television.

While her most infamous moment (breakdown?) is still holding strong around the ‘net, there are countless other times when ANTM delivered peak cringe in its finest form.

First, let’s get the elephant in the room outta the way:

Tiffany Richardson, the poor sod on the receiving end of Tyra’s blast-heard-around-the-world, copped an absolute flogging in Cycle 4 after she pissed off Tyra in all the wrong ways. Luckily for the rest of us, the meme still proves to be useful in almost any online argument in existence. Yay to televised mental breakdowns.

Now that we’ve addressed the most obvi ANTM moment that springs to everyone’s minds, let’s have a peek at some of the close runner-ups.

50 Cent Goes Ham (Cycle 8)

Image result for 50 cent pushes model in pool gif

Alright, so, coming from an outsider’s perspective, it’s tough to pinpoint exactly what happened that drove 50 Cent to push ANTM hopeful Jael Strauss into the (assumingly heated) pool.

If I had to guess though, I’d say things went downhill when Jael just would not back off Fiddy. At all. As one of the other models mentioned at the time, “Jael deserved it because she did not leave that man alone.

I dunno, I’ve pushed people in the pool for less so I feel like that’s warranted. Play on, Fiddy. Play on.

Models In Actual Blackface (cycle 4)

this isn’t even the worst one

Uh, yeah nah. This is a misfire of epic proportions.

Apparently, this Cycle 4 photoshoot was supposed to highlight cultures around the world which, I mean, kind of just seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

Tyra later sort of apologised for the mishap but unfortunately the internet doesn’t forget – which is why the photos are still kicking around today. Whoopsie doopsie, Tyra. Whoopsie doopsie indeed.

Model Blacks Out During Tyra-Talk (Cycle 4)

Image result for america's next top model faint gif

Cycle 4 is honestly the gift that keeps on giving. She didn’t die so I’m allowed to enjoy this gif on loop – that’s just the rules of the internet.

Honestly though, poor Rebecca Epley. All she wanted to do was face Tyra and the judges, stay chill and maybe cop a nice word or two from everyone involved. Pretty solid gameplan IMO.

Tell ya what though, Rebecca knows how to take on feedback. When one of the judges suggested she “work on her presence”, that’s when Blackout Bec took it upon herself to Make. A. Scene. Get it, girl.

The Infamous Faux Beard (Cycle 21)

No. No. No. No. No.

How is it possible that Tyra Banks, fashion/TV/life icon and style guru extraordinaire, thought male model Denzel Wells would look better with a bloody stick-on beard?

As a matter of fact, I don’t think anyone on the face of this earth would look better with a stick-on beard. Burn it and bury the ashes.

Model Pulls Off Ultimate Dad Joke (Cycle 7)

Image result for box joyfully melrose gif

Ahh, Melrose. She truly was an innocent flower in a sea of vicious models.

While ANTM had its fair share of controversial, appalling and shocking TV moments, this is perhaps the most pure moment of them all. When asked to “box joyfully”, Melrose took that far too literally and simply smiled inside a hand-made box. Priceless.

In saying that though, after watching her reaction I took a minute or two to figure out what they actually meant, so safe to say I’d be a total Melrose in that situation.

Season 24 of America’s Next Top Model airs on FOX8 on Mondays. Stream the past seasons on Foxtel On Demand now. To get access to the hectic amount of new shows and complete seasons, both Aussie and international, check out Foxtel’s offers here, including the iQ3 – stream, record and watch new shows without ever leaving your lounge room.

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