Fakest Moments On America's Next Top Model Revealed

In addition to allegations of exploitation via deprivation of basic needs or cheap tricks to enhance the drama on camera, one of the most outspoken "America's Next Top Model" contestants, Lisa D'Amato of Cycles 5 and 17, accused the reality show of exploiting her past experience with child abuse.

In 2021, she claimed in an Instagram video directed toward Tyra Banks that the show's production team would constantly bring up her abusive mother. "The way that you guys would poke me and use my childhood trauma against me day in and day out — it was just so f***ed up and it broke my heart," D'Amato tearfully said. She'd previously claimed in another post that showrunners used her PTSD to get her to react in a negative way on screen, thus painting her as the season's villain. "For example: 'Lisa, today wasn't your best day, is it because your mom is in your head?'" she wrote in part. "S**t like that is what I was dealing with the entire time during filming."

Fellow Cycle 5 model Jayla Rubinelli seemingly corroborated D'Amato's claims in her interview with Oliver Twixt, in which she explained that the production's screening application asked about the models' relationships with their parents, which was then allegedly used against D'Amato. For her part, Rubinelli claimed she went through a similar situation with producers asking about her own mom and dad: "They were trying to get tears out of me, and I think Lisa and I were both very nonchalant, just like, 'Yeah, it sucks.'"

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

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