09-07-2025
I was body-shamed by two of the world's biggest supermodels... now I'm fighting back
A former contestant from America's Next Top Model claims that she was body-shamed on the popular competition series.
Sarah Hartshorne appeared as the only plus-size model on Cycle 9 of the show, which was created, executive-produced, and hosted by Tyra Banks.
In an excerpt from her new memoir seen by Daily Mail, Hartshorne recalls filming the makeover episode of the season, which is where all the contestants would have their hair and appearance drastically transformed as part of a wild photoshoot challenge.
Each cycle, the makeover episode would usually include one or two girls who hated their new looks, and then their meltdowns would provide huge drama for the show.
When it was Hartshorne's turn to get made over, Banks told her that her long brown locks would be cut into a short blonde pixie cut.
While Banks and her co-hosts may have expected Hartshorne to be upset over losing her chestnut tresses, she was actually thrilled with the 'edgy' new look.
However, when it came time to film her interview with producers, Hartshorne believes that they tried to coax a negative reaction out of her.
'Are you worried it's going to look masculine?' one producer allegedly asked her.
'Are you worried that this will make you look even curvier? That maybe you'll look more plus-size?' she says they continued.
Suddenly feeling 'defeated' after her initial joy, Hartshorne responded, 'Well, I hadn't been worried about looking curvier with this haircut, but I kind of am now.'
Hartshorne claims that the producer then started quizzing her on how she felt about the racy photoshoot that she had just done.
'Were you nervous about wearing something so revealing at the photoshoot?' they asked, according to Hartshorne.
Hartshorne said that she wasn't nervous at all about the shoot, and that she was so comfortable in her skin that she wouldn't have minded posing completely naked.
Pressing her further, she claims that the producer then asked, 'But weren't you worried, as the plus-size contestant, about baring your stomach? And showing so much skin?'
When Hartshorne was eventually eliminated from the show in episode seven, she was then criticized for being too slim despite her entire storyline previously centering around her role as the only plus-size model on the season.
During her elimination, Banks told her, 'You're very, very good, but the judges feel that your place in the industry is kind of confusing right now, because models are so, so, so skinny or they're plus size.'
She continued, 'And you're losing weight. So you're neither.
'And where does that leave you? It's up to you to decide. If you're not confident in yourself, how can we be confident in your abilities?'
This isn't the only time during her tenure on the show that Hartshorne says her size came into question.
In a previous interview with Page Six, the brunette claimed that legendary supermodel Twiggy, who was a judge on her season, compared her to a 'ham' and criticized her appearance.
'I'm very surprised that this is such a good photo because in person you're actually not very attractive,' she claims Twiggy said.
has contacted Banks and Twiggy for comment.
Now Hartshorne is fighting back with her tell-all book, 'You Wanna Be on Top?: A Memoir of Makeovers, Manipulation, and Not Becoming America's Next Top Model.'
The book, which was released this week, reveals all about Hartshorne's time on the series and her life after reality TV.
America's Next Top Model premiered in 2003 and ran for a total of 24 seasons, or 'cycles,' until its cancelation in 2018.
