Gina Turner (32), a former contestant on the popular reality show America's Next Top Model (ANTM), exposed the 2018 on-air "shaving makeover" as "deceptive."
According to the Daily Mail's report on the 20th (local time), Turner spoke in detail to this outlet in an interview shortly after the release of the Netflix documentary Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model. The documentary features host Tyra Banks, models and production staff reflecting on the program's "complicated legacy."
Turner, from Nashville, was diagnosed with alopecia at age 10 and was 24 when she appeared on season 24 (2018). She said production told her, "we'll help you get back the hair you lost when you were young," and she believed they were fitting her with a high-quality wig.
But the situation at the makeover shoot suddenly changed. Stylist Ro Roche pulled out a regular razor, saying, "The wig thing was a joke ('Psych')," and proceeded to shave her head in front of the cameras.
Turner said, "The cameras were rolling so I couldn't show my emotions. I was frozen," and added, "It was hair I had worked hard to grow since childhood, so there was a huge emotional sense of loss."
She acknowledged that the Netflix documentary highlighted some problems but criticized that "it did not fully capture the emotional manipulation and power dynamics experienced by hundreds of participants." ANTM featured more than 400 contestants over 24 seasons.
Turner also claimed production is using the documentary to avoid responsibility. She said she will appear on Dirty Rotten Scandals: ANTM, which airs next month on E!, and added, "I hope the survivors' stories are conveyed without being glamorized."
Meanwhile, Banks explained in the documentary that she wanted "to show the diverse beauty that the fashion world excluded at the time," describing the program's planning intent. She went on to suggest a reboot possibility, saying, "Plans for Cycle 25 are already in the works."
American Next Top Model is currently streaming on Netflix. Turner's revelations have once again brought controversy over the show's past directing methods and production practices to the surface.
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