ANTM Allegations: Eating Disorder and Disability Exploitation

America's Next Top Model has been under a microscope in recent weeks, as documentaries expose how ' hit modeling show often missed the mark.

Ahead of E!'s Dirty Rotten Scandals series, which airs Wednesday, the Daily Mail spoke exclusively to insiders who revealed explosive new details about what went on behind-the-scenes, from eating disorders to emotional breakdowns. 

Former model Lauren Levi, who competed as 'London' on Cycle 12, shared that when she signed up for ANTM in 2009, she was still caught up in an arduous bulimia battle.

'The stress of the show really brought out the bulimia,' she admitted to the Daily Mail. 

'Just the stress of being on there, comparing myself to these other women … all the stress of not sleeping was building up. So, I started to have that switch in my brain, well I’m going to eat for comfort or to self-soothe.'

The former model, now 36, explained that her overeating would 'trigger that state of bulimia' and she'd hear a voice that would tell her, ‘You need to eat all of it. You’ve already gone too far.’

Levi, who was only about 18 years old at the time, said it was difficult for her to share her inner struggles with production or even family back home, as contestants' phone calls were closely monitored - and so, she kept her relapse a secret. 

The model said she had told production that she was in recovery from bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder that consists of bouts of overeating followed by purging.

Levi told the Daily Mail that because she was closely monitored during filming, however, she was unable to self-induce any vomiting.

'I never ended up puking,' she claimed. 'I was too afraid of being caught. There was always people around. Always a camera.'

Although Levi thought her secret was under wraps, the Daily Mail spoke to a production source who shared that staffers knew that she had been struggling.

'We put her on "bathroom watch,"' the insider explained, adding that they were allegedly instructed to 'keep her from going to the bathroom for at least an hour so we can let the food digest.'

'What ended up happening was during the show she started gaining weight and they were calling her out. I was, like, that’s crazy.'

Levi said that because prior to filming she had starved her body, it was 'holding onto these calories for dear life,' adding, 'and there’s no time to exercise.'

'Your whole day is booked up,' she explained. 'You’re probably sitting most of the time. Normally, if I’m home, I get to purge.'

Levi said the judges - who consisted of Banks, supermodel Paulina Porizkova, J. 'Miss Jay' Alexander and Nigel Barker at the time - noticed she was gaining weight.

The former model said she recalled one panelist pointing out, 'We have one girl that is shrinking and one girl that is getting bigger.’ 

'I felt the most harshness from Paulina,' Levi added. 'I felt the most looked down upon by Paulina.' The Daily Mail has reached out to Porizkova's rep for comment.

Levi claimed that during one standout moment on set, creative director Jay Manuel - who was on ANTM since Season 1 - made a ruthless comment that stayed with her.

'All I can remember was him asking me, "What’s been going on?" … and his response was that as a model, I have a responsibility to maintain my weight and that I’m not respecting my body by putting on weight,' Levi alleged. 

'Though I cannot quote him … it was a phrase of a lack of respect for my body.'

Manuel, 53, did not return Daily Mail's request for comment.

However, he recognized in his 2020 memoir The Wig, the Bitch and the Meltdown, 'Ultimately, my job should have been creating a safer space, and I should have pushed back on certain things a lot harder than I did.'

Levi came in seventh in the Cycle 12 competition but was asked to appear on Banks' talk show at a later date, where she spoke more in depth about her eating disorder.

She told the Daily Mail that Banks, 52, set her up with a nutritionist back home shortly after, but the damage of being on ANTM had already been done.

'Overall, my experience was traumatic. I felt manipulated by production when it came to the questions they asked,' Levi - whose faith was played up for the show - told us.

The former model, who now works in film, said, however, that she would not have liked to have been sent home once producers discovered her eating issues, as that would have created more feelings of 'shame' for her.

'In an ideal world … I think there should be a counselor,' she said, offering another solution. 'To me, that’s not unreasonable … to allow the women to have access to that even once a week for an hour, I think that would’ve been a game-changer.'

The production source the Daily Mail spoke to shared, though, that executives often cut corners when it came to providing the appropriate accommodations needed.

For Cycle 22 winner Nyle DiMarco, who was born deaf, the Daily Mail was told he was only provided an interpreter 'on certain days' due to budget restraints.

The insider recalled one specific episode centered around a 'wounded warrior' shoot, in which ex-military men and women shared their heartfelt stories with the models. 

DiMarco allegedly did not have an interpreter during that scene, and so he fled to the bathroom in tears out of frustration, per the source.

The insider said DiMarco told him, '"I just feel so f**ked up, like I’m an a**hole because I just stood in front of these soldiers and have no idea what they’re saying."'

The source claimed that instead of helping, production took advantage of the situation with one staffer allegedly saying, '"Well honestly, we kind of want him to overcome some adversity."' 

'It was so awful,' the insider said. 'It just got a point where I felt like the show was being so f**ked up as far as his disability and not helping at all.' 

There was a second instance in which DiMarco's safety was allegedly at risk because he had to do a photo shoot 'in the dark' and jump on a square box.

The insider said DiMarco was instructed to scream if he felt like he was going to get hurt, but because he did not like to be auditory, it was 'problematic.' 

DiMarco, 36, did not return Daily Mail's request for comment. However, he has spoken openly about his hardships on ANTM in the past.

'I had to rely heavily on visual cues, lip reading, and sometimes my sign language interpreter, who was not always on set,' he told People in 2024.

'Having grown up in a completely deaf community and household, I was not used to the experience of not being included in conversations and social settings at all times.'

The Daily Mail's production source alleged that during Cycle 16, executive producer Ken Mok allegedly put other models' safety at risk for a runway challenge as well.

In an episode, the models were tasked with strutting their stuff on a catwalk surrounded by water and while inside of a plastic bubble.

The source claimed that during a practice run, Mok allegedly determined the runway wasn't 'slick enough' and so he had the team add suntan lotion to ensure at least one person would fall. We're told injury was not the goal but rather a good TV moment.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Mok for comment but has not heard back.

On Netflix's Reality Check docuseries, the executive producer did not address the bubble challenge but said of a crime scene-themed shoot, 'That was a mistake. I look back now and I think, that was a celebration of violence. It was crazy.'

Banks, for her part, said in the doc that production and execs felt pressured to deliver cutting edge television to audiences who were demanding they push the envelope. 

The production source admitted, 'I do side with Tyra. Tyra, in my opinion, wasn’t really there. She didn’t know, really, what was going on. Tyra was not there that often.'

Banks credits herself, though, with coming up with the concept of ANTM and said in the Netflix doc that she became 'master editor' for what made it onto the show.

The Daily Mail has reached out to her reps for further comment.