“I didn’t know we were going to have our bodies painted.
“They definitely didn’t show any of that footage.”
“There’s a twist!”
Jennifer An on ‘America’s Next Top Model’ cycle 13.THE CW
“We’re actually going to switch your ethnicities!”
The reaction in the room was nothing short of… well… standard for the time.
It’s not that deep for me.”
Most shocking moments in ‘America’s Next Top Model’ history.Hulu / Amazon Prime / CW
Those are two different things; look at the context."
“I looked around and I’m like, ‘Guys, but I’m in blackface right now.’
And they were like, ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s fine.’
Noelle Staggers switching races for a photoshoot on ‘America’s Next Top Model’ cycle 4.UPN
Like, what can I do?
So, I was like, let me just shut my mouth and stay on the show.”
“You know, I didn’t connect those dots.
I was more upset because I knew how the Black community felt about blackface.
For me, it wasn’t the same thing.
I don’t remember their outfits pushing a boundary or anything like that,” An says.
“It’s weird when I look at the photo.
Mostly, I feel like it was a mistake.
Like, it just shouldn’t have happened.”
“She needs to take responsibility for certain things.
I realize this was 20 years ago, but how did we think this was actually okay?”
A representative for Banks, however, points to a prior statement from the supermodel.
I’m a Black woman.
My intention is to spread beauty and break down barriers."
