We Were All Rooting For You

by Franchesca Ramsey

The resurgence of viral clips from the long-running hit reality television show America’s Next Top Model left fans and foes alike wondering–how did a show so outrageous and at times offensive ever get on the air? For years, Americans dutifully watched as contestants faced uncomfortable situations regarding their race and gender, body-shaming, stereotyping, and problematic photoshoots. The show, which first premiered in 2003 and ran for 24 cycles, was helmed by supermodel Tyra Banks–the first Black female host of a smash network reality show. It was wildly popular, and groundbreaking too, bringing plus-sized models, transgender models, and many Black, Asian, and other diverse contestants onto the show at a time when they would never have otherwise have made it on TV.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Biography

Audible Audio

Published December 12, 2024

Reviews

[Shannon]

We Were All Rooting for You

I Picked Up This Book Because: Whim.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Audible Plus
Dates Read: 7/13/25 - 7/14/25
Rating: 4 Stars
Narrator(s): Franchesca Ramsey and friends

The Story:

I was tricked by Audible. This is not a book but a collection of podcasts. While the subject and guest and host are incredibly entertaining I was expecting an actual book. So this was my first podcast binge.

[Rheathebookwormdreamergirl]

3.5/5.

I wanted to love this more than I did honestly. I think it had some good ideas, but I think it just needed to be a bit more refined.

[Caitlin]

This isn't actually a book. It's a collection of 8 podcast episodes put into an "audiobook". But. I really enjoyed it. So many people were interviewed throughout and it was amazing. Just sticking with my ANTM obsession currently with this one.

It's interesting and fun and honest. It's a good listen for fans of the show. And critics as well haha.

[ToriBeth]

I loved Top Model as a teenager. I'll be focusing on Seasons 1 to 15 in this review which are the seasons I watched. Looking back now as an adult and a radical feminist (not liberal feminist), I can see how damaging it was to the female psyche. Thin women with extreme proportions were depicted as the ideal of female beauty, and women with 'average' bodies were lambasted as large and fat; no doubt cementing the idea of thinness as the goal for millions of women and girls no matter the cost to our mental and physical health.

However, Top Model was also the first time I ever saw 'weird girls' who were living, breathing women, and not a plot line for a male protagonist. Alison from Season 12, Ann from Season 15, Nicole from Season 13 were icons to me and showed me that being odd and having an unconventional beauty was ok. Top Model was also the first time that I saw women standing up for themselves - Yaya from Season 3, Elina from Season 11, Victoria from Season 9 and Celia from Season 12 taught me that I could challenge authority figures, no matter how much my voice shakes. I was really disappointed that none of these women were included in this podcast.

This podcast host, Ramsey, was extremely biased in her critique of Top Model. I support media and art critiques - I don't support modern audiences taking art and media out of the context of its time and castigating it as wrong because it doesn't adhere to your ideology. I'm, of course, referring to woke/ gender ideology which did not exist in Top Models heyday.

The episode that focuses on "queer" representation is so unbelievably ridiculous. Firstly, Ramsey rebrands LGB participants and staff on Top Model as "queer," which is essentially assigning a political ideology to all those people based purely on their sexual orientation that they may or may not agree with. Being gay doesn't mean you have to agree with an ideology or vote a certain way or think certain things. It ONLY means same sex attracted. Yet, lesbianism or bisexuality was not mentioned once! Top Model was one of the first TV shows that had lesbians and bi women who were not sexualised for the male gaze and showed 'butch' lesbians. They were just existing, the same as all the other women. Why weren't lesbian or bi women included in the podcast? Oh, right, because LB women were erased in favour of "queer folk" - a meaningless, made-up phrase that has become a political gotya.

Secondly, the episode talks at length about trans identified man, Isis from Season 11. The other Season 11 contestants who were confused as to why a male had been cast on a female only TV show were lambasted by Ramsey as transphobic bigots. There was no understanding or even consideration for the women on Season 11 who were now forced to share intimate places such as bathrooms, changing rooms, sleeping quarters, etc and who were also meant to share an emotionally difficult and stressful experience on TV with a male claiming to be a woman.

There was no consideration from Ramsey that the women won't have experienced anyone like Isis before. According to Ramsey and her inflexible gender ideology, the women were to ignore their discomfort, concerns, and boundary violations by a male to be kind - a.k.a. shut up because gender ideology mandates that men's feelings are more important that women's. Surprisingly, Isis stated that he had some sympathy for the women who had never encountered anyone like him previously. However, Isis still agreed that the women's opinions were wrong, applying a current ideological fad to an experience he had a decade ago.

On the episode that looks at the "race swapping" photoshoots Ramsey labels it "blackface." Tyra stated that the two instances of "race swapping" photoshoots in Top Model was done to celebrate different cultures, embrace the ambiguity of race and to break down barriers. "Blackface" is defined as using makeup and costume to create caricatures of black people.

So the photoshoots cannot be "blackface" by definition because 1. The women weren't all "race swapped" into black women and 2. The "race swapping" wasn't a caricature of black people. So, the phrase of "blackface" had been warped to mean something else to conform to woke ideologies outrage at everything and anything.

Legitimate criticism of the "race swapping" photoshoots can be made but I didn't hear any in this podcast - just superficial outrage at a TV show from nearly a decade ago. One of the most notable instances of racial abuse that Jada from Season 6 experienced is unmentioned, neither was there an exploration of how the Top Model crew and judges failed to safeguard Jada and blamed her for not 'handling' the situation in the way Tyra states she would have.

[Hilary]

As a mega ANTM fan this was a no brainer when I found it on Audible, but I guess I was a little bit confused because this is more of a podcast/journalism piece versus a book so my expectations were wrongly set. The interviews and information was so interesting and really put a lot of what was going on during the show into perspective. I enjoyed learning things I didn’t already know about the franchise and loved that you managed to get a lot of key players to chat. Very informative, but I guess I just feel odd putting this on my bookshelf since I feel like I just listened to a podcast and didn’t read a book. Still recommend for any Top Model fan for sure

[Michele]

Recommended for those who know ANTM.

This is a podcast that was turned into a single listening event. While I am generally not a reality viewer, I did indulge from time to time watching America’s Next Top Model. Mainly because I am a fan of Tyra Banks. I didn’t watch faithfully. I do remember some of the episodes that are mentioned in this Original by Audible and I do remember cringing at times. I also didn’t realize that this show didn’t bring about the stardom or super modeling status that other “let’s become a household name” shows did. I do think Tyra was ahead of her time on certain issues even if the issues weren’t handled as “carefully” as most would prefer today. I think this podcast will open the eyes of numerous people who maybe weren’t diehards or just need a refresh on what the show brought about.

[Jessica Woodring]

3.5 🌟 I loved America’s Next Top Model when it first aired and this was an interesting deep dive into the cultural phenomenon of my teen years.

[el Jime]

Pretty good, a nice way to just pass time while doing other tasks, solid reporting and lots of fun anecdotes

[Valerie]

As someone who watched ANTM during its heyday, this was a really interesting listen. I was more interested in the photo shoots than the behind-the-scenes drama, but I still watched every week and when it was on reruns. It's good to hear that the creators acknowledge some of their more problematic issues, both with the shoots, and with how the contestants were treated. I highly recommending listening to this if you were a fan of the show.
*This was a podcast that has been combined into one "audiobook" but as you listen, it's broken up into episodes.

[Anelis]

I binged this show as it was comming out. Growing up and getting educated I was always both in awe and horrified by multiple aspects of it.

It's refreshing to talk about the queerness of ANTM and the visibility it gave to many people AND to openly criticise its extreme misogyny, bodyshaming and often even racism (who can forget the blackface thing? )

I had an issue with the format though. It would have been better as a video. It felt as if I was listening a transcript of a documentary instead of a book.

[Bradley]

I was obsessed with America’s Next Top Model back in the day and watched faithfully and drop off around the time the male models entered the picture. This was an enjoyable lite dive into the madness and legacy of ANTM. The critiques were valid, especially around race, body image, and Tyra but I could still feel the bias of someone who loved the show despite its mess. Which. Same.

Still, it was a fun, little recap of one of the most chaotic reality shows to ever exist. A must-read if you ever found yourself smizing in the mirror or yelling “we were all rooting for you!” unironically.

[Ash Hedstrom]

Obviously obsessed with the show but I know how traumatic it was for a lot of people from there. I didn’t even know Rita Ora hosted cycle 23 because I think it’s the only cycle I haven’t seen (or even heard of).
I’m so glad people like Cory and Isis and Brittany (to name a few) were willing to chat and give their perspectives.

And naturally, the title is so fitting because that’s such an iconic moment

[Mary Treloar]

As a millennial that was obsessed with ANTM I was so excited to find this on audible.
As other reviews mention it doesn’t read like a book, more like a podcast with multiple people weighing in and sharing stories.
Gives lots of fun inside stories and insights.

“People don’t know that Tyra Banks was a b*tch,” 🤣

[Ria Ramirez]

Interesting to know behind the scenes info on the show. I was a huge fan when the show was on air and it was interesting to revisit the show’s impact during that time as well as how it compares to the times today.

[BrendaC]

3.5 rounded up. I remember watching America's Next Top Model. Who knew so much was going on behind the scenes? I appreciate the way the audio was organized by seasons with insider interviews to weigh in positively and negatively. I felt it was overly critical. But that's just my opinion.

[Megan Uy]

OK, this feels like cheating because this was really a podcast, not an audiobook (though produced on Audible). But then that’s kind of perfect because this is almost as sparkling and entertaining a guilty pleasure as ANTM was in its heyday.

[Mia]

Vastly entertaining audible original. I didn't ever see the show, but this was riveting and a snapshot of the time at the beginning of reality TV shoes.

[Diana Flores]

Good for fans of America's Next Top Model who want to dive a little deeper.

[Nicole]

Does this count as a book?

I loved this so much. I was such a big fan of ANTM! What a fun listen!

[Rémy]

What a time we lived in watching Top Model. I enjoyed this immensely. It’s a critical look at the timing of the show, the perception then and how it would perceived now. Quick read. Well done.

[Daisy]

Dnf

[Sasha Quinn]

a fun and interesting listen!

[David Cassady]

I’m never watching this show but it’s so interesting to hear about

[Abby Buss]

i loved antm as a kid so I was excited but this was…. not it. unorganized, not well formulated, was a glorified podcast lol

[Kirby]

This is a podcast compilation of interviews with people involved with America’s Next Top Model. A short and informative look back for show fans.

[Rodrick Johnson]

This podcast was outstanding. It was funny, serious and interesting at the same time. I definitely enjoyed myself !

[Gem]

As someone who grew up watching Top Model as a young teen, this was a really fun and interesting listen. Really well produced and researched.

[Erin Grace]

3.5 very entertaining and interesting.

[Niki]

Quick and easy romance.

[Francesca]

This is definitely more of a podcast than a book but nevertheless still interesting to look back at Americas Next Top Model.