Top 10 Shocking Eliminations on America's Next Top Model

Angelea has had perhaps one of the most dramatic exits in America’s Next Top Model history. After making a splash in her previous cycle, Angelea quickly shot to the top of All-Stars and all signs pointed to her as the winner. However, the show quickly reshot their final episode of All-Stars and instead awarded the title and prize to Lisa D’Amato after the network found salacious information about Angelea’s past and subsequently disqualified her. Angelea proceeded to sue Tyra Banks over the unfair elimination and claimed to have told the network about her past prior to appearing on the show. We definitely didn’t see any of this coming.

AzMarie definitely stood out during her cycle. From her tattoos to her overall androgynous look, she never really fit the mold of a typical America’s Next Top Model contestant, but that didn’t stop her from serving looks. However, her uniqueness and unwillingness to compromise ultimately got her booted from the show as she refused to wear butt pads for Tyra’s “booty tooch” music video challenge. Thankfully, AzMarie’s unconventional style and personality got her far in other areas as, following her time on the show, she’s developed an acting career and even had a recurring role as “Chicken” on the hit TV show “Empire.”

Kanani was confident, unique, and always turned out great photos, whether it was during the trailer park shoot or the alternate wedding-themed shoot. Her downfall came when the boys decided to pull a prank on the girls by placing clown dolls in the girls’ dorm room. Kanani began to panic, and it was soon revealed that she had a debilitating fear of clowns. Later on in the episode, she struggled to concentrate during the photoshoot, leading to a lacklustre photo. Watching her break down after her elimination was heartbreaking; it not only affected fans, but her fellow models were also clearly upset to see her go.

#7: Brooke Miller Cycle 7

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Talk about unfortunate timing! You may remember Brooke as the contestant who missed her high school graduation for the show only to get eliminated the very day that she was supposed to have her ceremony. Brooke’s elimination was unexpected, given her consistent performance, and some viewers even speculated that Tyra and the show’s producers strategically eliminated Brooke on her graduation day in order to raise drama. Regardless, many believed that Brooke had the looks and potential to go further in the show if only Tyra had given her the chance.

Although she consistently performed well in the challenges and had good photos each week, Mollie Sue was eliminated fairly early on - not because she performed poorly, but because Tyra simply felt she lacked personality...ouch. Many felt that the reasoning behind Mollie Sue’s elimination was weak and that the show merely gave her the “boring edit” to justify cutting her from the show. However, Mollie Sue is a prime example of how the competition isn’t everything. Despite only coming in 9th place, she continued to have a successful career and appeared in Russian, Italian, and Japanese versions of Vogue.

Everyone loves a good underdog story. Despite not having much modelling experience, Jenah performed exceedingly well in the challenges: the judges liked her photos and Jay would often comment on how great her poses were. She eventually made her way all the way up to the final episode, but ultimately, the title of America’s Next Top Model was given to Saleisha Stowers, sparking controversy. Many accused Tyra of favoritism as Saleisha had previously appeared on “The Tyra Banks Show” and also had considerably more modelling experience compared to the other girls, especially Jenah. Jenah’s emotional farewell made it even harder to see her go.

Leila’s elimination caused immense uproar amongst fans. In fact, she was initially eliminated earlier on in the season, but made a surprise comeback. However, she still never made it to the very top. Despite turning out amazing photos and achieving one of the high social media scores that week, she was sent home. Many questioned Tyra’s reasoning, but she remained set on the idea that Leila just didn’t have what it took. While she still ended up making it to third place, we can’t help but think she could have gone all the way to number one. Thankfully, since appearing on the show, Leila has gone on to model for major design houses from Givenchy to Chanel.

#3: Amanda Swafford Cycle 3

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Amanda shot some of the most beautiful photos during her time on America’s Next Top Model. Who could ever forget that untouched beauty shot from the third week of the competition? Things seemed to be working in Amanda’s favor as she rose to the top 3 of her cycle. While the judges loved her stunning icy blue eyes, Amanda soon revealed that she was legally blind and thus, had some difficulty in low light modelling situations. Nonetheless, she persisted and found great success despite her condition and despite being older than most of the other contestants.

Always a runner-up, never a winner. After coming so close to the top spot only to lose to Teyona Anderson in her original cycle, viewers and fans were hoping for Allison to take the title of America’s Next Top Model during All-Stars. She had the looks and the quirky loveable personality but ultimately, the title went to Lisa. Viewers felt that Allison was unjustly criticized for her introverted nature and that the judges did not take her eye sensitivity seriously enough. While Allison gracefully accepted second place and went on to have a great career, fans were still upset over the judges’ decision. To this day, Allison is considered to be an all-time fan favorite. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Renee Bhagwandeen Cycle 20 Ashley Brown Cycle 18 Nastasia Scott Cycle 19 Elyse Sewell Cycle 1 Rebecca Epley Cycle 4

Nina certainly left an impact on viewers during her cycle. From her sea runway fiasco to her rocky relationship with fellow contestant Chris, Nina went through a lot during her quest to become America’s Next Top Model. Nina never failed to capture the audience with her charm and always performed well in the challenges, producing one of the best photo portfolios on ANTM to date. Even the photo that resulted in her elimination was beautiful, making the judges’ choice to cut her from the show even more confusing. All of this combined made Nina’s departure all the more unexpected and heart-wrenching.