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22 years after she won 'America's Next Top Model,' Adrianne Curry took to her Instagram to open up about a makeover challenge that left her 'partially bald' and 'permanently damaged,' alleging that Tyra Banks told stylists "just do it" after warning "this white chick's hair is too fragile" for a weave.
Adrianne Curry, the inaugural winner of reality series America's Next Top Model, has publicly come out with a hair-raising accusation against show creator and host Tyra Banks. Curry alleges that a forceful, Banks-directed makeover during her time on the show caused a severe scalp injury that has left her "partially bald" more than two decades later.
Curry, who won Cycle 1 of competition in 2003, detailed the alleged incident in a recent Instagram video, displaying a patch near her left temple where she claims hair now "doesn't grow anymore." According to the model, the damage stems from a painful weave that was installed against the warnings of the on-set stylists.
"The reason is, when I was on Top Model, Tyra Banks told them to put a weave in my hair," said the 43-year-old ANTM star. She claimed that the Black stylists on the show pulled Banks aside to caution her about the delicacy of her hair: "I heard them tell her, 'This white chick's hair is too fragile for this.'" Curry maintained that Banks ignored the warnings and instructed the team to "just do it," so they proceeded — and the consequences were allegedly immediate and severe.
Curry recounted that "halfway through” the process, she "had an oozing wound from the braid" and that "half my hair had been ripped out" of her head.
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The weave's removal turned into a whole other ordeal. After winning the show, Curry explained that she had to visit a Black salon in her hometown for help but, due to being under an NDA, she couldn't disclose the source of the weave. The difficult process took "hours and hours," leaving her "left with a horrific mullet, scabs all over my head." The salon staff also told her that whoever put the weave in her head must've been "someone who hates" her.
As for the current state of her scalp, Curry says the damage remains permanent today. "It's permanently damaged from that weave," she stated. "It was so painful. I remember [fellow contestant] Kesse on the show was trying to teach me how to itch it, but I didn't know. I didn't know any of this. Before that, she saw me [scratching it] with a fork."
Reflecting on the show's infamous makeover segment, Curry offered a harsh theory of the show’s motivations, alleging, "I think most of those makeovers were done just to torture us."
Adrianne Curry Blames Viewers, Not Tyra Banks for America's Next Top Model Toxicity
View StoryAs reported by Entertainment Weekly, a confessional from her time on the show -- in cycle 1, episode 3 to be exact --revealed her trying to conceal her agony, saying, "The whole process with the weave is very long and pretty painful, but I don't like to show anybody I'm going through pain, so I didn't say anything," adding, “It was definitely worth it, you know? I look a million times different."
This isn't the first time the ANTM winner has publicly criticized the franchise or its head judge. Earlier this year, she also claimed she's the only winner to have received "zero dollars" after her victory.
"There was no money in my win. I got a title,” Curry said. Curry claimed that during filming the contestants were promised a campaign with Revlon, but that promise was edited out before it aired."
In the past, she's also slammed the show for allegedly misleading contestants about the value and scope of the prizes, saying she was "f-cking humiliated” by a Revlon gig that paid her $15,000.
"What I won was to go to Revlon corporate, sit in a back room, have a makeup artist put makeup on my face for a team of about seven people watching me,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “Who the f-ck would fight as hard as we fought for that?"
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