I won America’s Next Top Model – there’s a prize money catch no one tells you about & fans always ask the same question
A WOMAN who won season four of America’s Next Top Model has revealed what really happened after the contest finished.
Although the show, hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks finished years ago, it is still a cult-classic among fashion lovers.
Taking to TikTok, Naima Mora, who starred in the show at the age of 20, shared her experience in a six minute long video, answering the questions fans have been dying to know.
“Here is all the tea that you wanted to know on my experience winning America’s Next Top Model,” she began.
The first question everyone wanted to know the answer to was whether she really got the money and contracts she was promised on the show.
Naima, now 39, revealed that she did indeed get everything – but it wasn’t quite as it seemed.
She was set to win $100,000 from the show but in fact, she brought home a lot less.
“But what no one tells you about winning a reality television competition is that there is a little thing called prize tax,” the model explained.
“And prize tax is 40 to 60% of your winnings.
“So that hundred thousand dollars at the end of the day, after taxes, was a little less than half of that. And, um, that was a really hard thing to learn because I was so young at the time.”
She revealed she did get her CoverGirl contract and really enjoyed working for the brand
However, the contract she bagged with Ford Models was a different story – claiming it was ‘so, so challenging.’
“At the time, fashion was very strict on maintaining weight for models,” she said.
“After the show, I gained a lot of weight, and Ford Models was very upset about it. It put a lot of pressure on me and it was very challenging.
“Now, I loved my mohawk, I loved it, and it is one of the ways that I have influenced pop culture, just being myself, so, Ford Models didn’t really like it. They didn’t like my haircut, they didn’t like that I gained weight, they put a lot of pressure on me to grow out my hair and be very, very thin, like, a size 0.”
She went on to call herself a ‘rebel’ in her early twenties, which she claimed ‘disappointed’ Ford Models as she didn’t want to coform to their standards.
Naima said she loved her time on the show but wouldn’t do another reality show again.
The clip posted to her TikTok account @naimamora has since gone viral with over 790k views and 49k likes.
People were stunned by the amount she actually won and many said she was still their favourite winner of the show.
One person wrote: “40-60% of your winnings?!? WHAT.”
Another commented: “I get taxing prize money. but why so much? I thought if you win 100k you still walk away with AT LEAST 80K.”
“Still definitely one of my top 10 winners of ANTM,” penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: “Appreciate your insight and honesty! Wishing you nothing but happiness and success!”
“You haven’t aged at all!! still insanely beautiful,” claimed a fifth.
Someone else added: “40-60% ?????? That should be illegal!!!!”
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