Jeana Turner Accuses ‘ANTM’ Of Emotional Manipulation After Makeover

An “America’s Next Top Model” alum is speaking out years after her controversial makeover aired, and she’s not holding back. Jeana Turner, who appeared on Cycle 24 of the long-running reality competition, claims she was misled by production before receiving the infamous head-shaving transformation that shocked viewers in 2018. Her comments come on the heels of Netflix’s new docuseries examining the show’s legacy, which she says only begins to reveal what contestants actually experienced behind the scenes.

“America’s Next Top Model” alum Turner says she was misled by Tyra Banks and her team before receiving her infamous head shave makeover in 2018.

Turner spoke with the Daily Mail days after the release of the Netflix docuseries “Reality Check,” described by the streamer as Banks and a collection of “models, judges and insiders” reminiscing on “the reality show’s complicated legacy.” She said that after watching the three-episode limited series, she felt it was only “scratching the surface” of the “harsh treatment” and “emotional manipulation” the hundreds of models who populated the show’s casts had to endure.

The Nashville-born model was 24 when she appeared on 15 episodes of the hit reality series during its 24th season in 2018.

Turner, who was diagnosed with alopecia when she was 10, was involved in a number of uncomfortable sequences on the show, most infamously, on the third episode of the season, titled “Beauty Is a Trademark.”

In the episode, which aired in January of 2018, Banks and producers ordered Turner to shave her head in front of the cameras and model bald during a makeover-themed segment. (She had worn wigs on the runway prior to that point in her career.) “What I was told was, ‘We know that you lost your hair during your childhood so we’re going to replace the hair that you lost,'” Turner told the Daily Mail.

Turner, who presides over a beauty business Haus Of Anomali (which offers wigs, hair pieces and extensions), said she originally believed she would be receiving a high-end wig as part of the makeover. “For me, I’m thinking OK that’s exciting because this is ‘America’s Next Top Model’ and I’ve struggled with wigs my entire life,” she said. “I’ve struggled for so long to restore the hair that I initially lost as a child; the texture, the color, everything.”

Turner said she was confident she was working with industry professionals capable of delivering the transformation she envisioned. “So I’m like if there’s anyone that can do it, its Tyra Banks and her makeover team, of course, so I got really excited,” she said.

But according to Turner, the moment quickly took an unexpected turn when stylist Law Roach revealed what was actually planned. “They were like ‘Hey Jeana, you know how we told you we were giving you a wig?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ He said ‘Psych,’ and he takes out a razor, a regular razor that you would shave your armpits with, and was like ‘Psych, we’re BIC-ing your head!'”

Turner described freezing as she processed what was happening while cameras continued rolling. “I’m one of those people that is like so hyper aware of cameras and who’s looking at all times,” she said. “I didn’t want to, at the time, put myself in a vulnerable position that kind of exposed how raw I actually felt at that time. I was just trying to gather my own thoughts, and just like figure it out, so I kind of just froze. I think I was maybe in a shock a little bit.”

Turner said her feelings shifted to anger as she realized how different reality was from what she believed had been promised. “They told me I was getting hair to now that they’re taking my wig off and also shaving what little bit of hair that I have,” said Turner, explaining that the hair being removed carried deep personal meaning because she had been growing it since childhood.

Turner also reflected more broadly on how contestants’ experiences often extended beyond what viewers saw on television. “What people saw was a version of events, but it wasn’t necessarily the whole picture,” Turner said. “At the end of the day, across 24 cycles, I think there’s been 400 and something contestants, you know that’s 400 and something different experiences from that show, and some a bit more traumatic than others. But for many of us, the impact went beyond what made it to air.”

Turner also shared her perspective on the larger conversation surrounding the franchise, suggesting accountability has been lacking. “My biggest takeaway was that they’re still only scratching the surface of what truly happened. The documentary definitely is opening the door and opening people’s eyes to some of the harsh treatment that happened, which I definitely appreciate. But I still don’t think it fully captures how deep the emotional manipulation and the power dynamics really went.”

She added, “I think that for so long there hasn’t been the pressure to own up to their shortcomings and their wrongdoings that they’ve done, so I think that that’s kind of ingrained in their brain format, to avoid accountability at this point.”

Turner is scheduled to appear in the upcoming E! special “Dirty Rotten Scandals: ANTM,” which she has said is important for sharing contestants’ perspectives. “That’s exactly why projects like ‘Dirty Rotten Scandals’ exist,” Turner previously said on Instagram of the special, which is slated to air on March 11. “Because survivors don’t get to turn their trauma into a polished redemption arc.”

“Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model” is currently streaming on Netflix.