Overview

• Hartshorne’s memoir alleges Cycle 9 contestants were blindfolded on arrival in Puerto Rico and forbidden to speak for days.
• She claims producers threatened participants with $5 million lawsuits and lifetime wage garnishments to enforce nondisclosure agreements.
• The book describes coercive tactics such as withholding food, sleep and bathroom access to erode contestant agency.
• Hartshorne recalls daily weigh-ins filmed by camera crews that intensified body-image pressures and notes her coming-out moment was never aired.
• Tyra Banks has publicly acknowledged the show’s flaws and will join an upcoming Netflix documentary reappraising its contestant wellbeing and cultural impact.