While Tyra made bank, “America’s Next Top Model” contestants were left for broke.
“We were not paid a penny for being on the show,” ANTM cycle nine alum and former plus-size model Sarah Hartshorne, 34, claimed to The Post.
“We were given a $38 daily cash stipend that we had to use to pay for our own food,” the Heath, Massachusetts native-turned-New Yorker, who was only 18 when she was cast on the show, added. “And they didn’t even give us a microwave to heat the food up.”
Hartshorne’s startling accusation comes amid a tsunami of tweets trashing Banks, 47 — who, according to Forbes, earned a whopping $30 million during a 12-month period as creator and host of the CW competition reality series — for allegedly building up a sizable fortune on the backs of young, underpaid aspiring models.
“The fact that girls on ‘ANTM’ were getting paid $40 an episode and Tyra and them judges were making BANK, is kinda sick,” tweeted an incensed fan of the canceled show — which followed fashion-world hopefuls as they fiercely rivaled one another in the name of supermodel superstardom.
“They need to make a #SurvivingTyraBanks series to expose her for the heinous s–t she did on #ANTM,” said another Banks critic, in part, suggesting the veteran CoverGirl endure a televised reckoning equivalent to the likes of accused sexual predator R. Kelly and Jeffery Epstein.
Banks, no stranger to intense internet ire, previously apologized for some of the “really off choices” she made during her stint as “ATNM” commander-in-chief.
Her social media mea culpa came in May 2020 after Twitter critics scolded her for chastising cycle six winner Danielle Evans, 36, who refused to undergo reconstructive dental work in order to become “more marketable” in mainstream media.
“Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you,” she wrote. “Looking back, those were some really off choices. Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending so much love and virtual hugs.”
Representatives for Banks did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for a comment related to her latest digital critique.
And although Hartshorne — who was forced to chop off her chest-length locks during her arbitrary “ANTM” beauty transformation — stood as one of the few contestants who actually liked their “Top Model” makeover, she didn’t like the alleged mistreatment she and her fellow castmates endured at the hands of the show’s production team.
“Production kept us in the dark about almost everything because they wanted to keep us on edge. Us being confused, tired, stressed, sleep-deprived and hungry just made for better TV,” she claimed. “We never knew where we were going at any given time. They would transport us from place to place in a windowless van and we’d have to face every situation totally clueless and out of sorts.”
Hartshorne and the other model wannabes were also reportedly barred from speaking to certain members of their families during filming.
“Production had us sign hundreds of contracts, including non-disclosure agreements,” she recalled. “And anyone that we wanted to talk to on the phone outside of the show had to sign the NDA, too. My grandpa didn’t want to sign it, so I couldn’t speak to him for the weeks we were shooting.”
Hartshorne was ultimately eliminated from the competition on the seventh episode of her cycle.
She subsequently quit modeling, and now works as a stand-up comedian.
“Being on ‘America’s Next Top Model’ didn’t really open doors in the modeling world for a lot of people,” she insisted, adding that Banks does not maintain contact with the show’s contestants or winners once production wraps. “It just gives aspiring models a glimpse of what to expect if we want to make it in the industry.”
And while she holds no ill-will toward Banks, Hartshorne is empathetic with the herd of models who were left traumatized by their “Top Model” experience.
“I personally don’t regret doing the show, but I know that a lot of people who do and I totally understand where they’re coming from,” she said. “At the time, most of us didn’t have the platform or the strength to speak up for ourselves or to leave the show altogether. But I hope this Twitter reckoning resonates with those who did us wrong.”