Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Chapter 2: What was Keenyah Hill's experience like on America's Next Top Model?
Separate the two, meaning? Of like this, watching the previous cycles and being like, okay, this is, I get they're making a TV show here. Also, I'm going to like. Yeah, you don't see a lot of that from reality TV people. It's like a lot of it is. you know, they're the main character in their story and this is their moment.
And especially nowadays, a lot of people go and it's just like, you know, you see the success other people have, but you forget about all the people who, it didn't work out for them. And they come in with these expectations that this is going to happen for me, this is going to happen for me.
And then when it doesn't happen for them, you know, it's easy to start pointing fingers and things like that. But to Natalie's point, you seem like, even at such a young age, a really healthy person outlook on what this opportunity was and what it wasn't. Oh, well, I appreciate you guys saying that. That's pretty cool. For one, I was obsessed with the modeling industry before getting into it.
Chapter 3: How did Keenyah feel watching the Netflix documentary about ANTM?
I know a lot of the other girls who were maybe not like, who did not go into, a lot of the girls stopped completely after doing the show. I was like, no, I have to move to New York now. I have to like pursue this for real now. And so I just had a different respect for the modeling industry in general. I just view that as like my golden ticket in. And plus, I'm a very competitive person.
So I was watching the show. I used to get just chills and goosebumps when he used to come on. I just felt like I need to get on this show. I can do this. So that's that's really where that came from. But like at the same time, not expecting to be like babied. I knew that it was TV. Like, I don't know. I just like a part of me like knew that and understood it.
It was just really fun to be on it and not knowing what you're going to do for the day. You're with all of these other women. It felt like a summer camp. It was so much fun. Were there moments during filming where you had to remind yourself or remind the other women, like, this is a TV show. Don't take it too serious. It's going to be okay. No, because...
To be honest, when girls get all freaked out, like there is a degree, I guess this is maybe just my competitive nature, but like there's a degree where you're like, well, like you do your thing. And you know, hey, that's you. And then also when girls go home, I think this was actually something that contributed to...
Tyra's outburst was that one of the producers or editors told us that for our season, they selected very friendly girls who would have a different overall narrative. And so many of the girls would feel so bad when other girls would get eliminated. And I would see this and it would be like... that just made you one step closer to winning.
Like, I don't understand why you guys are sad about this, but I don't know. I just think I have a very competitive nature. I get what you're saying. I mean, again, not to, but like, most reality TV shows have some kind of elimination and not, yeah, it's kind of like, see ya, you know, like. Sorry. Yeah. You know, cause it's, it's, it is nerve wracking. It is very much so because you feel like,
You know, at that time, I did not realize that it was not going to be the most helpful thing for my career. Once I moved to New York, because reality TV was not revered how it is now, agencies were viewing us as reality stars. So I moved to New York. I lost a bunch of weight because I was like, well... You guys are not about to. I was like, I now got to be ready for the real modeling industry.
Yeah, it's just they. So this is how it is in the modeling industry. OK, in order to get signed to a modeling agency, you either need to be a completely fresh face or you need to be experienced and have traveled and have been published in magazines and your portfolio was built out. We were neither. We were household names, so we weren't this fresh face. And we had zero real experience.
I couldn't use my actual portfolio from Top Model because the images were like posing on an alligator. You know, crazy heavy makeup. It was just not indicative of the real modeling industry. At all. There were a couple of things where you could see where maybe Tyra was like, oh, the modeling industry is like this.
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Chapter 4: What challenges did Keenyah face after leaving the show?
I'm appreciative that the words came out, you know? The thing about it is that we were so young, especially for me to be like a fully grown woman now. We were so young and I would be so careful about... saying damaging things if you're coming on as like a mentor guide to people. And so now I'm a post coach and a mentor to so many models.
I've been doing this for 11 years now and I have to be very realistic with them because a lot of people want to go do Victoria's Secret and be in Vogue and do all of this stuff.
high fashion editorial stuff but there are such strict requirements for that and I have to be very careful with breaking the reality to somebody that maybe that's not the market for you you know because when we try to get into the modeling industry we can't make the industry concede to what like you can't come in and say I'm going to be the first 5-4 model to walk for Gucci you can't
You can't claim that yourself. Like you have to be chosen and their standards and requirements. And I have to be careful. And that's my part of my responsibility as like a mentor and a guide to these young models and then show them, hey, you can actually make a lot more money over here. But there's a way to do it. You know what I mean?
But I think that because of the time period of the show, it just wasn't even on their minds. Yeah. who's watching, how we're affected. It just wasn't even. Because I do feel like they used the, like, this is what the real modeling industry is like, so we're going to treat you the same way as, like, they're, you know.
It's like Tyra would kind of always fall back and be like, this is what it's like in the real world. This is what it's like. This is what they'll say to you. Yeah. Right, which is, honestly, that part really did prepare me, which is why I went and lost, like, weight before even going to New York, but I want people to understand like I'm five foot 11.
And at the time I was about 130 pounds, which is really, really slim, like very, very slim. I was maybe between, I was probably like a size four between a two and a four. And so, which I'm not too far from now. And it's like, I don't know. They did kind of prep us. But again, it all comes back to the show and TV.
What was your relationship like with your body before you went on America's Next Top Model? That's really interesting, actually. So I grew up here in L.A. and honestly, I was made fun of pretty badly for not being curvy and thick and for being really slim. I didn't really have I mean, I had glasses, braces like most models kind of start off kind of awkward.
And I was always made fun of for being too skinny. Right. So by the time I went on to the show, I was like, well, this is where I belong. This is perfect. And then to now all of a sudden, like, you know, hey, you are not skinny. It's like, okay. So it was a shock and it was confusing. But yeah, it was just something that you... Do you feel like their commentary...
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Chapter 5: How does Keenyah help young models find their light?
And then for cycle four, I was watching Ricky Lake. Are you guys old enough to remember Ricky Lake? I'm 45. No? Okay. Hey, what's going on? I got you. I was watching the commercials and Tyra was like, if you think you've got what it takes, you know, in LA, you can come in person and audition for America's Next Top Model. And that's the one I went to and made it all the way through.
Do you remember your first time meeting Tyra? Yeah, for sure. I thought I was going to pass out and die. I was so excited to see her. I was so young.
Chapter 6: How has Keenyah's perspective on the modeling industry evolved?
I hadn't really ever seen anyone who had really been on TV or somebody that I really admired. And they like to surprise us with Tyra. They like to... Just let it be a curveball. And so every time it was just really shocking. But it was it was nice. Was she at that audition in person? No, no. Just the producers or casting directors.
Chapter 7: What impact did Tyra Banks have on Keenyah's career?
Yeah. Watching the documentary back, you said you watched it with your support system. You had your mom there. What was that like to kind of sit by your mom and have her watch this with you? Oh, it was amazing having her watch it with me because she's she's just always been like my biggest supporter and has always believed in me.
Even for me moving to New York at 19, just bright eyed and bushy tailed and broke and like not knowing how I was going to make make it at all. She's just always been there for me. She's just amazing. So it was really nice. It was nice. Was it when the show aired and she watched it, was there a little bit of like Mama Bear energy where she was kind of like, wait a minute?
Or was she also kind of just, I guess this is what TV is? I don't know. Well, we watched America's Next Top Model. We had watch parties every week because this is when, this is before streaming. Yeah. All these conversations I have now just age the hell out of me. It's crazy. So we had to actually wait for the, you know, stuff to come out.
And I would just have a bunch of friends over and we'd watch it collectively. And it was awesome. And yeah, She already knew when I came home because she asked me when I came home from filming, like, did you win? What happened? And I, you know, of course told her I didn't win. And so it wasn't like it was a surprise and they felt for me, but they also kind of like understood like, yeah.
But we also saw live for the first time how much editing does, you know, even in the clip of me posing as, as the elephant, you know,
that's what's really interesting about now that we're in 2026 we all edit and we know what technology and ai and all this stuff looks like and so even when you watch the show back now if you were to watch it you can tell where they're cutting and splicing sentences you can tell when you visually look at it it's like my stomach didn't really do that they they
did something and made it, like, they edited that. It's just so bizarre to see, like, now... Yeah, you're right. Back then, we just had no idea. We took it all for granted. We just took it all in. There's like a voiceover.
A lot of times they're making TV, they're interviewing you, you're just talking, and then they will show a scene, you hear a voice, no one's speaking, but those two have no actual correlation in reality, but they use it together, and it's so easy to To hear that. And to change context and the meaning and things like that. You're right. Now everyone's a bit of an editor.
Everyone understands TikTok and things like that. So yeah, you're a little bit more hyper aware. Even after filming and After living the experience of doing America's Next Top Model and then watching how they edited it, I could not watch the other seasons.
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