America's Next Top Model: Arrests, Injuries At NYC Auditions

NEW YORK — Three people were arrested and six others hurt Saturday after bedlam broke out while they waited to audition for "America's Next Top Model," police said.

Police didn't know what prompted the chaos involving hundreds of people outside the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan. The panic left the street outside the hotel littered with shoes and clothing, according to news reports.

"It was pretty scary," Jessica Paravati told WNYW-TV. She said she was caught up in a stampede after waiting on line overnight, hoping for a shot at stardom on the reality show.

Two women and a man were arrested on disorderly conduct charges, police said. Authorities also shut down the audition, saying it wasn't properly organized.

Four injured people declined treatment, while two others were taken to a hospital, the fire department said. Their conditions weren't immediately available.

The hotel's phone rang unanswered. Representatives for The CW Network, which airs the show, released a statement saying it was working with authorities investigating the incident.

The model competition is hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks, who also serves as its executive producer. The current season began March 4.

Her agent and publicist didn't immediately return telephone calls.

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Banks has said she created the show to counter stereotypes about beauty, and Saturday's auditions were open only to women no taller than 5-foot-7, which is shorter than the industry's conventions.

Tryouts also were being held this month around the country, including in Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles.

At least one would-be contestant in the New York throng said the tumult wouldn't stop her from trying again.

"This is my dream, so I'm not going to give up," Gifty Asika told WNBC-TV.

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On the Net:

http://www.cwtv.com/shows/americas-next-top-model11

Comments

[me again]

These folks cast this show in NYC regularly......they have never seen close to the numbers they experienced yesterday....not even remotely close. Due to the change in the height requirements and the economy, massive numbers of girls appeared......at that point what do you do.....

[concernvoter]

I hope they get American Next Top Model on the road to moving in the right direction.

[GabrielXL]

Someone please tell me what "...did not immediately respond to..." means.

Did you get a response or not? Can we expect a follow-up? WTF?

[sherrzinpa]

Meaning at the time of this article being written, no one was available for comment.

[GabrielXL]

Thanks sherrzinpa... This was really more of a rhetorical question than anything. I just think this phrase was made up by some spin-meister who was trying to be too clever to say exactly what you just said.

[SabrinaFair]

This is a whole lot of trouble to go through for a show that has yet to launch ONE successful model.

The show's only purpose is as a vehicle for it's star and executive producer, the vapid Tyra Banks. And every year, they get thousands of young girls, who don't know any better, or don't care, to line up for hours to appear on this silly program.

Lets hope that this incident will cause Tyra and her production team to begin to act responsibly, and start to care for the safety of these young women who are so desperate for fame that they will allow themselves to be used as pawns by Ms. Banks.

[missjabez]

I am hopelessly addicted to this show, and I am a little embarrassed to admit I will probably spend a good part of today watching reruns today on Oxygen. The show is worth watching just for Tyra. Love her.

But any young girl who actually thinks she's going to become a "Top Model" if she wins the competition is very naive. The show should be called "America's Next Catalog Model". I don't even know if there is such a thing as a Top Model. Most fashion magazines put celebrities on their covers, and a lot of people don't even read magazines anymore. I know I don't. When money got tight for me, I immediately stopped buying mags, and I have not missed them at all.

[topkatnc]

There have been alot of success from quite a few models who go on the win and those who did not win...Two have had their on show...One is a reporter for MTV news..Danyelle [ goes by Dani now ] is now a successful catalog model...If you had kept up with ATM you would know this...But I do agree with you about Tara..

[SabrinaFair]

Like I said, not ONE successful model has been launched from this show.

No one has heard of this Dani but you.

[topkatnc]

Lets don't forget Jaslene...She is a very successful catalog model also..

[montecarlo408]

Actually, Eva Marcille and Yaya Decosta have gone on to film and tv careers as well.

[missjabez]

Caridee English is hosting an upcoming reality show on Oxygen.

[dct1999]

Of course the show is a vehicle for Trya; it's her show. No one would have heard of these girls if they hadn't appeared on the show.

Some of you people are funny.

[Lotus19]

The show does try....and they continue to offer support to the girls after they have won, by including them in the following seasons.

I don't think it's true that the show's only purpose is to be a vehicle for Tyra Banks...I have seen where some of the girls who made almost made it to the end didn't seem to have a chance. But they went to London, or China, and got experience and more photos and the ride of a lfetime. I've actually learned some tips for photographs myself, about angles, and making sure the neck is visible that with that knowledge and a token I could get on the subway...but still.

And some of the episodes are hilarious...there was one with a workout and they dragged themselves to their ride and when they got to their destination, there was the workout guy again and this time they had to run up many flights of stairs. At the top..voila a photographer. Funny stuff.

[Furby]

Since when does an entertainment lawyer take the high road? If you're earning a decent living, it's thanks to the likes of entrepreneurs in the entertainment industry such as, yes, Ms Banks. The irony of a lawyer calling a star self-serving or vapid does not escape the reader.

[ishok]

How tall is Chis Brown and was she in NY yesterday?

[ishok]

How tall is Chris Brown and was in NY yesterday?

[MadamRoma]

Who is Chris Brown, a model?

[FEARTHETRUTH]

I think she means Rihanna.

[LeonBNJ]

Not all models are 6 foot tall and like toothpicks. For example there are a need for other than the 'normal' models for retail store ads.
Still such an outbreak of violence may reflect the despiration of our times for financial security and income by many, especially in ways many may find as an easy way to do so. They probably should have had some kind of screening in other cities to keep out the blatantly unqualified.

[sparkey]

Could this have been a publicity stunt? Sure sounds like it.

[gurukalehuru]

So, what happened? Was it a stampede, or a spontaneous mass catfight among hundreds of short, sexy women? Am I a bad person for hoping that somebody got video of this?

[Brooklyn49]

dailynews.com has an explanation of sorts and a video.

[AgnesBankhead]

in a time of global chaos, confrontation and meltdown, history will record that this midget model melee was the tipping point in our planet's devolution and destruction .........

[dotsthefunist]

We like to keep the models below 58 pounds because the camera ads ten pounds .

[realpolitic]

Wow, at a time when we are in two unending foreign wars and a major recession bordering on a depression, now there is chaos at a top model audition. What could be worse for the country?

[Nyah Molineaux]

As a person who is 5'11, why is she leaving tall women out. It is not my fault I and other women are taller than other women. I think it is a great part of me.

[Chillinout]

Me too. I am 6'4" and appreciate tall women.

However, she was opening it up to women that usually don't get a chance at being a model. To be a model you need to be at least 5'9" I think. So she was allowing women to compete to be a model that normally wouldn't get that chance.

[slicebagerooni]

It's not your fault, but you've had other auditions to attend. This audition was for everyone below the industry minimum. It's Tyra's new thing, she had to have a "plus" size model win, who, in reality was a size 4. Now she has to have a model win who is 5'6".

[missjabez]

Wow, really? I'm 5'6, so maybe I should try out! (joking).

[bosunj]

I'm 6'5" and my wife is 5'1". My girlfriend is 4'11". Had a western girlfriend in the 80's who was 6'2' but it was just a passing phase. Small women are, in my opinion, more attractive.

[kaaramel]

You have a wife and a girlfriend?

[deepfreezevideo]

Ummmmm, perhaps because this is the first time she is leaving tall women out?

[Merckx]

Are you that daft?

[Gusweyn]

The monkeys are at it again. Hide your children folks.

[postman606]

That's Tyra Banks? What the devil has she done to herself?

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

It's the heavy makeup... she has said that since her face "can" take a lot of makeup, a lot of makeup artists like to put a lot of makeup on her, which make her look very "drag".... Her eyes, lips and cheekbones are still in all the right places, they just drew her eyes really big around her natural eyes. She looked fine on the live Oprah show the other day.

[Solja]

She looks magnificent in that pic to me.