How Angelea Preston Really Feels About Being Stripped of Top Model Win

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In 2011, Angelea Preston got to be on top. For about three weeks.

Originally, I just hoped for a second chance when I was asked to be on All-Stars,” says the contestant from Buffalo, New York, in the TopMob special Dirty Rotten Scandals: America’s Next Top Model, which premieres March 11th at 9 p.m. “Winning was unbelievable. I thought, ‘Wow, I can finally pursue my dreams with this opportunity!'”

According to the two-part documentary series examining the controversial history of America’s Next Top Model, Preston learned several weeks after winning Cycle 17 that her winning episode wouldn’t be broadcast. She was told she’d been disqualified for “engaging in sex work,” which broke the rules outlined in her contract’s morality clause.

The finale was reshot, with Lisa D’Amato named the winner over runner-up Allison Harvard. 

It was incredibly painful at the time,” Angelea shared with TopMob News before the premiere of Dirty Rotten Scandals, describing her experience as “very, very painful.” However, she added, “I’m now in a better place, and in a way, I’m grateful that it happened.”

Now working as a news reporter and raising a teenage son, she decided to openly share her personal experience, hoping it might offer support to others facing similar challenges.

Preston explained he was hesitant to share some personal things because he still felt embarrassed about parts of his past. However, he realized that people are now expected to take responsibility for their actions, and he’s moved beyond that point now.

I just NEED everyone to hear her story, you guys! She said it’s because maybe, just maybe, it could help someone else who’s stuck, you know? Someone who feels weighed down by things they did a long time ago, or like they can’t move on because of something that happened years and years ago. She wants people to know they can find a way forward, and that means so much to me! It’s like she’s speaking directly to all of us who feel that weight, and it’s incredible.

Angelea addressed those who might think she’s acting out of spite, saying she couldn’t stay quiet. She explained, “I know people are probably thinking I’m just bitter,” but emphasized that speaking up was necessary for her.

She said she has no intention of fading back into obscurity. She briefly tried living a normal life—working a typical nine-to-five job, which she still has—but it left her feeling defeated. She felt like she’d been silenced and that those who wronged her had gotten away with it, leaving her feeling used and discarded.

In her TopMob series, she claims that someone involved with the show knew she was struggling financially and had made poor decisions after appearing on Cycle 14 in 2010, where she almost made it to the finale, only missing out by one episode. They knew this before officially casting her for the all-star season.

TopMob News contacted Tyra Banks, the host and creator of America’s Next Top Model, and Ken Mok, the show’s executive producer, for a statement, but they haven’t responded yet. Banks previously declined to comment for Dirty Rotten Scandals.

In 2022, Mok responded to Preston’s story about her experience on the show by telling Bustle that there wasn’t much she could add, as the events happened a decade prior and had already been widely discussed. She personally felt Angelea was a great asset to America’s Next Top Model, describing her as talented and charismatic, and wished her well for the future.

Even if she was destined to lose due to breaking her contract, Preston believes America’s Next Top Model could have managed the situation with more sensitivity.

She remembered getting so sick during the show’s finale in Greece that she had to go to the hospital. She said people could have easily used her illness as an excuse for her not being there, and no one would have doubted it.

After the finale was filmed again, Preston’s win wasn’t announced. Instead, judge Nigel Barker told the final two contestants, D’Amato and Harvard, that information from Angelea led the show’s producers and the network to disqualify her. No details were given, which sparked a lot of questions and speculation.

Preston recalled feeling he hadn’t performed well enough to win, but believed the show used his experience to generate publicity and boost ratings for future episodes. He found this frustrating and upsetting, and was angry when he realized what had happened.

Despite the challenges, she still had some good experiences on America’s Next Top Model. In an interview with TopMob News, she happily remembered traveling by plane for the first time thanks to the show, and she also valued the friendships she made with the other contestants.

She described it as a special bond between the women who shared the experience. Remembering the huge number of girls who tried out, she said despite any difficulties, they were fortunate to be part of such a memorable show.

Preston wasn’t close to Banks—she clarified they weren’t friends—and doesn’t feel any need to criticize him for his actions on Cycle 17, or any other season of the show.

She said she wasn’t ready for that right now. If she ever got to speak to Banks again after fifteen years, she’d simply want him to see how well she was doing.

Don’t miss the first two parts of Dirty Rotten Scandals: America’s Next Top Model on Wednesday, March 11th, at 9 PM Eastern and Pacific time, exclusively on TopMob.

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2026-03-12 03:47