Source: Prince Williams/Taylor Hill / Getty
Eva Marcille and Winnie Harlow have a few things in common. They’re both models, they both competed on America’s Next Top Model, and when they were on the show, they were sort of known for being less than endearing figures. Both women were pretty much the villains of their seasons.
But what they have in common stops there, because on Watch What Happens Live this week, Marcille made clear that dissing ANTM, a show that helped launch her career after she won Season 3 in 2004, is not something she would do, unlike Harlow.
In case you forgot, earlier this year, Harlow told Cohen on WWHL that the competition show doesn’t really “do anything” to propel the models, but rather, just places them on reality TV.
“So I really started after the show because that really didn’t do anything for my career, which it doesn’t do anything for any model’s career, realistically,” she said. “But a photographer from London hit me up. Major photographer, Nick Knight, and he was like, ‘Hey, I’ve seen your photos online and I want to do a shoot with you.’ It went viral, I got campaigns from there and it hasn’t stopped since.”
Marcille didn’t hold her tongue when it came to saying Harlow’s comments were “wack” — and throwing a little shade.
“You know what? It amazes me that people get opportunities and they totally forget who gave them those opportunities,” she said. “Winnie Harlow is a beautiful girl, but let’s be clear: we know her because of Top Model. The world knows her, Drake knows her, Wiz Khalifa knows her because of Top Model. So to diss Tyra, who gave everyone this huge platform, I think it’s really wack.”
Last week while appearing on WWHL too, show creator Tyra Banks finally got to speak on the comments Harlow made, which were probably pretty hurtful to her.
“Did she say that?” Banks asked. “I discovered her on Instagram. Yeah. C’mon, I discovered her on Instagram and she’s on this show, so what do you think that means?”
“I have nothing but love for my girls, and my girls come from so many walks of life and so much pain and so much hardship and so much story,” she continued. “And a lot of the times, when people express themselves in certain ways, there’s a reason. I will respect her confidentiality and her life. I have to give love to her because they’re all my babies. Even the ones that act out are still my babies.”
So in conclusion, even if you think the show doesn’t necessarily make its participants into “top” models per se, people are never going to like when folks bite the hand that fed them. Just sayin’.
