Adrianne Curry has publicly torn into Kylie Jenner’s Victoria’s Secret runway debut, declaring the reality star is not a real model and should not have been given the show’s most prestigious honor.
Curry, 44, the first-ever winner of America’s Next Top Model, launched her attack during a livestream after Jenner, 29, walked the Victoria’s Secret show on Sunday evening wearing a record-breaking $50 million Fantasy Bra. The inaugural ANTM champion worked with major brands including Ed Hardy, Von Dutch and Marie Claire during her own modeling career, and she made clear she sees Jenner’s casting as a betrayal of traditional model standards.
“Everything is a f***ing virtue signal or ‘who’s the biggest influencer’,” Curry said during the stream.
“I’m sorry, nothing against Kylie Jenner, [but] you’re not a f***ing model. You don’t have a model’s body. I don’t know why they put her in the mega bra. That’s for the belle of the ball. That is for the top Victoria’s Secret Angel. That is like winning homecoming queen, and they just give it to Jenner.”
Curry then broadened her criticism to the brand itself, branding Victoria’s Secret “a joke.”
The bra at the center of the dispute took 15 craftspeople more than 1,000 hours to construct, according to Vogue. It contains 4,410 natural diamonds anchored by a 75.54-carat radiant-cut Fancy Vivid yellow diamond at its center, making it the most expensive Fantasy Bra ever to appear on the VS runway. Luxury jewelry house Jacob & Co designed the piece, and founder Jacob Arabo addressed the technical challenges of fitting it to Jenner’s frame.
“Even with exact measurements, what looks good on paper doesn’t always work the same way on the body,” Arabo explained. “Every curve, every diamond, and every piece of gold had to be carefully placed so the bra would be both beautiful and comfortable.”
Victoria’s Secret creative director Adam Selman defended the choice of Jenner in an interview with Vogue, framing it as a deliberate strategy to reach beyond traditional fashion audiences.
“Kylie really extends beyond fashion, beyond culture, beyond TV, beyond one singular thing,” Selman told the magazine. “That’s the exact same thing that we do. Like, the show is so big, it’s true entertainment, and I think that she is a great catalyst for that.”
He continued: “I think it’s an interesting pairing that we’re giving the fans: we’re giving them what they want with this amazing Fantasy Bra, and we’re going to put it on an unexpected talent who has a massive following and massive cultural impact. I think it’s fun. I think it’s really joyful, and I think it’s fun to celebrate in a different way that people aren’t going to expect.”
Jenner has not publicly responded to Curry’s criticism. She appeared thrilled with the honor in her own social media posts, sharing a photograph of herself in the diamond and gold bra to Instagram with the caption “best day ever.” Her boyfriend Timothée Chalamet watched from the audience alongside her mother Kris Jenner, smiling broadly and bursting into applause as she walked the runway in a sheer mini skirt over silver underpants, clear heels and large white angel wings.