The Runway From HELL on America's Next Top Model - Photographer Reacts 

Next weeks shoot on ANTM: The girls hold a live bomb and only have ten seconds to walk the runway and back so we can diffuse it in time.

Former performer who handled fire multiple times here: This challenge was a mess. Handling fire in your hands/walking/balancing on heels/look fierce/not fall/etc. requires a certain level of comfort AND discomfort with fire (because you never want to get comfortable with fire). Responsible fire performers develop an often complicated relationship with fire. They know the risks, most will tell you that burns are likely unavoidable, and they develop respect for the flame. Every show requires a degree of chaos mitigation. Safety best practices, elimination of certain variables- the works. I once saw two variables go wrong (stage tootoo and some random candle that had been placed onstage for effect) and witnessed just how fast fire will remind you who the boss in the equation is. The variables here are mind boggling: Afraid young aspiring models who have been given no time to digest what they're about to be involved in. They're also being told to focus on trivialities, which keeps them from truly focusing on their own safety. Add bursting flames, two flanks of fire on both sides of the runway, high heels. A big issue here is the "fire in your hands" concept, which does not seem that bad at first, but what the flaw here is that it takes focus from keeping balanced on those high heels, with the waiting fire on the sides of the runway. Also, when you're managing something like this well enough, the adrenaline may kick in. What if one of these girls decided to pose at the end of the runway and instinctively put her hand on her head/hip. Now multiply this by the number of contestants doing this. I guarantee the fire professional in the back was regretting his decision to be involved in this shoot and they forgot to run this concept by the lawyers.

Former fire performer here and I can confirm it this is stupid and dangerous as hell! Fear and hairspray is your worst enemy here. The fire doesn’t even need to touch you to do damage, I’ve had blisters on my hands just from the heat. There’s a reason you have to train for stuff like this! They must have the public liability insurance of the century 😂

As a nurse and someone who had had to change 3rd degree burns... this was irresponsible, dangerous and nonsensical. If I was one of those models, I would have ran away from the fire yella

After watching Jessica's ANTM videos I am now convinced that guy from Saw movies was real and ANTM was his side project, like a training ground for the real challenges in the movies.

The one girl saying "what is the point of this" is all of us lol

I think the real problem here is consent. I'm sure they were taking every precaution because nobody in that production team wanted the girls to get hurt (even if only for legal reasons). But one thing is to come up with this runway concept and then have models who are willing to do this apply for the job, and it is another to force contestants of a reality tv show to go through this without actual real consent. Most of them probably only agreed because they were scared of being eliminated and not because they actually wanted to participate.

This show was literally Fear Factor but make it “fashion”.

I'm certainly not a fire expert, but I do have quite a bit of experience with it. I keep looking at that runway, because it looks like it's made of metal. The girls are wearing high heels on a smooth metal runway. With the fire right at the sides, the runway would have reached ridiculously high temperatures, and if the girls fell on it... INSTANT second-degree burns everywhere their skin touched.

Jessica: is this even safe? Me: the answer is always no

The clothing they were modelling wasn't even remotely connected with the fire theme. But it was admittedly less terrifying and dangerous than I expected it to be.

That cardigan looks so good! That color looks really pretty on you!!

It does look like they've taken a lot of safety precautions but the key things when performing with fire are preparation and practice. You can't just give someone flammable gloves and send them on their way. You move your hands without thinking all the time, it would have been so easy for one of the girls to not think for a second and catch the hem of their dress on fire, or get it too close to their hair. There should have been at least one dry run, with a lot of instruction around how to hold their hands, and they should have been given plenty of time to practice lighting the gloves, get comfortable with the feeling of it burning and how the flame responds to movement, and how to quickly and safely extinguish it. I'm going to give ANTM the benefit of the doubt, and assume there was a lot of prep that went into this runway that we didn't see, and it's just amped up for drama, but it's so irresponsible. Fire is really, really dangerous, and even professionals can and have seriously injured themselves because of a momentary mistake.

"Is this even safe" -The producers of ANTM,never.

As a grill owner and possessor of common sense, I can confirm that this is in fact DANGEROUS AS ALL HELL

I can't believe they actually did this... Did they even care about the models and/or clothes?!?!?

I have been a fire performer for nearly 20 years, and while this COULD have been done safely it's not something that amateurs should have ever attempted for so many reasons. The biggest worries for me are 1) the flammability of the clothes the models are wearing as well as their beauty/hair products, 2) If ANYTHING synthetic was used, its melting point and possible skin adhesion, 3) timing of the flame jets and their danger area from the radiant heat, and finally 4) the runway itself seems to have been turned into, as you said, a giant griddle which would cause some SERIOUS damage the models if they fell (assuming it was not insulated properly). Ironically, the least worrisome part to me was the hands on fire, as the fuel they used seemed to be a cool burning and easily extinguished flame with what appeared to be appropriate insulated gloves underneath. I'm really hope that this was just shot in such a way as to give it a good shock value without it having been as dangerous. The amount of safety precautions they should have had in place around that runway, from catch people to people standing by with fire suppressants, etc. I would not have thought that they would have been able to keep them out of the shot constantly. Perhaps that's why they only used one or two shots.

Professional Fire Performer Here 🔥 This is so not safe and honestly illegal. You are not allowed to handle fire in a performer/professional environment without public liability insurance. Within that insurance, it states you have to be 2m away from anyone else, you can't have any hairspray or flammable items of clothing on you. It's honestly so dangerous. One slip, and these poor inexperienced models could have had a serious injury or the audience. They clearly hadn't filled out a personal risk assessment form which is required for every venue so it's all round not OK. This basically tells the venue/handlers what to do in the case of emergency. It's lucky noone got hurt as they didn't even have full safety training from a professional. They probably didn't even tell them the nearest fire exit 🙈

I spent 1.5 years designing fire fighting uniforms. Seeing fire related injuries is absolutely no joke. Seeing a burned up uniform after a firefighter spends time in 1,100 degree Fahrenheit house fire is terrifying. It’s an extremely well-regulated and engineering-heavy industry. Some fabrics, like polyester, will melt to your skin and those gloves look an awful lot like poly. Way to go ANTM 🤦🏻‍♀️

OK Jessica we see you.💅🏿 Very much serving an immaculate outfit 💚💚

I am surprised that they didn't make them wear long dresses

I specifically remember, they made the girls who did bad on the challenge walk all the way back to their apartment / hotel which was so fxcked up

Hey there, I'm a fire spinner/fire dancer! Here's some basic fire safety tips- Don't use any hair spray or bug spray. Keep hair together with no strays, wet it if need be. Clothing should be natural material- synthetic material won't catch fire, it will melt and cause burns. Thick woven fabric, like denim, is ideal. They were doing a version of fire palms, which are notably used in belly dance. Normally there's a wick that's doused and lit on fire, they models had some weird glove thing, which I haven't seen before. Hopefully they were told not to put their hands near their face if they did have on hair spray, but still, wind and other factors, it's not a smart idea. Why could they use other, non-flammable hair products? Also, you usually want things like fire palms in a dark area, as it's a relatively small flame. Having so much fire going on around and behind the models basically made them look like they weren't on fire, it's funny.

How can you focus on the clothes with all this fire? 🔥 😂

Omg you look gorgeous in that cardigan!!!

can we just talk about how gorgeous that top is on Jessica? that shade of green looks amazing.

Idk if you’ve already reacted to this, but there was one where they made the models walk down vertical runway from a six story building while still looking like a model 😂. You should totally react to this if you haven’t already.

This is where the inspiration for the song, “THIS GiRL IS ON FIREEE” came from.

I really thought at this point you would’ve run out of antm episodes to cover, but apparently this show is a never ending well of careless. However, the more episodes you cover the fancier you get with your outfits and i am living ❤️ you look so cute!

in this same season the poor girls have to dance with lit flames on their tea trays and belly dance with them... they really had an arsonist on production this time

I'm not sure if this cycle has been done, but cycle 8 of ATNM, the girls had to do a nude photo shoot with ice cream and one of the girls Cassandra got frostbite from holding ice cream in her hand for so long. She didn't know her hand went numb, she had to go to hospital to get it checked out.

I really hope you end up covering the one where the model is angry and shouting while outside of a go-see. I remember that on tv as a preteen 👀(Season 8, Episode 10)

Real talk though, when Brittani lit her hands and did that little pose before her walk at 8:42, that was when I was like "okay yeah, she's going to end up winning this season".

I found you like 2 days ago and have been binge watching you since then like crazy! Your videos soooo entertaining.✨love youuu

I don't know why at this point I'm always shocked when another one of these videos comes out

Did anyone notice her cat at the beginning sitting in front of the camera? 😂

I just need to say Jessica, your outfit and jewelry look gorgeous. I love the way you always look so effortlessly stylish.

The fire in the hands would have had a MUCH huger impact if the runway was a normal one. Like dim the lights down in the room more and put up candle light in the room (artificial or real doesn’t matter) The models would have looked like they were doing magic and like carrying the light around in the room as they modeled. Also I would have done one hand only.

My husband has to wear FR clothes for his job, and those only protect him from a flash fire. There is no way these girls are safe. I feel like Tyra is just making a mockery of modeling.

Was anyone else having a bad day and saw this and just found Jessica's humor healing, laughter is truly a cure, thank you for being you, Jessica!

What kind of katniss everdeen the girl on fire runway is this??

He really just basically told them "if you fall on the runway and catch on fire, put the fire out with your hands."

I work with fire and it looks like they took some precautions - all the long-haired girls had updos, for example. Hairspray is bad though. And what they really needed was a proper safety instruction.

Your shirt is giving me Fran from The Nanny vibes!!

Girl that sweater was made for you 😍😍😍😍 looks amazinnnggggg

Hi Jessica! If you're interested in reacting to other extreme runways I have a recommendation. In Cycle 15 there was a fashion show where the runway actually jutted out from the top of a building. It looks terrifying and pointless because I still don't undestand how anyone would actually be able to see the clothes.

You should react to the time they had to walk down the side of a building, this one was one one the craziest I saw on this show ! I love your videos and your reactions !

This seems wildly unsafe. I don’t deal with fire but doing live shows you would never have light boxes unmarked or too near to performers due to chance of injury or burns. Fire right next to you?! HELL NO

I can’t stop focusing on your gorgeous top omg omg omg 😱 Giving me 90’s vibes

Oh my god! You´re top/sweater, whatever it is, looks like something Fran Drescher from The nanny would wear, I love it!

I wonder if any of the models suffer from PTSD from being on that show.

EMT and safety officer here. Heck no! I can't begin to count the violations. This is exactly why OSHA is a thing. I also have a friend who is a movie stuntman who I am certain would have lots of feelings and thoughts about this. He had years of training to work with fire. Just saying.

Please don't stop making these videos, Jessica

I am just here for Jessica. She cracks me up big time. Queen of humor and puns!! ❤️

During Hannah’s little interview where she talks about third degree burns you can see a gel-like substance on the inside of the gloves and I think on her hands. My guess is they used some kind of fire gel, which stunt people actually use when performing fire stunts. If that is the case, chances are the girl’s hands didn’t even warm before the fire was put out. There are also some shots where you can see them keeping their hands up/level as they wait. This is something else that leads me to believe they used fire gel, as they’d probably have been told to keep their hands like that so the gel would stay even/wouldn’t just pool into the fingers. My hope would be that the gloves were made from PBI fabric, which is fireproof. The only thing I’m not sure about is those little disks they put the fuel on. So at least they used some kind of protection. There were still a bunch of hazards present, though.

As an ex fire fighter I was ready to rip into this and I still would not say this is safe but they do seem to have taken some precautions. They really played it up in the before shots, but once the girls were on the runway it looked similar to pyrotechnics used on stage at concerts. The outfits were tight fitting so there was little risk to one catching on fire. However, and a big however, these girls are not trained to be doing stunts with fire. It seems as if this was sprung on them and they were nervous about it. The last person i want in a vulnerable position with fire is someone who is nervous, especially with the fire on their hands. Maybe there was more training that we didn't see but I doubt it with their shoot schedule. So 0/10 would not recommend for inexperienced, nervous models with no training and protection.

What a very pretty setting! Pretty green sweater, peach flowers and pink-ish background. Very nice!

Your outfit is something 😍 I'm so in love with this green sweater😍😍😍

Jessica, I love your content! I love watching your videos as I work from home. You are so talented and such a beautiful person inside and out. You inspire me as a beginner photographer. Sending love from your Alaskan Subscriber 😊

I just gotta say that I love your photos, videos, and that shirt! You are so talented ❤️

You look so gorgeous!!! 😍😍😍 green is definitely your color!!!

"what is this a circus" I EXPLODED

I am loving these videos! Jessica you’re so funny and I love hearing your commentary :)

I finally caught a fresh upload!! I love these!

Where’s catness everdeen...I think she would have a few questions about this “catching fire” situation 😅😅😅😂😂😦😦😦🥺🥺🥺🤭🤭🤭🤭

I like your green shirt, it’s unique

I've watched almost all of ur antm videos this week and I love it so much! I'm an artist but I like working with smth in the background so I can focus, and I love how it feels like just hanging out with u watching antm. Could u also do these videos for drag race?? Ik not all of the challenges are to do with photography and stuff, but they usually have photography challenges for the first episode of the season! Thank u love u :))

Before I go on to watch the rest of the video.... that look Jessicaaa!!! 🔥🔥

I've been binge watching ALL your content and I LOVE YOUR channel, your personality and professional perspective, so of course I HAD to subscribe♥️♥️♥️♥️ I was obsessed with this show as a teen and I ALWAYS wanted to try out (I'm really into the creativity and fantasy of photo shoots or runway shows, fashion, makeup and photography), but I knew I didn't have the body to model, not "thin" enough, but not "full figured" enough to qualify as "plus size", I'm kinda right in the middle and I'm still dealing with the ramifications of that negative and unrealistic comparison so many years later as I'm now 41 years old, it's so not healthy and now looking back and rewatching the episodes with you, I'm actually VERY grateful that I didn't fit their standards because I have come to realize how toxic, damaging, abusive, wrong and socially unacceptable this show and everyone involved is!!!!! I'm really hoping that all these people had to deal with negative ramifications for their part and willing participation in this horrible train wreck and degradation of this inoccent and trusting young women , ahhh sweet revenge 😁👍 This was a horrible and dangerous challenge, a definite no for me🤯🔥Thank you so much for highlighting everything wrong with this show, keep up the great work!!!!!

Your makeup is glowing today!

Thank you for defending the models and making us smile - feels like tuning into a good friend, happy times vibe. I agree some of the obstacle events are unusualy hard. The models are all Lovely in their own way! 💛🌕🧡 xxx

I was just binging all ur antm vids, this is perfect timing!💗

You have great fashion sense. Its like classy, chic with a pop of colour. Please you do a GRWM Q&A- transformation into a model because your makeup, hair and outfit is a always on point.

Those poor contestants 😭. They signed up to walk on runways and pose for photoshoots, not to walk through a goddamn Rammstein stage set up 😭😭

I love your sweater! Green looks so cute on you!

So if nobody is going to say it, I will: that green top looks GORGEOUS on you!!! It compliments your skin so beautiful 😻 I’m obsessed. Here I said it.

the top you're wearing looks so good on you!! you look like the very fashionable main character in a 90s teen movie!!!

I'm LOVING your top omg

Even though there are 23 seasons I am shocked at how many reactions of horrible and dangerous runways you have been able to record. Granted I love your videos I cannot get over the fact that there are so many. There must be a crazy thing every episode this is insane

Been following you for inspiration and motivation!!🤩🤩

1:04 i thought she meant stakes, as in like burning the girls at witch trials or something. but no, she meant steaks lmao.

GIRL I LOVEEE WHAT YOURE WEARINGGGG

My favourite videos of yours!

That green top 🙌 your style is beyond

Jessica, first, I just want to tell you that you look so beautiful, seriously, so pretty, I love that green top on you!!! This one was crazy, but wow, the girls did great! They were awesome!!! Love ya videos, you're too funny! Love ya!

Someone commented below that you should have a model comment on these with you, I completely agree. It is a great idea!

Jessica looks couture as fuhh and I’m living for it. ✨

Just found and subbed halfway thru the first video I watched. It was a photoshop or not video. Also I LOVE the way you speak.

I remember in middle school a boy was able to light one of my friend's hair on fire because she had a lot of hairspray on, luckily it only burned the ends of her hair but still, hairspray is so flammable

Cycle 16 really has EVERYTHING. There's a reason you've reacted to this season so many times.

Omg Your outfit… ICONIC!

Obsessed w this green top! 😍

Oh, wow...I'm early. Yay me...🙂 Yeah, the first time I saw this episode on TV, I didn't think anything of it at the time. Then, I started rewatching this show about a month or so for the 2nd time and remembered how crazy this episode was. I honestly don't know why they put these girls through these dangerous situations...

BBQ on ANTM 🤣😭😭 this show was straight up crazy!!

Why is no one talking about this shirt!!! Jessica I am obsessed with your style BUT THIS TOP is everything. wow

Love your outfit Jess!

You should review Australia’s next top model. Their photo shoot concepts and final photograph is always so exciting and high end.

off topic but...OML I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR TOP

I literally thought we had already gone through the worst of the ANTM antics 🤦🏻‍♀️

Hello . Greetings here from Philippines 💕😁 I always enjoy your videos