Winnie Harlow defends ‘America’s Next Top Model’ comments

Winnie Harlow stood by her comments about "America's Next Top Model" not furthering her modeling career. (AP)

Former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant Winnie Harlow defended her recent comments slamming the reality television show lack of impact on her modeling career.

Harlow, who recently walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, responded to a fan’s comment on Instagram saying her previous remarks about how the show “didn’t really do anything” to advance her career wasn’t "shade" toward host Tyra Banks.

“It has nothing to do with being ungrateful, and more over [sic] nothing to do with ‘shade’ to Tyra,” the 24-year-old said. “She was the first person of higher status to make me feel like I could be a model and not only am I grateful for that, it’s something I’ll never forget.”

Harlow said she received no job offers after her stint on “America’s Next Top Model” because of the “reality TV stigma.”

“Once I realized that I stopped talking about it and grew my work base in Europe. Out there I was known by the first big campaign I did for a brand called Desigual. That’s just my truth,” Harlow said. “That’s what I was told by agencies and it was, unfortunately, something I didn’t know before I accepted the offer for the show.”

“I understand people know me and have seen me on ANTM, but I never really talk about it because my goal is to always be honest but never to bash anyone’s empire,” she wrote.

Harlow said she stood by her previous comments.

“My truth is, I stand by what I said and I say it because I don’t want girls thinking it’s a jump start to a modelling [sic] career because of me,” she continued. “I learned that the best thing to do to become a model and to be taken seriously is to take plain head shots and find a reputable modelling [sic] agency.”

She concluded by saying she was grateful for “every experience I have to learn and grow.”

Harlow appeared on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” in May and said photographer Nick Knight helped push her modeling career forward.

“[My success] started after the show, ’cause that really didn’t do anything for my career. Which, it doesn’t do anything for any model’s career, realistically,” she said.

Banks also appeared on Cohen's show last week and said she has “nothing but love” her all her former contestants.

“I discovered her on Instagram and she [was] on this show, so what do you think that means?” Banks said. “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.”