Winnie Harlow says America's Next Top Model made her feel like she would never succeed as a model and she has "nothing good" to say about the show.
The 26-year-old model competed on Tyra Banks' reality TV competition show in 2014 but admitted it dented her confidence.
She told PEOPLE: "At that point in my life, I was told or made to feel like I couldn't model or that it wasn't for me. My mother always said, ‘If you don't got nothing good to say, don't say nothing at all’."
However, Winnie was determined to succeed and kept pushing through until she made it as a model.
She explained: "My plan was to never fail. I'm from the hood, and my goal was to never go back. I wanted to take care of my mom and my sister and make my dad proud."
And Winnie, who suffers with vitiligo (a condition in which the skin loses its pigment cells), is happy that she can be a role model for others.
She said: "Growing up, I never saw anyone like me on TV, billboards or on the runways. I felt like I was the only person in the world like me.
"The more I did, the more of a following I gained on social media. I was getting a lot of love and support and people telling me that I inspired them. So I was like, 'If doing this thing that's just fun for me is inspiring people, then it's a win-win.'"
