Footage of Oprah Winfrey asking then-20-year-old Cindy Crawford to show off her body on national television in 1986 has been removed from the host’s YouTube page after the supermodel criticized the interaction in a new documentary.
Cindy, 57, spoke about the interview on the new Apple TV+ docuseries The Super Models, in which Cindy and fellow “superstars” Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington reflect on their iconic fashion careers.
Just hours after Cindy’s comments were published by , the video was quietly made private on the Oprah Winfrey Network’s YouTube page – even though it had been available to view for three years.
has reached out to Oprah’s rep for comment.
The footage shows Cindy’s first-ever appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show alongside her Elite Modeling Agency representative, John Casablancas.
Oprah can be heard introducing the stunning young model before asking: ‘Has she always had this body?’ Stand up for a moment, that’s what I call a BODY.’
A clip of Oprah Winfrey asking then 20-year-old Cindy Crawford to show off her body on national television in 1986 has been removed from OWN YouTube page
In the excerpt from the documentary series “The Super Models,” Oprah is heard introducing the young model before asking, “Stand up for a moment, that’s what I call a BODY.”
Just hours after Cindy’s comments were published by , the video was quietly made private on the Oprah Winfrey Network’s YouTube page
Cindy smiled nervously as she stood up, allowing the audience – and viewers at home – to stare at her statuesque body.
Reflecting on how she felt in that moment, Cindy admitted, “I was like chattel or a child that could be seen and not heard.”
“If you look at it through today’s eyes, Oprah says, ‘Stand up and show me your body. Show us why you’re worth being here.”
The mother-of-two continued: “The moment I didn’t recognize it and when I watched it again I was like, ‘Oh my God, that really wasn’t okay.’ Especially from Oprah!”
Elsewhere in the clip, Oprah directed several questions to John, who spoke on behalf of Cindy.
When Oprah asked John whether the agency had to put the model through a “training period”, he replied: “For Cindy, it was more psychologically unsure whether she really wanted to model… little by little her ambition grows.”
“She’s getting a feel, and I’m saying this now on this show: If she wants to, she can be number one in the industry.”
John’s prediction certainly came true, but in the docuseries, Cindy emphasized how hard she worked to make it in the early days of her career.
Reflecting on how she felt in that moment, Cindy admitted, “I was like chattel or a child that could be seen and not heard.”
Cindy made her first appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show alongside her Elite Modeling Agency representative, John Casablancas
The former House of Style host admitted she would often “pass out” from hunger during busy filming days.
“I was 20 years old and had dropped out of college to model in Chicago, and it was great.” “I was making $1,000 a day,” she remembers.
“The main business there was the catalog. There was a main photographer, Victor Skrebneski, and he was the big fish in a small pond. Victor was definitely a mentor in the fashion industry when Victor said, “Don’t move, you haven’t moved.”
Cindy continued, “I’ve fainted there more than once.” Especially right before lunch, you faint and faint. And then they propped you up and you did it all again.’
The supermodel’s comments about her Oprah appearance are very similar to those of fellow star Brooke Shields, who spoke about her own awkward encounter with Barbara Walters on the show last year.
During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Brooke, now 58, criticized Walters for the “probing” questions she asked her when she was just 15 years old.
Cindy landed her first Vogue cover (pictured) the same year she first appeared on Oprah
The popular supermodel, 57, talks about interacting in the new Apple TV+ docuseries The Super Models.
Brooke, who had just starred in “The Blue Lagoon” at the time of her interview with Walters, explained, “She asked me my measurements and asked me to stand up and I stand up and she compares herself to this little girl.” and I thought, “This isn’t right. I don’t understand what that is.”
“But I just behaved and smiled and felt taken advantage of in a lot of ways.”
“But over the years, when you’re in the public eye and constantly being commented on, everyone has an opinion and everyone has the opportunity to express it, and that’s where I think social media can be dangerous.” Then you learn to say, “No, this is my truth.”
Cindy’s candid comments on her Oprah interview offer a fascinating look at the scandals that could emerge from Apple TV+’s new four-part documentary, which traces the rise of the women who made millions, dated movie stars and achieved status as stars following this iconic music Supermodels cemented video for George Michael’s 1990 track “Freedom.”
It is the first time that all four surviving icons – Tatjana Patitz died of breast cancer earlier this year – have come together to discuss the phenomenon in depth.
In the candid series, the runway icon discusses her groundbreaking career alongside fellow supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell
While the Apple TV+ series delights in the women’s extraordinary beauty, it doesn’t shy away from the uglier issues they faced, like addiction, domestic violence and racial inequality.
Typically reserved Linda Evangelista is seen in tears as she reveals she was left disfigured by a cosmetic procedure gone wrong.
The Canadian beauty also shares claims that her ex-husband Gérald Marie was abusive to her during their five-year marriage.
Elsewhere, Naomi Campbell reveals she is in perimenopause after being filmed having a “hot flash” during a documentary series photoshoot.
The Super Models is now available to stream on Apple TV+.