Which All-Star Won Cycle 17 of "America's Next Top Model"?

The Controversial Ending of ANTM Season 17

Television personality and America's Next Top Model All Stars winner Lisa D'Amato

Getty Images/Frazer Harrison

Cycle 17 of the hit reality show "America's Next Top Model" featured a battle for the grand prize among all-stars, who were contestants from previous cycles. The models traveled to the Greek island of Crete for the chance to win a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, a spread in Vogue Italia magazine, an Express ad campaign, a role as the face of the new Top Model perfume and an opportunity to serve as a correspondent on "Extra."

The 3 Finalists

After the other contestants were voted off the show, Cycle 17 wrapped up with three finalists: Allison Harvard, Lisa D'Amato, and Angelea Preston.

During season 17, model Allison Harvard won a guest-correspondent role on "Extra" and impressed rapper Game with her song lyrics and performance in a music video. She had only been in the bottom once and had twice before been a cycle's runner-up. But Harvard also had trouble keeping her eyes open during a bright and sunny photo shoot, and she didn't impress the judges with her runway walk.

Meanwhile, Lisa D'Amato won the signature fragrance challenge and impressed show host Tyra Banks during the Modelland photo shoot. But she'd also been in the bottom several times and, at 30 years old, was quite old by fashion-model standards.

Finally, Angelea Preston was the scrappy underdog who had endured a difficult road to ANTM but exceeded the judges' expectations throughout the season.

The Controversial Finale

For the finale, Harvard, D'Amato, and Preston competed for the title and filmed a Cover Girl commercial. In keeping with the over-the-top all-stars season, the final runway show was an extravagant affair that included flying models and an underwater modeling element.

But the real drama began at the moment the judges were about to begin deliberating. Suddenly, viewers were informed that Preston had been disqualified from the competition.

Tyra Banks announced, "We're back in Los Angeles on the 'Top Model' set and we're here for a special finale that's being conducted under unusual circumstances."

"It turns out, our production team and the network learned information from Angelea that disqualifies her from the competition," added judge and fashion photographer Nigel Barker. "It means we're now going to do our final judging with the remaining two girls, and in the interest of fairness, the producers and the network thought it best to evaluate Allison and Lisa on their own."

Later, CW released an official statement: "After production wrapped on the current cycle of America's Next Top Model, we learned information that made Angelea ineligible and she was subsequently disqualified from the competition. As a result, new scenes were filmed to address this for the audience during the finale."

In the end, the judges announced that D'Amato was the winner.