Producers of a reality catwalk TV series will be thinking that every smoke cloud has a silver lining after a fire outside the audition studio brought chaos to queuing hopefuls, but also invaluable publicity to the show.
The incident took place in central Manhattan outside the hotel where thousands of teenage girls queued up for auditions to appear in the next series of America's Next Top Model.
Reports suggest that a BMW car nearby overheated and began billowing out plumes of smoke towards the queue of budding supermodels.
Mayhem broke out as the hysterical crowd, fearing a fire or a bomb, began to panic and then stampeded, yelling and screaming, towards the studio doors.
Police officers were unable to contain the riot, in which six people ended up in hospital and three arrested, which left a trail of high heel shoes, sleeping bags and trampled resumes strewn across the pavements.
The fracas made national and international news, leaving the programme's press teams with a PR conundrum to explain the incident.
Yet what at first may appear to be bad news for America's Next Top Model could well turn out to be a blessing.
The media controversy will draw the attention of many potential viewers who'd never even heard of the programme and doubtless spark renewed interest within its regular fan base.
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