A new Netflix docuseries, 'Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,' premieres on February 16, exploring the creation and controversies of Tyra Banks' long-running reality show. The three-part series features interviews with former cast members, judges, and Banks herself, revealing incidents like an on-camera sexual assault, problematic photoshoots, and Miss J's recent stroke. It highlights the show's impact on participants and its evolution over 24 seasons.
'America’s Next Top Model,' created by supermodel Tyra Banks, debuted in May 2003 on UPN and spanned 24 seasons across three networks. As detailed in the Netflix docuseries directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, Banks envisioned blending the competition of 'American Idol' with the communal style of 'The Real World' in the fashion world. Despite initial network rejections, it became a hit, introducing terms like 'smize' and launching careers for contestants such as Winnie Harlow, Yaya DaCosta, Eva Marcille, Nyle DiMarco, and Molly O’Connell.
The series addresses early challenges, including low-budget production for Season 1 in a New York City hotel and network pushback on cast diversity. Executive producer Ken Mok recounts a heated argument between Banks and CBS head Leslie Moonves over casting a Latina contestant, nearly derailing the show. Season 1 participant Ebony Haith describes being outed as queer on camera by Banks, who asked, 'We know you’re a lesbian. How do you feel about expressing that on national television?' Haith also faced criticism for her makeover and was labeled 'old,' 'aggressive,' and 'difficult.'
A major revelation concerns Cycle 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan's experience in Milan, where she consumed two bottles of wine without eating and engaged in blackout sex filmed by production. Sullivan recalls waking up distressed and confessing to her boyfriend Eric, who reacted harshly, calling her a 'stupid bitch.' The incident was framed as infidelity, with Banks discussing relationship perils on camera. Sullivan later criticized Banks for replaying the footage on her talk show despite her objections, stating, 'Her behavior doesn’t change.'
Other segments cover ill-conceived photoshoots, such as race-swapping in Cycles 4 and 13 involving Blackface, which Jay Manuel found uncomfortable, and Cycle 8's crime-scene theme that distressed Dionne Walters, whose mother had been shot. The docuseries examines fat-shaming, like comments on Giselle Samson's body and Keenyah Hill's portrayal as gluttony and an elephant. It also revisits Banks' outburst at Tiffany Richardson in Season 4, where she shouted, 'We were all rooting for you!'—an incident Manuel describes as even more intense off-camera.
Winner Danielle Evans shares her post-victory struggles, feeling 'thrown to the wolves' in New York despite a Ford Models contract, due to industry stigma against 'ANTM' alumni. The firings of judges Miss J, Jay Manuel, and Nigel Barker in 2012, ordered by CW head Mark Pedowitz amid declining ratings, left them feeling betrayed; Miss J called himself 'the spine of the show.'
The most poignant disclosure is Miss J's stroke on December 27, 2022, leaving him in a five-week coma unable to walk or talk. Now in a wheelchair but recovering, he reunites emotionally with Manuel and Barker, saying, 'I taught models how to walk. And now I can’t walk... Not yet.' Banks, living in Australia, hints at plans for Cycle 25, stating, 'You have no idea what we have planned.'
