The 5 Biggest Revelations From The America's Next Top Model Docuseries
It's so much worse than you could imagine.
In recent years, people have been looking back on just how messed up America’s Next Top Model was. But the truth goes much deeper than just questionable photoshoot themes, as the new docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model reveals. The three-part Netflix doc lifts the lid on the long-running competition show’s most shocking secrets, from mistreated contestants to a hidden medical emergency.
Although America’s Next Top Model was massively popular during its heyday in the 2000s, many elements of the show have been relitigated through the modern lens, like the potentially harmful makeovers host Tyra Banks would require of her models or the frequent body-shaming during photo judgements. The new docuseries delves into these issues, but also reveals even deeper-seated scandals that fans had no idea about.
Here are some of the biggest bombshells from Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.
5. The Tiffany Rant Was Way Worse Than What Was Shown
Probably the most viral moment to ever come from ANTM was Banks’ screaming tirade against Cycle 4 contestant Tiffany Richardson. After Banks eliminated Richardson, the contestant rolled her eyes, which sent Banks into a frenzy, yelling about how “we were all rooting for you!”
Apparently, viewers only saw the tamest part of this rant. “There was a lot more that was really said and some of the things that were said were really not well-intentioned,” ANTM judge Jay Manuel said. “I will probably never repeat the lines that were said in the room that day.”
Richardson claimed the footage was edited to make Banks look better in a recent Instagram post. “You know how you treated me the whole time off and on camera, YOU WAS A BULLY!!!” Richardson wrote, tagging Banks. “You treated me like sh*t and said the nastiest things about me and my son. That is not how the argument went but YALL EDITED TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE YOU CARED.”
4. Tyra Nearly Fought An Exec To Cast A Latina Model
While discussing the very first cycle of Top Model, Banks emphasized how difficult it was to cast a diverse group of contestants. The main roadblock, according to Banks, was former Viacom president Les Moonves. The network head insisted on having no more than one person of color on the cast, and Banks nearly got “physical” with him when he wouldn’t sign off on a Latina model that Banks wanted to cast.
3. Tyra Iced Jay Manuel Out After He Tried To Quit
Banks brought her friend and collaborator Manuel into ANTM at the very start as the show’s creative director. But after eight cycles, Manuel said he didn’t like the direction the series was headed, and he sent a polite email to Banks letting her know he wanted to look for other opportunities.
Manuel said that Banks didn’t respond to his message for three days, and then only wrote him three words: “I am disappointed.” Although Manuel later agreed to return to the show, he could sense that his relationship with Banks had changed. “On camera we learned to play, laugh, but it was just clear I was not allowed to speak with her outside of that,” Manuel said. “It was like psychological torture, I felt broken.”
2. Shandi’s Assault Was Edited Into A Cheating Narrative
Shandi Sullivan was a standout contestant in Cycle 2, who had a very memorable mishap once the cast moved to Milan. The series portrayed her sleeping with an Italian moped driver as a shocking decision Sullivan made to cheat on her boyfriend. However, Sullivan revealed she was sexually assaulted, which the show never touched on.
Sullivan recalled that she “blacked out” that night due to drinking too much and barely eating anything due to the pressures of the competition. She said the show’s cameras captured her being taken advantage of while unconscious: “I don’t even feel sex happening, I just knew it was happening and then I passed out.”
1. Miss J Lost His Ability To Walk After A Stroke
The biggest revelation from the docuseries has to do with beloved runway coach Miss J. Alexander, who reveals that he had a stroke in 2022. The medical event left him unable to walk. “I miss being the queen of the runway,” Miss J said. “I’m the person who taught models how to walk and now I can’t walk.”
While his fellow former ANTM judges Manuel and Nigel Barker have helped to support Miss J in recent years, the runway star said that Banks “never came and visited” him after his stroke.
