{"id":223172,"date":"2026-02-16T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/16\/americas-next-top-model-doc-biggest-tyra-banks-show-revelations\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T12:00:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:00:49","slug":"americas-next-top-model-doc-biggest-tyra-banks-show-revelations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/16\/americas-next-top-model-doc-biggest-tyra-banks-show-revelations\/","title":{"rendered":"America’s Next Top Model Doc: Biggest Tyra Banks, Show Revelations"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Netflix\u2019s Reality Check: Inside America\u2019s Next Top Model<\/em><\/a> called out the controversy, the behind-the-scenes drama and more \u2014 but what were some of the biggest revelations?<\/p>\n

The three-part docuseries, streaming now, features rare interviews<\/a> with executive producers Tyra Banks<\/strong> and Ken Mok<\/strong>, former judges Jay Manuel, Miss J. Alexander<\/strong> and Nigel Barker<\/strong> as they broke down the reality competition\u2019s best \u2014 and worst \u2014 moments.<\/p>\n

Many contestants were also asked about their individual experiences, with some candidly addressing the discrimination, sexual assault and more they claim they faced both on and off screen. The alums also weighed in on how the perspective on the show has shifted since many of the photoshoot challenges haven\u2019t aged well.<\/p>\n

Banks, who also served as the show\u2019s host, defended the reality TV competition<\/a>\u2019s intentions at the time.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Tyra Banks\u2019 Hosting Duties Through the Years<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tAll she needs is her signature smize! Tyra Banks got her start as a model, but she is perhaps more well-known as a TV host in this day and age. The businesswoman took the world by storm when she kicked off\u00a0America\u2019s Next Top Model\u00a0in May 2003. She not only served as a host and mentor [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI wanted to fight against the fashion industry. One day, this idea just hit me. What if I created a show where you saw what it took to become a model,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd for this show to represent not all white, not all skinny and to just show all the differences and all the different types of beauties. I had a feeling that I was gonna change the beauty world.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to show-related problems, Reality Check: Inside America\u2019s Next Top Model<\/em> offered insight into Banks\u2019 falling out with Manuel. Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations about what took place behind the scenes:\n<\/p>\n

Tyra Banks\u2019 Near-Physical Fight With Les Moonves Over \u2018America\u2019s Next Top Model\u2019 Casting<\/h2>\n

According to Tyra Banks, the team behind America\u2019s Next Top Model<\/em> \u201creally wanted a Hispanic Latino girl\u201d on the show before network executive Les Moonves put a stop to the casting efforts. Banks recalled how she \u201clost it\u201d and things \u201calmost got physical\u201d between her and Moonves before she ultimately \u201chad to replace\u201d the potential contestant.<\/p>\n

Moonves didn\u2019t participate in the docuseries. The former chairman and CEO of CBS resigned in September 2018 following multiple allegations of sexual harassment, which the former exec denied. Prior to becoming CEO in 2003, Moonves worked at the network since 1995 and was previously the president of Warner Bros. Television.<\/p>\n

Jay Manuel Defended Tyra Banks Against Janice Dickinson<\/h2>\n

While Jay Manuel was the Creative Director on the show<\/a>, he also served as a judge alongside Tyra Banks and model Janice Dickinson. In the doc, Manuel recalled Banks complaining to him behind closed doors about her frustrations with how harsh Dickinson was in her critiques so he took it upon himself to clap back on screen. He referred to those clips as him not being his \u201cbest self during the judging\u201d as a show of support for Banks.<\/p>\n

The Fallout Out Between Jay Manuel and Tyra Banks<\/h2>\n
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Jay Manuel and Tyra Banks\u2019 friendship lasted eight seasons of the show until he expressed interest in leaving. Manuel recalled sending an email voicing his desire to leave and only receiving three words back from Banks in response. He was pressured to return for one more season \u2014 which turned into several \u2014 but he never spoke with Banks off screen again.<\/p>\n

Producers asked Banks about her and Manuel, to which she replied, \u201cI prefer \u2026 I should call Jay. I don\u2019t want to do this here. But he\u2019s a special man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tyra Banks\u2019 Falling Out With Miss. J and Nigel Baker<\/h2>\n
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In 2012, America\u2019s Next Top Model went through a shift which resulted in Miss J Alexander, Jay Manuel and Nigel Baker being fired from the show. The trio spoke out in Netflix\u2019s docuseries about how they felt unsupported by Tyra Banks in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were going to put out one joint press release, and they said we would all get a quote in this press release,\u201d Manuel recalled. \u201cWe see it all the time in television shows, people saying, \u2018So and so and so and so have decided to part ways.\u2019 And Tyra, she\u2019s like, \u2018We\u2019ll put out in our press release how we\u2019re going to continue to work together.\u2019 So we agreed to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banks, meanwhile, said she was very affected by losing her coworkers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably some of the hardest news I have ever had to deliver, in my existence,\u201d she said. \u201cI cried myself to sleep that night. You know? They were there from the beginning. They were some of the closest people to me in my life and I had to deliver that news that the deal is up and that it\u2019s over. You can imagine what that feels like.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cBut bosses have bosses, and the big boss was very clear \u2014 there are no sacred cows. And I heard that meaning, \u2018You too, Tyra. So pick up the phone and do what I\u2019m telling you to do.\u2019 And the thing is, I don\u2019t believe that they knew that it came from above. No matter how much I was explaining, \u2018This was not our decision.\u2019 To this day, I think they think that it was me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shandi Sullivan Speaks Out About Sexual Assault<\/h2>\n
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Cycle 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan had a real shot of winning the show until she was sexually assaulted during a group trip to Italy. While the incident was filmed and later used as a so-called \u201ccheating plotline\u201d in the show, Sullivan made it clear in the doc that she was too inebriated to consent..<\/p>\n

Sullivan slammed production \u2013 and Tyra Banks \u2014 for allowing the assault to be a main story line<\/a> in the show instead of stepping in to help her.<\/p>\n

Tyra, an executive producer and host of the show, declined to expand on the sexual assault that took place on screen, saying, \u201cI do remember her story. It\u2019s a little difficult for me to talk about production because that\u2019s not my territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miss. J\u2019s Health Struggles<\/h2>\n
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\u201cEverything changed. On December 27th of 2022, I had a stroke,\u201d Miss J Alexander revealed at the end of the three-part special. \u201cI didn\u2019t know where I was other than in the hospital. I spent five weeks in a coma and I couldn\u2019t walk and I couldn\u2019t talk. And I thought to myself, what was I going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miss J\u2019s personal footage from his hospital room revealed he lived there for at least \u201cone year and five months\u201d because he \u201ccouldn\u2019t walk and couldn\u2019t speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was emotional. I cried. I am not ashamed to say that I cried. Then once I was in the hospital, Jay and Niguel came to visit,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI thought back to how we used to do shows together. I cry because I just miss them so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if he received a visit from Tyra Banks, Miss J replied, \u201cNo, not yet. She just sent me a text that she wants to come and visit me. But no \u2026 not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Most Controversial Photoshoot Concepts<\/h2>\n

America\u2019s Next Top Model, which ran from 2003 to 2018, followed aspiring models as they competed to receive a modeling contract, a fashion spread, a cover in a major magazine and a cosmetics campaign.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the ideas for each challenge got more and more absurd, including a photoshoot centered around homelessness, the risks of smoking and more. There were also insensitive concepts such as race-swapping, murder and eating disorders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some ideas that were wrong and were not good to have and were silly,\u201d Nigel Baker explained, noting that for \u201csome reason no one really seemed to see it\u201d when they were filming.<\/p>\n

Tyra Banks also referred to it as \u201cdumb s***\u201d while executive producer Ken Mok pointed to the challenge where they seemingly celebrated violence as the biggest \u201cmistake.\u201d Jay Manuel, meanwhile, recalled asking to be excused from the race-swapping episode but he ultimately wasn\u2019t able to no film for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was controversial. I was in my own little bubble in my head,\u201d Banks elaborated on ideas such as putting models in blackface. \u201cLooking at the show now through the 2020 lens, it is an issue and I understood 100 percent why.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Concerning Medical Procedures<\/h2>\n

In addition to the concepts, the models themselves were put in positions where they had to change their appearance \u2013 sometimes permanently \u2013 to advance in the competition. Danielle Evans and Joanie Dodds were interviewed about their individual experiences getting orthodontic procedures for the sake of the show.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the doc, former contestants recalled experiencing eating disorders as a result of them filming America\u2019s Next Top Model.<\/p>\n

How the Contestants Feel About Tyra Banks<\/h2>\n
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With a multitude of alums across many seasons, the opinion on Tyra Banks was mixed with some thanking her for her support while others recalled not being protected by her. Danielle Evans recalled winning her season only to later be told by Banks that she knew the contestant wouldn\u2019t succeed in the industry.<\/p>\n

Keenyah Hill recalled how her entire narrative on the show surrounded her weight. Hill also pointed to a challenge where a male model was \u2018aggressively hitting\u201d on her and touching her \u2013 but her attempt to get protection turned into her being shamed.<\/p>\n

Banks defended her reaction at the time but admitted Hill deserved<\/a> more support.<\/p>\n

Ebony Haith said she didn\u2019t feel \u201cprotected\u201d and felt \u201cfull disappointment\u201d of how she was represented \u2013 and how Banks didn\u2019t stand up for her.<\/p>\n

The Infamous Outburst at Tiffany Richardson<\/h2>\n
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Cycle 4 featured a moment where contestant Tiffany Richardson returned for redemption but didn\u2019t make it to the end after flubbing a challenge. Tyra Banks then yelled at Tiffany about wasting her potential, saying in a now-viral moment, \u201cWe were all rooting for you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to change this woman\u2019s life. I felt like she could have been a super model with a capital S,\u201d Banks noted. \u201cAnd I just saw all of that going down the drain. I saw her just not believing in herself and just giving up and not just giving up on the modelling competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cI went too far. I lost it. It was probably bigger than her \u2014 it was family, friends, society. Black girls, all the challenges that we have, so many people saying that we\u2019re not good enough. I think all of that was in that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Miss J. Alexander called the moment scary, while Jay Manuel claimed, \u201cThere was a lot more that was really said. And some of the things that were said were really not well-intentioned. I\u2019ll probably never repeat the lines that were said in that room, that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The panel of judges recalled lawyers joining them on set one week after that moment.<\/p>\n

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