It’s judgment day for America’s Next Top Model (ANTM), and true to form, it’s televised. When the reality show premiered in 2003, it promised to offer viewers a behind-the-scenes look into the modeling and fashion industries. However, the show, created and hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks and producer Ken Mok, soon became infamous for its extreme tactics to shock audiences and create “good TV.”
Now, a new three-part Netflix documentary, Reality Check: America’s Next Top Model, is dissecting the series, which ran for 24 seasons, or “cycles” in ANTM terminology, and at its height, captivated more than 100 million viewers worldwide. Directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, the series features interviews with the show’s central figures, including Banks, Mok, and former judges J. Alexander, Jay Manuel, and Nigel Barker, alongside a host of former contestants eager to share their stories. Notably absent is the acerbic former judge Janice Dickinson.
The Tyra vs. Tiffany Incident
The documentary opens with one of the most iconic scenes from season four, when Banks famously lost her temper with contestant Tiffany Richardson after her elimination. “I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this!” Banks hollered, “I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU! WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU!”
Banks reflects, “I just wanted to change this woman’s life. I felt like she could’ve been a supermodel.” However, her narrative of redemption seems reductive when contrasted with testimonies from the set. “Some of the things that were said were really not well-intentioned,” Manuel recalls. “I’ll probably never repeat the lines that were actually said in that room that day.”
Unfortunately, Richardson is not interviewed in Reality Check, but archival footage suggests her relationship with Banks was strained. “If she loved me, she wouldn’t have showed it in the way she showed it,” Richardson reflected. “If you love someone, you won’t humiliate them.”
“Tyra saw herself in that girl,” notes stylist and occasional judge Nolé Marin, “but it was very scary … the next week we had all the lawyers on set.”
The Body Shaming Culture
The modeling industry has long been built on ideals and shame, and ANTM was no exception. The documentary highlights how the show, which was supposed to empower, often did the opposite. Former judges look back and blame “the time” for their harsh public criticisms of contestants’ appearances.
“Hindsight is 20/20,” Banks admits. Barker confesses, “Looking back, I would say that [things I said were wrong]. But at the time, I really didn’t think that.”
One of the most poignant stories comes from Dani Evans, a contestant from season six, who was pressured by Banks to have her gap teeth “fixed” by a dentist. Initially, Evans stood her ground, loving her gap, and refused. However, Banks implied that Evans would be eliminated if she didn’t comply.
“There were agents that would tell me she will not work with those teeth,” Banks argues, despite having created the series to showcase “all the different types of beauties” and to “fight against the fashion industry.”
Evans eventually relented. “I decided to play the game. And she won.” Ironically, the stigma of being an ANTM winner proved challenging. “I was never able to rise to the level I could have or should have,” Evans explains. “I was just viewed as this, like, ‘reality’ star.”
The Alleged Sexual Assault
One of the most disturbing incidents occurred in season two, involving contestant Shandi Sullivan. During the series finale in Milan, Sullivan was allegedly sexually assaulted after a night of drinking with locals. The following day, her boyfriend, Eric, back in Kansas, berated her over the phone, a moment broadcast to viewers.
No producers or crew intervened. Mok insists contestants were informed they’d be filmed “24/7” and instructed to treat the show as a “documentary.” Sullivan, however, believes the crew should have intervened.
Banks suggests she had no role in handling the incident, attributing it to “production,” despite appearing in Milan the next day to counsel contestants about “fighting against their carnal desires.”
Judges J. Alexander and Manuel remain uncomfortable discussing the incident, and Sullivan has never fully recovered. Mok maintains, “For good or bad, it’s one of the most memorable moments in Top Model.”
The Controversial Challenges and Photo Shoots
ANTM was notorious for its controversial challenges and photo shoots, which often pushed boundaries. The show tackled themes like homelessness, blackface, and eating disorders, among others.
“It was a time in the world where there was Fear Factor and Survivor,” Banks explains. “The viewers wanted more, and more, and more.”
Former UPN executive Dawn Ostroff agrees, noting the pressure to continually create shocking moments. “Good television is good television,” she asserts.
Manuel recalls his discomfort with certain shoots, such as the “race swap” shoot for the Got Milk campaign. “If you really look for it, you can see it on my face,” he points out. “I was double-swallowing … but I just had to do my job.”
The Judges’ Elimination and Show’s Decline
In 2012, judges J. Alexander, Manuel, and Barker were unexpectedly fired, a move Banks clarifies was not her decision. “Bosses have bosses,” she says. “And the big boss was very clear … there are no sacred cows.”
The changes made by the “bosses” ultimately led to the show’s decline. ANTM shifted away from being an industry glimpse to a more sensational reality TV format. Ratings plummeted, and Banks was eventually replaced by singer Rita Ora for season 23.
“All of these big changes kind of reeked of desperation,” observes journalist Zakiya Gibbons. “It was just writing on the wall.”
Despite the controversies, Banks remains optimistic about the future. “I can feel and taste what people want to see,” she teases. “You have no idea what we have planned … for Cycle 25.”
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is now streaming on Netflix.
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