Photo Credit: Netflix
Tyra Banks, the creator and longtime host of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM), has broken her silence regarding the controversial legacy of the long-running reality competition. In an explosive trailer for the new three-part Netflix docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, the 52-year-old supermodel candidly admits that the show often crossed the line in its pursuit of high ratings and “fashion industry realism.”
“I haven’t really said much, but now it’s time,” Banks states in the footage shared to social media platforms. Reflecting on the show’s 24-cycle run, she acknowledges the mounting criticism from fans and former contestants over the years. “I knew I went too far. It was very, very intense. But you guys were demanding it, so we kept pushing it—more and more and more.”
The docuseries, scheduled for a February 16 release, features emotional testimonies from iconic judges and creative directors, including Nigel Barker, J. Alexander (Miss J), and Jay Manuel. Manuel, who served as the show’s creative director for nearly a decade, offers a blunt assessment of Banks’ drive during production. “I realized Tyra would do anything for the success of her show,” he remarks in the trailer, which features clips of some of the series’ most infamous moments.
Among the “problematic” chapters revisited in the series are the 2005 “ethnicity swap” photoshoot, which has been widely condemned as blackface, and the extreme physical transformations forced upon young models. The documentary also features new interviews with former contestants and winners like Dani Evans and Keenyah Hill. Evans is seen reflecting on the “horrific” pressure she faced to close her tooth gap, while Hill discusses her experience with alleged sexual harassment during a photoshoot—a moment that went largely unaddressed by the judges at the time.
While Banks admits to making “off choices” and “saying some dumb s—t,” she also defends her original mission. During a recent appearance at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards, she reminded audiences that she “fought to bring diversity to that television show at a time when it didn’t exist.” She insists that her legacy should be defined by the barriers the show broke rather than just the controversial clips currently trending online. Despite her defense, Reality Check promises to be a definitive, and perhaps uncomfortable, accounting of the show’s 15-year history.