Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model scrutinizes the shenanigans of Tyra Banks’ game show, exposing the renowned model to another round of criticism over the lengths production went for good ratings. While Banks has maintained that most of what happened was beyond her control, critics, cast members, and contestants insist her influence would have made a difference if she weren’t in for doing whatever it takes to keep the beauty competition popular. The Netflix docuseries revealed several harsh realities about ANTM, and it all boils down to a single fact: most participants are unhappy with their experiences on the show, including Miss J. Alexander, Jay Manuel, and Nigel Barker.
The trio, whom Banks still regards as her “three hearts,” is unhappy about their undignified exit from the show in 2012. They were fired in a desperate bid to revive ANTM’s declining appeal, and still have some scores to settle with Banks. While Manuel wants the ANTM creator to acknowledge they were mistreated, Alexander is disappointed Banks has yet to visit him since December 2022, when he suffered a stroke that left him in a coma for over a month. Beyond that, here are some of the other unsettling revelations from the Netflix docuseries.
1. Shandi Sullivan Claims Her Sex Scene Was Sexual Assault
@antmlatin0 SHANDI FROM ‘AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL’ WAS NOT A VICTIM, PLEASE SHARE. #americasnexttopmodel #shandisullivan #ANTM #tyrabanks #netflix
America’s Next Top Model Cycle 2 features a viral sex scene between Shandi Sullivan and a driver during a photo shoot trip to Milan. The event was depicted as a cheating scandal due to Sullivan’s long-term relationship with Eric, her boyfriend at the time. Recalling the incident in Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, Sullivan described it as a sexual assault, blaming the showrunner for not protecting her. “I was blacked out for a lot of it. I didn’t even feel sex happening, I just knew it was happening, and then I passed out,” she said. “I think they should have f***ing been like, ‘Alright, this has gone too far… we got to pull her out of this.'”
2. Contestants Suffered Eating Disorders On The Show Due To Body Shaming
For the chance to become America’s Next Top Model, contestants endured harsh criticisms about their physiques. This left them desperate to have the “right” figure, a quest that spiraled into an eating disorder for most participants. “It was very common to live on Diet Coke and cigarettes,” Whitney Thompson said, recalling the lengths contestants went to stay in shape.
“When we started filming, I was size 6, I was 5’10”, and weighed 115 pounds. I thought I looked good, but then you go on TV, and you’re like, Oh shit, maybe not,” added the Cycle 10 winner. “You want to do anything you can to get to the next round,” Cycle 5’s Bre Scullark concurred, affirming that contestants developed eating disorders on the show.
3. Tyra Banks Forced Dani Evans To “Fix” Her Tooth Gap
Why was this allowed to air wtf Tyra banks is going to straight hell pic.twitter.com/xtiWl3srKJ
— Aisonycé📍 (@OladapoAisha) May 5, 2020
Apart from fat shaming, the show fueled other forms of body dysmorphia among contestants. The Netflix docuseries revealed that Cycle 6’s Dani Evans was forced to close the gap between her front teeth. She didn’t want to comply, but was compelled to do so when Banks threatened to kick her off the show.
Banks claims she insisted on closing the gap “because there were agents who would tell me, ‘She will not work with those teeth. It’s just not going to happen.'” Evans thinks Banks’ justification is silly. “Bull f***ing s**t,” she retorted. “Me getting my gap closed is not opening any doors for me. You knew what you were doing for the show. You were making good TV at my expense.”
4. ANTM Winners Struggled To Land Jobs After The Show
@netflix Danielle goes into detail about her life after winning ANTM. Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is now playing.
For aspiring models who participated in the competition, the dream was to win the show and become America’s Next Top Model. Winners were rewarded with modeling contracts to serve as a stepping stone towards becoming what the show promised. Over ANTM’s 15-year run, it was widely considered the ultimate route to success in modeling. That wasn’t the case.
In Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, contestants revealed that winners struggled to book deals. This difficulty stemmed from the stigma attached to the reality game show in the modeling industry. Evans recalls she “was told that no one wanted to book me for their shows because I was viewed as a reality show star and designers didn’t want me walking in the show to take attention… off of their collection and onto myself.”
5. The Models Were Held In Seclusion When Eliminated From The Show
@weinmiamipodcast Americas Next Top Model contestant #KeenyahHill speaks out about her treatment by #TyraBanks after she was eliminated “She treated me like I was nothing” Keenyah Hill also says that she believes #NaomiCampbell is the greatest between the two. She also speaks about Tyra Banks new Ice Cream company. “I don’t know how that’s going” Thoughts? 👀👇
The ANTM fandom knows that once a model is eliminated from the show, they leave the model apartment and head home. Well, that’s only what viewers were meant to believe. Contestants eliminated from the show aren’t allowed to leave until filming concludes. They are kept in a hotel, where they are not allowed to contact anyone.
“Everyone stays with the production until the very end for confidentiality reasons,” Cycle 4’s Keenyah Hill reveals in Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. Dionne Walters from Cycle 8 confirmed that, saying, “There wasn’t a phone available to call anybody at that time.” Check out 5 reasons Brooklyn Beckham doesn’t want to reconcile with his family.
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