Tyra Banks acknowledges pushing contestants too far as ANTM's creator and judge.
The docuseries features interviews with past judges and contestants recounting harmful experiences.
The show's success was built on controversial initiatives that crossed ethical lines.
America’s Next Top Model put its contestants in seriously uncomfortable situations, and now, all these years later, the people responsible are admitting they went too far.
Source: Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model / Netflix
Netflix is set to release a bombshell docuseries highlighting past scandals from the modeling competition show, which premiered in May 2003.
Tyra Banks–the show’s creator, host, and executive producer–sat down for an in-depth interview for the upcoming documentary: Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. During a new trailer for the upcoming series, the supermodel admits, “I knew I went too far” as head judge of the competition.
The teaser combines Banks’ on-camera interview with others from former judges Nigel Barker, Jay Manuel, and Miss J. Alexander, along with contestants Whitney Thompson (cycle 10 winner), Danielle Evans (cycle 6 winner), Keenyah Hill (cycle 4 finalist), Giselle Samson (cycle 1), and more.
“I haven’t really said much. But, now it’s time,” Tyra says in the clip, going on to repeat the same sentiment she’s previously expressed about challenging problematic modeling standards on the program. “I wanted to fight against the fashion industry.”
Thompson, the show’s first plus-size winner, initially praises Banks, saying, “The only reason the door was opened to me was because of Tyra,” while inaugural cast member Samson says, “I felt like I was part of something so big” when the show debuted on UPN back in 2003.
Then, producer Ken Mok admits, “There was a moment I realized, ‘Oh my God, I think we’ve built a monster.'”
The docuseries shifts to show Manuel–the show’s photo shoot director and editorial creative lead–telling contestants that they’d be switching ethnicities in their photo challenge, an initiative that occurred twice on the show during cycle 4 and cycle 13.
“Baby girl, baby girl!” Miss J says, reacting to the scandal in the trailer. “I realized Tyra would do anything for the success of her show.”
Other moments in the Reality Check trailer include Hill crying while reflecting on a moment of alleged sexual harassment and Evans, who underwent a dental procedure during the competition to remove a gap in their front teeth, crying while calling certain elements of ANTM “horrific” and “so f***ed up.”
According to a synopsis of the docuseries via Netflix, “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model will unpack the inner workings of the show, which became a viral juggernaut with a global audience of over 100 million people at its peak. Directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan (American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden), the three-part series features interviews with ANTM’s key players, who reflect on their time on the show and take stock of its legacy — the highs and the lows — two-plus decades since it first aired.”
The three-part docuseries premieres Feb. 16 on Netflix.
