All of the Former ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Stars Who Have Spoken Out About the Netflix Doc
What To Know
- The Netflix docuseries exposes the emotional strain, manipulation, and exploitative conditions faced by contestants on the long-running reality show.
- Several former contestants have spoken out about their negative experiences.
- Reactions from alumni range from criticism of Tyra Banks and the show’s producers to support for each other.
Warning: The following post contains discussions of sexual assault.
Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model pulls back the curtain on the darker side of the once-dominant reality competition series. Premiering in 2003 on UPN before moving to The CW and VH1, America’s Next Top Model, created and hosted by Tyra Banks, ran for 24 Cycles over 15 years and promised aspiring models life-changing prizes, including agency representation, major magazine spreads, and lucrative cosmetics contracts.
But the documentary suggests the glossy promise masked a harsher reality. Rather than a direct path to superstardom, many contestants faced emotional strain, manipulation, and situations that now read as exploitative. What was sold as a dream opportunity often became a crash course in the true cost of fame, where personal boundaries and dignity were sometimes sacrificed in the name of good television.
In the three episodes of the docuseries, former contestants spoke up about their less-than-stellar experiences on the set, which included bullying, sexual assault, body shaming, problematic and culturally insensitive photo shoots, borderline abusive working conditions, limited career payoff, and long-term trauma due to the mental health impact of the show.
After airing, some of the contestants that partook in the doc, and some who didn’t, took to social media to talk about how they were portrayed on the docuseries.
Tiffany Richards was one of the most notorious contestants when, in Cycle 4, Banks yelled at her in front of the judging panel in the infamous “We were all rooting for you! How dare you!” diatribe. In a reply to a Tara Banks post, Tiffany wrote, “YOU WAS A BULLY!!! You treated me like s**t and said the nastiest things about me and my son. That is not how the argument went but YA’LL EDITED TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE YOU CARED!”
Lisa D’Amato, who was first portrayed as an unstable villain on Cycle 5 before taking the crown in Cycle 17: All Stars, had a lot to say on her Instagram post. An outspoken critic for some years, Lisa wrote: “Watched the Netflix docuseries on ANTM and I still think it is sugar coated. It was wayyyyyy worse for so so many of us,” read the text on the IG post. In the caption, Amato promoted the upcoming Dirty Rotten Scandal‘s doc on E! and stated, “We will have the last word.”
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Shandi Sullivan, whose horrific breakup and the events that followed a night of drinking during which she said she “blacked out,” were made a central storyline in the docuseries. She wrote a post on social media after the series was released, “Welp, the documentary is out, and now you know more of my story…after all of the years, the Top Model girls and what we went through were never forgotten. The first picture is of me going right back to work at Walgreens, fresh with a makeover and a secret that had to wait to air. I smiled through it. Knowing that my friends, my family, Eric’s family, and strangers were going to know what I had done, what happened to me,” explained the former reality star.
“At the age of 43, I continue to struggle with it; always smiling. That’s why I took this opportunity. Knowing that Tyra didn’t have control over my narrative, that the director and producers here had my back…that’s why I did it. I did it for me. Because I mattered and I still do! The love I have felt today has been immense. Thank you to everyone that heard me.”
To support the former model, fashion photographer and judge Niger Barker posted a personal message to Shandi on his Instagram: “Watching the new Netflix doc ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’, you get an extremely raw and true behind-the-scenes look at Shandi’s story, and it’s clear the show could and should have done much better. Shandi will always be a rockstar.”
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There was one response to the docuseries that did trigger a lovely result: a reunion, as former contestants Allison Harvard, Fo Porter, and Isis King posted a pic on Instagram with the caption: “REALITY CHECK MOVIE NIGHT with my favs.”
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And in perfect Adrianne Curry snarky fashion, the inaugural winner of ANTM Cycle 1 “tipped her hat” to Banks for her ability to stand her ground. “I have mad respect for Tyra Banks. She is not sorry. She is not apologizing. That b**ch is not effing sorry. She will not bend the knee. And I respect that. We want her to lie — lie, and say how bad she feels. Everyone is coming to me, and they are like, ‘The judges are sorry.’ Why should they be? They are all loaded. Why should they give a flying f***? If they didn’t give a f*** at the time, they certainly ain’t gonna give a f*** now,” said Adrianne in her trademark sarcasm.
“But mad respect for Tyra. It’s hard to push back on that many people trying to struggle session you, and she’s just like, ‘F*** you, I’ll do what I want.’ And I gotta respect that. I tip my hat, m’lady.”
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If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, call 911.
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, Now Streaming, Netflix
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