Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Netflix’s ‘Reality Check’ Reopens Debate Over ‘America’s Next Top Model’ Practices

Former contestants describe manipulation and neglect that they say harmed their wellbeing.

Overview

  • Released Feb. 16, the three-part docuseries compiles on-camera testimonies from past contestants, judges and producers about what unfolded behind the show’s scenes.
  • Shandi Sullivan alleges she was sexually assaulted during filming in Milan while blackout intoxicated and says producers failed to intervene before later framing it as an infidelity storyline.
  • Tyra Banks acknowledges she “lost control” in her confrontation with Tiffany Richardson and concedes she went too far.
  • Executive producer Ken Mok defends capturing and editing difficult moments, saying participants knew everything would be recorded “the good, the bad and everything else.”
  • Accounts detail disordered eating, isolation and pressure to alter appearances, with winner Danielle Evans saying she was pushed to close her tooth gap, and Banks signals a planned Cycle 25.