Overview
- Directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan say the series would have proceeded without Tyra Banks, who had no editorial control or access to the final cut and declined to discuss her fallout with Jay Manuel.
- Jay Manuel says Banks has not called him and that he is comfortable never speaking to her again, while J. Alexander notes they have not reunited in person despite recent contact.
- Giselle Samson, a Cycle 1 alum, says she was not paid for participating and criticizes her portrayal, recounting lasting harm from body-shaming during the show.
- Season 3 winner Eva Marcille says she was not invited to participate and describes being “gobsmacked,” crediting the opportunity yet asserting producers enabled the environment and suggesting apologies may never feel sufficient to those harmed.
- The doc highlights allegations of production-facilitated harm, including Shandi Sullivan’s account of a filmed sexual assault, racially insensitive “race-swap” shoots, and pressure for invasive dental work, while some commentators, including Sherri Shepherd, argue the era’s reality-TV norms shaped decisions.