It seemsTyra Bankswould prefernotto be on top of answering questions about her estranged friendJay Manuel's firing fromAmerica's Next Top Model, per a scene in the new Netflix docuseriesReality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model.
AsANTMcreative director and frequent panelist, Manuel says in the three-part documentary series, the fashion figure first sought longtime friend and collaborator Banks' approval to leave the beloved modeling competition series after its eighth cycle in 2007. He then alleges that things became uncomfortable on set between the pair, with Manuel claiming that Banks responded to his lengthy, emotional email on the subject with three words, "I am disappointed," and that he consequently felt pressured to remain on the show for the foreseeable future.
Manuel and fellow OGANTMpersonalities — photographerNigel Barkerandrunway coach Miss J. Alexander— were eventually dismissed from the show years later after cycle 18, which Manuel says came as a blindsiding surprise. He also suggests in the docuseries that Banks and producers might've had something to do with leaking news about the trio's firing ahead of what he says was a planned press release indicating an amicable split.
Evan Giordanella/The CW
WhenReality Checkproducers question Banks about Manuel in her sit-down interview for the project, she shuts down the inquiry and refuses to address the drama.
"Nah, I'd prefer…" Banks says, briefly trailing off before collecting her thoughts. "Yeah, I should call Jay."
She adds, "I don't want to do this here. But, he's a special man." (A representative for Banks did not respond toEntertainment Weekly's request for comment.)
Manuel elaborates on why he felt a pressure to remain with the show for so long after expressing interest in leaving, alleging that, "There was a warning that strikes the fear of God in you. People talk about being blacklisted. Those words were not used, but I suspected that's what it would turn into, and I didn't know how to talk to...because honestly the person I would always talk to was Tyra."
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Of his dynamic with Banks on cycle 9, shortly after telling her that he wanted to leave the show, Manuel says the edition's premiere casting episode marked "the first time I really realized there was a real problem" because Banks "wouldn't speak with me" at the judging table.
"On camera, we learned to play and laugh, but it was just clear I was not allowed to speak with her outside of that, which, after that first day, I thought, there's absolutely no way I'm going to survive this cycle," he remembers.
Monty Brinton/UPN
Manuel has long hinted at tumultuous times on the set ofANTM, with fans even speculating that his 2020 fiction novelThe Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown— about the turbulent relationship between a ruthless model-TV host and her friend and on-camera companion — was inspired by his time working with Banks onTop Model.
OtherTop Modelpersonalities also open up inReality Checkabout distance from Banks after the show, includingMiss J, who reveals in the series that he had a stroke in 2022that left him in a coma and subsequently paralyzed. He tells the production that Banks never came to see him in the hospital, despite their years of friendship before and duringANTM.
"I had a stroke. I woke up, I didn't know where I was, other than the hospital," Miss J says in the series. "I spent five weeks in a coma, and I couldn't walk. I couldn't talk. I thought to myself, what was I going to do? I couldn't walk, I couldn't speak. It was emotional; I cried. I'm not ashamed to say that. I cried, and then once I was in the hospital, Jay and Nigel came to visit."
"Did Tyra come and visit you?" a producer then asks Miss J, who replies, "No, not yet. She just sent me a text that she wants to come and visit me. But, no, not yet." (A representative for Banks also did not respond to EW's request for comment on this matter.)
AmidReality Check'sinvestigations into controversialANTMmoments from the past(including portions on photo shoots thattasked models with portraying women of different racesand gettingmedical procedures to continue in the competition), the docuseries also sees Banks reveal that the show is scheduled to return for a new cycle.
"I feel like my work is not done. You have no idea what we have planned for cycle 25," Banks says in the closing moments ofReality Check,years after first teasing to EW in a 2018 interview that she was considering, at the time, bringingANTMback for another all-star edition as a series finale. While the show was never formally canceled,the last all-new episode ofTop Modelaired on VH1 in 2018, after its 2003 debut on UPN and subsequent shift to The CW for cycle 7 in 2006.
Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Modelis now streaming on Netflix.
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