All posts tagged: Tyra

We were all rooting for Tyra Banks to give us some answers – but this America’s Next Top Model documentary gaslights its audience

We were all rooting for Tyra Banks to give us some answers – but this America’s Next Top Model documentary gaslights its audience

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more After Reality Check: America’s Next Top Model, a three-part post-mortem on the toxic culture of the reality series America’s Next Top Model, you’d think that the show’s creator Tyra Banks would run for the hills at any opportunity to remake it. But no, after three hours of swerving questions on the fat shaming, racism, public humiliation, harassment and verbal abuse that was typical of the program from 2003 onwards, Banks hints that she’s bringing ANTM back to life. “You have no idea what we have planned for cycle 25,” she tells the camera with an all-knowing smile. This is the hypocrisy of Reality Check, a documentary promised as an insider look at the now-problematic reality TV quest to find the next supermodel. Instead, watching …

And America’s worst top role model is . . . Tyra Banks

And America’s worst top role model is . . . Tyra Banks

Published by Sam Flores

Somehow, I completely forgot about The Girl Who Was Coerced into Oral Surgery. That isn’t an official “America’s Next Top Model” episode title, although it fits the format. Nearly every episode title in the show’s first nine cycles starts with the words, “The Girl Who . . .”  Among them is “The Girl Who Has Surgery,” which refers to Joanie Sprague, a contestant who consented to having four of her teeth removed, root to crown. Her fellow sixth-season contender, Danielle Evans, declines production’s offer to pay for a procedure to close a gap in her front teeth. “It’s who I am,” she says. The doctor is obligated to honor Evans’ desires. “Top Model” creator and host Tyra Banks is not. She insinuates that if Evans doesn’t alter her teeth, she will be sent home. So the girl acquiesces and, in the next episode, we watch the dentist go to work on Evans’ mouth. Believe it or not, this isn’t the most terrible wrongdoing that was transformed into a storyline. By the time “Reality Check: Inside …

The One Question Tyra Banks Refused to Answer in the America’s Next Top Model Documentary

The One Question Tyra Banks Refused to Answer in the America’s Next Top Model Documentary

Published by Sam Flores

“We live in an era in which everybody’s history is narrowed down to two lines in someone’s aggressive [internet] comments,” Sivan tells Vanity Fair. “People tweet about you and it’s just remembering them as the worst thing they ever did. And Tyra did want to come and say, hey, there’s more to me than just, ‘I was rooting for you.’” Created by Banks and developed by TV producer Ken Mok (who also appears in the doc), as well as Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, America’s Next Top Model ran on various networks for 24 seasons—or “cycles,” as they were called on the show—from 2003 to 2018. Each cycle followed a new crop of aspiring models from across the US who lived together, competed in outlandish challenges, and faced a weekly elimination based on their performance and physical appearance. The eventual winner was named “America’s Next Top Model” and awarded a spread in a fashion magazine, plus contracts with a major brand and a modeling agency. Contestants were mentored by creative director Jay Manuel, runway coach J. …

America’s Next Top Model Documentary Producer Addresses Tyra Banks’ Involvement

America’s Next Top Model Documentary Producer Addresses Tyra Banks’ Involvement

Published by Sam Flores

The team behind the new documentary Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model have opened up about Tyra Banks’ participation. Premiering on Monday, the three-part series charts the rise of America’s Next Top Model in the 2000s, as well as tackling some of its thornier and more controversial moments. Many were surprised to see that Tyra agreed to be interviewed for the series, facing questions about her role as the host, head judge and executive producer of America’s Next Top Model, as well as her involvement in some of the show’s more shocking moments. And in case there was any doubt, executive producer Vanessa Golembewski has now clarified that Tyra was not given any special treatment as an interviewee. “From the beginning, this documentary took an incredible amount of trust,” Golembewski told Tudum. “Tyra’s perspective was always important to the series, but it was just as important that her involvement was as an interview subject only. She afforded us the same level of trust as everyone else who participates in the documentary. “She never asked …

Tyra Banks then-and-now during her time on A.N.T.M.

Tyra Banks then-and-now during her time on A.N.T.M.

Published by Daniella Wilson

Tyra Banks’ hit reality TV series America’s Next Top Model was every millennial’s go-to show growing up and had over 100 million viewers at one point in time. The competition series ran from 2003 to 2018, however, Tyra recently got candid about some of the show’s controversial moments, which have made their rounds on social media. In Netflix’s three-part docuseries titled Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, which premieres on February 16, the series’ creator and host lifted the lid about her real thoughts looking back at A.N.T.M. © Getty Images She revealed in the trailer: “I haven’t really said much, but now it’s time.” Tyra recalled that her personal “why” for starting the show was because she “wanted to fight against the fashion industry,” and its outdated beauty standards. The trailer featured contestants who were given medical procedures as part of their makeovers, were allegedly advised to lose more weight, and some who were allegedly uncomfortable during a photoshoot.  © Getty Images The series’ former judge Nigel Barker referenced a contestant’s photoshoot and commented: …

Critics Review Tyra Banks In America’s Next Top Model Documentary On Netflix

Critics Review Tyra Banks In America’s Next Top Model Documentary On Netflix

Published by Sam Flores

The moment we saw the first trailer for Netflix’s new documentary Reality Check, exploring the highs and lows of America’s Next Top Model, we knew we were going to be glued to it once it actually began streaming. Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model features contributions from a series of former Top Model contestants, as well as judges, including Tyra Banks herself, reflecting on some of the show’s biggest controversies. However, the doc also raises issues more casual fans might not be aware of, including one contestant’s allegation that she was sexually assaulted on camera during filming, and another claiming she was made to take part in a photo-shoot reminiscent of gun violence, despite producers being aware she’d had a close family member survive a shooting. Since Reality Check premiered on Monday, many critics have said it will make for essential viewing for those who enjoyed America’s Next Top Model during its original run, although many also questioned just how probing it is as a documentary. A three-star review in The Guardian said that …

Former America’s Next Top Model insider Jay Manuel reveals Tyra Banks’ blunt three-word response when he said he was quitting

Former America’s Next Top Model insider Jay Manuel reveals Tyra Banks’ blunt three-word response when he said he was quitting

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Longtime America’s Next Top Model creative director Jay Manuel has claimed that he was iced out by his colleague and series host, Tyra Banks, after he told her he wanted to leave the show. Manuel joined the cast of ANTM when it began in 2005, and became a signature face on the program, alongside the judging panel, which included Banks, fashion photographer Nigel Barker, and runway coach J. Alexander. Manuel was responsible for directing and producing the shoots, and directing the models on how to pose. In the new Netflix series, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, which reflects on the competition’s toxic culture two decades later, Manuel recalled how he once wanted to walk away from the fashion program after the show’s ethics became questionable. “[It] was slowly depleting me and chipping away at my soul,” he said. “So …

Tyra Banks admits to taking America’s Next Top Model ‘too far’ in new documentary

Tyra Banks admits to taking America’s Next Top Model ‘too far’ in new documentary

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Tyra Banks is opening up about the “very intense” experience of hosting America’s Next Top Model. The supermodel, 52, appears in the forthcoming Netflix docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, centered on the complicated legacy of the competition show, which ran from 2003 to 2018. A trailer released Monday showed the most controversial moments in the series’ history, from models’ drastic makeovers to the demeaning comments made about their bodies by judges. The clip then cuts to Banks speaking about her behavior as the host. “I knew I went too far,” she said. “It was very, very intense. But you guys were demanding it. So we kept pushing it, more and more and more.” In another clip of the trailer, former ANTM judge Jay Manuel spoke about working with Banks on the reality series. open image in gallery Tyra …