Netflix’s Tyra Banks-produced docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, premiered on Feb. 16.Several cast members have spoken out against the doc, publicly reacting and calling out Tyra.Former ANTM contestants, like Isis King and Jaslene González, are defending Tyra and showing support for her in the wake of criticism surrounding the doc.
It’s only been a week since Netflix dropped its Tyra Banks-produced docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, giving fans of the early-aughts reality competition show a glimpse of what really went down behind the scenes. Since the three-episode documentary was released, former ANTM contestants like Eva Marcielle, Shandi Sullivan, and Lisa D’Amato have spoken out against Tyra and her actions during the show’s 15-year run.
Despite the criticism surrounding Tyra and her decisions, one of the ingenues who won the title of America’s Next Top Model in cycle 8, Jaslene González, has openly shown her support for the host.
“My feeling with America’s Next Top Model has not changed since day one. I continue to be a fan of the show and of Tyra and the legacy that it’s left behind—especially with the way it’s transformed my life in such a positive way,” Jaslene, who “still sees the show as a life-changing experience,” said in a recent interview with People.
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Jaslene and Tyra in 2007.
She also opened up about not making the cut when she originally auditioned for the show in cycle 7 as she was dealing with a domestic violence dispute at the time.
“When that was brought up, I took the initiative to learn what domestic violence was. I did six months of therapy and regained my confidence, got out of that relationship, came back,” she explained. “So that is the core of my experience with Top Model is the fact that they didn’t give up on me, they brought something to my attention, they believed in me, and then they gave me an opportunity even after.”
Jaslene, who is set to appear in the upcoming E! documentary on ANTM, Dirty Rotten Scandals, on March 11, extended her support for the contestants who faced discrimination during her season and beyond.
“Now, there was a part in the documentary that really shocked me, and that was Dionne’s story,” Jaslene said of Dionne Walters, who competed on her same season, in an Instagram video posted on February 23.
“I just want to empathize, and I want to extend my compassion. I am so sorry for, you know, having been in that house with you, and not being able or equipped to even comfort you at the time. And not putting two and two together,” she shared. “I just want to extend to all contestants that in some shape or form are looking for a sisterhood that can share in that experience, because we all live in that same reality. Please reach out.”
Another one of the show’s contestants, Isis King, made history as the first openly transgender model to compete on the show and one of the most visible trans folks on TV at the time.
“I became an actress and all of these things that I would’ve never had that opportunity if I didn’t go on the show, so I can’t downplay how impactful it’s been for my life,” Isis told People.
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Isis and Miss J. Alexander in 2018.
The model-turned-actor, who competed on cycles 11 and 17 of the show, also told People that Tyra not only introduced her to the doctor who performed her gender reassignment surgery—she fully paid for the procedure. She added, “That’s when small TV opportunities started to happen. It started to be a little breakthrough for trans actors. Every few years, an opportunity would come like that, which is what I really wanted. Then, finally, bigger opportunities started to happen.”
And, while cycle 1 winner Adrianne Curry previously called Tyra out for not apologizing for the outlandish BTS behavior, she admitted to having “mad respect” for the former host for not pretending to care.
In a separate social media post, Adrianne admitted, “Ugh, I hate that I have to do this. I don’t think Tyra should be canceled.”
She later continued, “I was deeply hurt by Tyra and Ken Mok…but people trying to ‘hurt’ them does absolutely nothing to make me feel better. It feels the opposite. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I forgive them. I am grateful for everything I did get from that experience…and take the bad stuff as the ultimate learning curve in how Hollywood operates. LIE, cheat, manipulate, repeat.”
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Adrianne and Tyra in 2003.
“People act like what Tyra did is worse than Bill Gates and Epstein. It isn’t. She and Ken acted exactly as everyone else in Entertainment does. It’s not a place that is going to protect you or care about you. Reality TV producers exploit and humiliate you based off what you give them. They froth at the mouth for you to make a mistake that they can then monetize off of,” Adrianne further explained, adding, “Being a dickhead isn’t illegal, people.”