‘ANTM’ Doc Director: Series Would’ve Happened With or Without Tyra Banks — Says She Refused to Discuss Jay Manuel Friendship

Tyra Banks, Jay Manuel

‘ANTM’ Doc Director: Series Would’ve Happened With or Without Tyra Banks — Says She Refused to Discuss Jay Manuel Friendship

Tyra Banks may be front and center in Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, but the directors say the series was moving forward — with or without her.

Co-directors Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy revealed the docuseries examining behind-the-scenes controversies from America’s Next Top Model was happening “regardless” of Banks’ participation. Loushy told TheWrap, “This documentary was happening, regardless if she was giving an interview or not, and she decided she did want to share her side of the story.”

Loushy added, “I’m very happy that she did, because it gave the opportunity to really go deep into the debates, into the start of the idea, and not by a third person but from Tyra, herself, to really hear the journey that she’s been through.”

Sivan noted there was one topic Banks refused to address: the status of her friendship with former judge Jay Manuel. “The fact that she said, ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ … is a powerful answer. It wasn’t dodging the bullet. It was saying, ‘this is still painful,’” he said.

According to TheWrap, Banks had no editorial control over the series and did not see the final cut before it debuted Monday on Netflix. Now streaming, the doc revisits controversies including Shandi Sullivan’s onscreen sexual assault, multiple instances of blackface and Banks’ infamous “we were all rooting for you” outburst at Tiffany Richardson.

While some former models and judges have been commended for speaking out, many online viewers remain critical of Banks’ appearance. “Was the #RealityCheck ANTM documentary meant to help Tyra Banks clear her name? Cause idk if it did,” one viewer wrote on X. Another posted on Threads, “Tyra Banks should’ve passed on this documentary. She can barely even PRETEND to give two ounces of a f*ck. My God.”