Tyra Banks Addresses “America’s Next Top Model Criticism, Admits She Went Too Far’ In New Doc Trailer
- Kris Avalon
- Jan 27
- 2 min read
Tyra Banks is finally addressing the backlash surrounding her hit competition series, America’s Next Top Model.
via: People
The supermodel, 52, at the helm of the reality series, is among the show's personalities featured in Netflix's new docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model.
The documentary aims to deliver a definitive account of what really went on behind the scenes of America’s Next Top Model, which aired for 24 series from 2003 to 2018.
"I knew I went too far. It was very, very intense, but you guys were demanding it, so we kept pushing it, more and more and more," Banks explains as some of the series' most controversial moments are seen in flashes through the trailer.
While Banks has admitted that these decisions look very different through the lens of modern culture, fans are eager to see what she and Nigel Barker, J. Alexander, Jay Manuel, and even some of the show's contestants have to say about their experiences.
Banks touched on the show's complicated legacy in Feb. 2025, while accepting the first-ever Luminary Spotlight honor at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards.
“Over 20 years ago I created a show called America’s Next Top Model,” Banks began. “And you guys have no idea how hard we fought to bring the diversity to that television show at a time when it didn’t exist; to show different beauties at a time when the world was like, ‘What? You casting that?’ A time when people in the fashion industry were telling me, ‘You putting the girls from the hood on your show?’ “
“I was like, ‘Why can the girl from the trailer park become a supermodel but the girl that’s chilin’ in the park in the hood can’t?’ “ she continued. “And we fought and we struggled and we made it happen.”
“Did we get it right? Hell no. I said some dumb s--t,” she said, which was met by laughter from the audience. “But I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the Internet when there were 24 cycles of changing the world. And I am so excited that I, and so many of us, have opened that door for others to follow.”
Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model debuts Feb. 16 on Netflix.
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