'America's Next Top Model' doc's biggest bombshells

Netflix's three-episode docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is now streaming and looks back at the show's complicated legacy. It features on-camera interviews with creator and host Tyra Banks, former executive producer Ken Mok, judges J. Alexander, Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker, and former contestants including Shandi Sullivan, Dani Evans, Whitney Thompson, Ebony Haith and Giselle Samson.

One early controversy centers on casting and diversity. Mok says the network pushed back on diverse casting and that disgraced ex-media exec Les Moonves did not want a Hispanic contestant; Mok recalled that Banks “lost it” and alleged the argument “almost got physical.” Manuel also remembered a moment during Cycle 1 when David Bowie called to offer encouragement, telling him, “You found the place where you need to be.” Former contestants described lasting harm from the show’s production choices.

United States

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