From misfits to bullies: how America's Next Top Model became toxic

One scene from America’s Next Top Model—Tyra Banks erupting at contestant Tiffany Richardson—has long outlived the series, looping as a viral clip and a cultural punchline. Yet former collaborators say the on-screen outburst was only part of a deeper problem, with Jay Manuel noting, "There was a lot more that was really said...

People have tried to make it something funny but it really wasn’t." Public re-evaluation accelerated during the pandemic, when fresh online scrutiny and younger viewers applied what Banks has called "a 2020 lens." Her participation in Netflix’s three-part Reality Check represents the most substantial reckoning to date, and co-director Mor Loushy captures the series’ dual nature plainly: "There was a lot of beauty in this show.

There was a lot of ugliness in this show. But let’s talk about all of it." Banks framed the show as a response to the barriers she faced in modelling—"I would go home and just feel defeated...

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