A new Netflix documentary, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, has reignited criticism of the hit reality show, exposing a culture of body-shaming, humiliation, and toxic treatment. The three-part series features interviews with creator Tyra Banks, judges, and dozens of former contestants, painting a damning picture of the show that ran from 2003 to 2013.
The documentary highlights how contestants were weighed on camera and subjected to harsh critiques. One model, Giselle, recalls being ridiculed for having a 'wide ass', while another was made to pose as an elephant in a safari-themed shoot due to her size. Banks, who presents herself as a trailblazer for diversity, is shown to have upheld the same toxic standards she claims to have fought against.
Disturbing accounts include contestant Shandi’s experience in Milan, where she had sex with a man after drinking two bottles of wine and blacking out. The encounter was filmed by production crews, and Shandi says her demands to leave were denied. Executive producer Ken Mok defends the scene as a 'memorable moment', while Banks distances herself from production decisions.
Former contestants from disadvantaged backgrounds say the show failed to deliver on its promise of a modelling career, instead exploiting their vulnerabilities. The documentary also revisits controversial photoshoots, including one where a model posed with a bullet wound despite her mother having been shot and paralysed.
While the judges express some remorse, Banks and Mok show little accountability. The series, criticised for being overlong and frenetically edited, ultimately underscores how the show’s harmful practices were flagged at the time but ignored.
