Tyra Banks‘s three-part bombshell documentary has caused a firestorm online over undiscovered truths about the early 2000s series “America’s Next Top Model.
As the show’s creator and host, the former runway model has been criticized for exploiting aspiring models competing on the show and not protecting women during moments of distress.
Banks’ past responses of taking accountability didn’t move many of the models or the viewers. In fact, many have been unforgiving and still are after watching Netflix’s “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.”
The documentary reminded the world of the controversial weekly challenges, and producers’ blatant attempts to humiliate some of the women’s looks and bodies, all in the name of making good television.
Former cast members, Dani Evans, Shandi Sullivan, Keenyah Hill and more appeared in the documentary to share their traumatic experiences on the show and what their lives looked like afterward. But some former contestants were excluded.
“ANTM” cycle 3 winner Eva Marcille was a fan favorite during her season, and after she won. During her appearance on “CBS Mornings” with Gayle King on Thursday, hosts Nate Burleson and Vladimir Duthiers, she said she was “amazed” when she first learned about the documentary through the grapevine.
Marcille said she reached out to Jay Manuel, one of Tyra’s judges who started on “ANTM,” and asked why she didn’t know about it.
@evamarcilleaura Did you Know That Madam Was the Winner of America's Next Top Model 2004? #americasnexttopmodel #fyp #madam #tyrabanks ♬ original sound – Eva Marcille Aura
“And they didn’t ask you to be on it?” asked King, to which Marcille confirmed, “They did not ask me to be on it.”
The actress continued, “It was very surprising, and then I watched it. And after I watched it, I was gobsmacked. I was in awe. I told Jay ‘My mouth was wide open.’ To be a part of a club and not know what’s going on in the club is crazy.”
The documentary recapped baffling makeovers in which Evans was forced to undergo dental work to close a gap in her teeth, which she was reluctant to do but didn’t want to be sent home.
The controversial photo shoot when models wore blackface in a challenge to “change” ethnicities, was also highlighted. But what’s sparked an even higher level of anger amongst viewers was the production’s choice to film and broadcast a humiliating moment of Sullivan’s.
She got too inebriated on one episode and cheated on her then-boyfriend with one of the moped drivers that the show hired. After that, they filmed the moment that she called her boyfriend to confess what she had done and this episode led to her being further shamed in public after the show was over.
Marcille said what she saw on the documentary was “amazingly horrifying” and that she had “no idea” all of that had occurred on the show in other seasons.
In the documentary, Banks took a lot of heat from some models who felt she was the main reason for their experience on the show. But executive producer Ken Mock took some of the blame for the controversial challenges that occurred. Former supermodel Janice Dickenson — who was not in the documentary, but was a judge on the show — was also cruel with her comments, like constantly calling models fat or making fun of their looks.
Winning ANTM Cycle 6 became like a Scarlet Letter for Dani Evans.
— Netflix (@netflix) February 17, 2026
Years later, Tyra Banks told her: "I knew that there were certain doors you couldn't even get into because you did Top Model. And I did nothing about it."
Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model is now… pic.twitter.com/OCLF7gW3dl
Vladimir Duthiers asked Marcille, “Do you think the judges and producers had a role in creating this type of environment?”
Marcille, a former cast member of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” and “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” said, “Absolutely. That environment could not exist without producers aiding and abetting what was going on. I’ve done reality now on every level. ‘Housewives,’ I mean, I don’t know what’s going on in someone’s life unless the producers tell me. It’s a part of how this thing works.”
Despite holding producers accountable, Marcille, as she’s done before, still showed gratitude to Banks.
She said, ”What I will say is I never fail to thank Tyra. What Tyra set out to do in this business, I will always say — especially for ‘Top Model’ — initially, she set out to change the world. To change what the modeling industry looked like, sounded like, felt like, and expected. And she did that for me.”
Fans commented about the “All the Queen’s Men” star’s response to the show.
One skeptical person said, “Wait they didn’t ask her to be a part of the doc and she is one of the most popular winners wowww.”
Someone else who saw right through the creators’ alleged motives of not asking Marcille said, “I definitely thought Eva would be there. But media so messy yall only wanted to focus on the negative side of it not the positive.”
Another person who felt similar wrote, “They only asked the ones that fit the narrative.”
Banks has yet to come forward about the response to the documentary. One of the last messages she left for viewers was that after eight years since the last season aired, “America’s Next Top” model would be returning for a 25th season.
