Jay Manuel Opens Up About Reported Feud With ‘ANTM’ Host Tyra Banks

Within the new explosive tell-all docuseries, “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,” a number of personalities from the early 2000s actuality present mentioned among the collection’ most controversial moments and its place in popular culture historical past.

The Netflix documentary additionally explored Tyra Banks’ alleged fallout with Jay Manuel—one thing that occurred after the previous inventive director revealed he needed to step away from competitors collection throughout an earlier season.

Whereas the primary episode of “Actuality Test” provides viewers a little bit of background on how “America’s Subsequent High Mannequin” got here to be, the second and third episodes delve into among the present’s largest scandals, together with Manuel’s relationship with Banks.

Manuel defined in one of many docuseries’ confessional interviews that though he initially beloved filming the present, he was able to unfold his wings and pursue different alternatives after a number of years as the fact present’s inventive director.

Leaving, nevertheless, wasn’t as simple as Manuel thought it might be. “I simply felt like if I mentioned no to Tyra I might be letting her down,” Manuel mentioned in one of many episodes.

When Manuel lastly labored up the braveness to talk with Banks about his future on the present, he mentioned he had despatched her an e-mail, and he or she replied with three phrases that will completely change their dynamic.

“I’m disenchanted,” the reported e-mail mentioned.

Manuel shared that after he introduced his plans to go away the collection, executives referred to as and begged him to remain on for one more season so they might have extra time to seek out his substitute.

Manuel added that whoever he was talking to primarily threatened to have him blacklisted had he chosen to not return. “There was a warning that strikes the concern of God in you,” he mentioned. “You realize, folks speak about being blacklisted. These phrases weren’t used, however I had suspected that that is what it could flip into.”

Manuel’s relationship with Banks is only a small portion of the docuseries, in keeping with an earlier report from The Blast. Along with Manuel, different judges, J. Alexander and Nigel Barker, together with creator Ken Mok, and former contestants Whitney Thompson, Giselle Samson, Shannon Stewart, Shandi Sullivan, Dani Evans, and Keenyah Hill, are additionally concerned.

The episodes take viewers on a visit down reminiscence lane, wanting again on a few of “America’s Subsequent High Mannequin’s” most controversial moments, together with the race-swapping problem, how producers edited sure ladies to look, and the community’s determination to air Sullivan’s heartbreaking break-up together with her boyfriend, and what led to that.

At one level within the collection, Banks admits that at a sure level, issues on the set of “ANTM” obtained out of hand.

“I knew I went too far. It was very, very intense, however you guys had been demanding it, so we saved pushing it, increasingly more and extra,” the previous Victoria’s Secret mannequin shared.

Relating to the season 4 race-swapping shoot (which has garnered a lot backlash from social media customers in the present day), Manuel admitted that he knew it wasn’t proper. “My mother and father are from South Africa, they grew up throughout Apartheid. I’m very conscious of that historical past and I simply mentioned, like, race swapping? Wow,” he mentioned on digital camera.

Manuel even claimed that he requested to be excused from the shoot however was denied. “I acknowledged that my position was beginning to have limitations and that shoot was occurring regardless,” he added. “If you happen to actually search for it, you’ll be able to see it on my face. Particularly the setup for the day the place I inform the ladies what we’re doing. I might inform. I used to be similar to, double swallowing, however I simply needed to do my job.”