LOS ANGELES, CA — For over a decade, Tyra Banks reigned supreme as the queen of reality TV fashion, famously teaching a generation of millennial women how to “smize” while simultaneously manufacturing some of the most viral and meme-worthy moments in television history. However, a new three-part Netflix docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, has pulled back the high-gloss veneer to reveal a disturbing underworld of body-shaming, psychological manipulation, and systemic toxic treatment that has left many viewers—and former contestants—reeling.
Released on February 16, 2026, the documentary features unprecedented access to the show’s central figures, including Banks herself, executive producer Ken Mok, and iconic judges like J. Alexander (Miss J), Jay Manuel, and Nigel Barker. But as the credits roll on the three-hour exposé, it isn’t the fierce runway walks that linger; it’s the harrowing accounts of women who say their lives were toyed with for the sake of “good television.”
The Tyra Banks Reckoning: “You Guys Were Demanding It”
The documentary’s most anticipated element is the sit-down interview with Tyra Banks, her first substantive reflection on the series since it ended in 2018. While Banks presents herself as a trailblazer who fought to diversify the fashion industry, critics argue she comes across as defensive and dismissive of the individual suffering of contestants.
When confronted with the show’s most controversial “challenges”—including making a plus-sized model pose as an elephant or pressuring Dani Evans (Cycle 6) to surgically close her signature tooth gap—Banks frequently passes the buck. “I haven’t really said much, but now it’s time,” Banks says in the doc, before later demurring on specific production decisions by claiming “that’s not my territory.”
Perhaps most controversially, Banks appears to blame the show’s extremes on the audience. “I knew I went too far… but you guys were demanding it, so we kept pushing,” she tells the filmmakers. It is a sentiment that has sparked outrage on social media, with fans pointing out that the “challenges” were often humiliation rituals designed by producers, not requested by viewers.
The Shandi Sullivan “Milan Incident”: A Dark Chapter Revisited
The most disturbing revelation in Reality Check involves Shandi Sullivan, a frontrunner from Cycle 2. The documentary revisits the infamous trip to Milan, where Shandi was filmed having sex with a local man after a night of heavy drinking.
Shandi tearfully recounts the experience, revealing she had consumed two bottles of wine and was “blacked out for a lot of it.” While the original footage was aired under the title “The Girl Who Cheated,” the documentary suggests a gross lack of intervention from the crew.
- The Allegation: Shandi states she was too intoxicated to consent and that production “trailed” her the entire time rather than stopping the situation.
- The Production Defense: Executive producer Ken Mok defends the filming by stating they treated the show “as a documentary” and that the scene was “memorable.”
The documentary highlights the psychological toll this took on Shandi, who says her demands to leave the show were denied and she was only allowed to call her boyfriend on the condition that the call was filmed for “drama.”
A Pattern of Toxic Treatment
The exposé doesn’t stop at Shandi’s story. Dozens of former contestants sat down to detail a pattern of treatment that would be categorically rejected by 2026 industry standards.
Key Revelations from “Reality Check”
| Contestant | Incident / Revelation | Impact |
| Giselle Samson (Cycle 1) | Ridiculed on camera by judges for having a “wide ass.” | Says she still “talks to herself that way” to this day. |
| Ebony Haith (Cycle 1) | Faced racist remarks about hair texture and skin “ashiness.” | Recalls the pain of being represented as “harsh” and “aggressive.” |
| Keenyah Hill (Cycle 4) | Harassed by a male model during a shoot; production failed to intervene. | Describes the experience as “pretty dark stuff.” |
| Dani Evans (Cycle 6) | Given an ultimatum to close her tooth gap or go home. | Felt her self-image was a pawn for TV ratings. |
| Dionne Walters (Cycle 8) | Forced to pose with a “bullet wound” despite her mother being a shooting victim. | Ken Mok admitted this was a “mistake.” |