America’s Next Top Model’s most memorable contestants aren’t staying quiet about their experience on TV.
After more than 24 seasons, the reality show is being put under the microscope in a new Netflix docuseries titled Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.
While host Tyra Banks and judges J. Alexander, Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker are featured in the new project, many viewers are interested in the untold stories by some of the show’s breakout stars.
Since Reality Check premiered on Netflix on February 16, 2026, several contestants have shared their honest and unfiltered reviews of the project. Some are even commenting on Banks’ involvement with the show.
Netflix will explore the most controversial moments from groundbreaking reality competition America’s Next Top Model in its new documentary Reality Check. The three-part docuseries from American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan pulls no punches as it examines the way America’s Next Top Model changed the fashion industry — for better […]
“When I signed on for it, Tyra wasn’t even going to be on the show, so I was kind of surprised that it was more like a judge-focused show,” cycle 10 winner Whitney Thompson said via Instagram on February 17, 2026. “I would want to hear more from the contestants.”
Keep reading to see what cast members are saying about Reality Check and if it’s an accurate representation of their experience on America’s Next Top Model:
Shandi Sullivan
Shandi Sullivan Courtesy of Netflix
America’s Next Top Model cycle 2 finalist Shandi Sullivan claimed that she was sexually assaulted during a group trip to Italy during her time on the show. Now that she’s shared more of her experience, Sullivan is grateful for the support.
“Welp the documentary is out and now you know more of my story…after all of the years the Top Model girls and what we went through were never forgotten,” Sullivan wrote via Facebook on February 16, 2026. “At the age of 43, I continue to struggle with it; always smiling. That’s why I took this opportunity. Knowing that Tyra didn’t have control over my narrative, that the director and producers here had my back…that’s why I did it. I did it for me. Because I mattered and I still do! The love I have felt today has been immense. Thank you to everyone that heard me.”
Whitney Thompson
Whitney Thompson Courtesy of Netflix
America’s Next Top Model cycle 10 winner Whitney Thompson addressed the criticism Tyra Banks was receiving from the docuseries.
“Hating Tyra is easy, right? I mean, it’s easy to blame her. But the truth is that the industry would not be what it is today if it wasn’t for her putting these things on Top Model back then,” Thompson claimed via Instagram on February 17, 2026. “We would not be gasping at the craziness that she put on TV if she hadn’t done it and shifted our entire mindset. She took queer, Black, trans, different weights, different heights and she put them into the average American’s living room where everyone was together watching these shows, rooting for someone who didn’t necessarily look like them.”
The model continued, “Because of that, it shifted the whole dynamic to where people could actually use people who weren’t identical to them in advertising. That had never happened before.”
Tiffany Richardson
America’s Next Top Model cycle 4 contestant Tiffany Richardson won’t forget the way Tyra Banks yelled at her before being eliminated.
“Hold up @tyrabanks let’s keep it cute … you know how you treated me the whole time off and on camera, YOU WAS A BULLY!!! You treated me like s*** and said the nastiest things about me and my son,” Richardson claimed in a since deleted Instagram post. “That is not how the argument went but YALL EDITED TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE YOU CARED.”
Banks admitted in the docuseries that she “went too far” while addressing the “tough” moment.
“You know, I lost it. It was probably bigger than her. It was family, friends, society, Black girls, all the challenges that we have,” she explained. “So many people saying that we’re not good enough. I think all that was in that moment. That’s some Black girl stuff that goes real deep inside of me, but I knew I went too far.”
Adrianne Curry
Although America’s Next Top Model cycle 1 winner Adrianne Curry declined to participate in the Netflix doc, she spoke out about the project on social media.
“I was just told one of the Top Model judges admitted they’d advance girls that were not the best models…just good tv,” Curry wrote via X on February 17, 2026. “That was me. I’ve said it for years, I never was the best one. I just had the best sob story. It is nice to have it confirmed.”
Keenyah Hill
America’s Next Top Model cycle 4 contestant Keenyah Hill participated in the Netflix doc with hopes that her story would be shared accurately.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to lend my voice about my experience on America’s Next Top Model,” Hill wrote via Instagram on February 16, 2026, before watching the finished product. “Sending SO MUCH LOVE to the ANTM Alumni ❤️. I know we all had very different experiences on the show and I feel for everyone who had to heal from the aftermath with half the world watching!! Grateful to have been a part of such a legendary show… Can’t wait to watch 🍿.”
Netflix’s America’s Next Top Model docuseries revealed where Tyra Banks stands with many former contestants after they offered their unfiltered opinions of the show. Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, streaming now, features interviews from alums Whitney Thompson, Giselle Samson, Shannon Stewart, Shandi Sullivan, Danielle Evans and Keenyah Hill. New confessionals with executive producer […]
Lisa D’Amato
America’s Next Top Model cycle 17 winner Lisa D’Amato is hopeful that E!’s upcoming project titled Dirty Rotten Scandal will be a more revealing look at the reality TV franchise she was a part of.
“#ANTM #NETFLIX mark your calendars for Dirty Rotten Scandal’s on E! March 11th,” D’Amato wrote via Instagram on February 16, 2026. “The Netflix was still very tame and sugarcoated compared to a lot of us and what happened behind the scenes to US that they kept silenced. We will have the last word. Thank you 🙏 All my love to @miss_jalexander ♥️.”