The reality competition "America's Next Top Model" is remembered by many for its drama and model Tyra Banks, who was the author of the entire project, but a new documentary being filmed by Netflix reveals another side of the popular television show that was watched around the world.
The documentary “Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model” shows the events behind the camera from 2003 to 2018. The film includes excerpts from interviews with Banks, producer Ken Mok, and Jay Manuel, Nigel Barker, and Jay Alexander, who also discuss the rise and fall of the top model in pop culture.
“Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model” also gave former contestants the opportunity to share their experiences, which were very different from what the audience could see on television.
One of the claims made in the documentary is that second season contestant Sandy Sullivan accused the production of allowing her to be sexually harassed while she was under the influence of alcohol in front of the cameras.
Towards the end of the season, the models travel to Milan, and after a day full of challenges and photo shoots, a group of men drive them through the city on scooters, and then invite them for dinner and drinks.
Sullivan claims that she accepted the proposal, but things soon went in the wrong direction.
"At first we just talked and had drinks. I don't think I ate anything all day and I barely slept the night before. I remember getting into the jacuzzi, April and Mercedes were with me. I remember a man looking at me, and then everything went blurry," she told the documentary.
"I remember him lying on top of me. I was semi-conscious. No one did anything to stop him. They even filmed it all," the model adds through tears.
"I was drunk. I think I drank two bottles of wine by myself. I only remember bits and pieces. He threw me in the shower, then I remember we were in bed, I probably passed out. I don't remember the sex, but I know it happened," Sullivan claims, noting that parts of the footage from that evening were aired on the reality competition.
The model claims that the production could have prevented everything, but they chose to broadcast parts on television, and then interpret the events as if she had cheated on the boyfriend who was waiting for her at home, so the cameras even recorded the moment when she called him to explain the incident.
In that episode of “America's Next Top Model,” Sullivan can be heard saying, “I just want to die,” the moment she realized what had happened in the morning.
When asked by Netflix production about this event, Banks, Manuel, and Alexander did not want to answer, noting that "production decided on the story and the incident."
The documentary also shows how Banks forced two models to go to the dentist under the pretext of beauty treatments to have their teeth "fixed." They didn't have any major problems, just a gap between their front teeth, and now they claim they were forced to do this.
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