The battle for who is responsible for the negative effects of America’s Next Top Model has reached a fever pitch. While Netflix’s recent docuseries Reality Check offered a somewhat polished look at the franchise’s history, a rival documentary is promising to strip away the filter. In a blistering new interview for E!’s upcoming series Dirty Rotten Scandals, model and former judge Janice Dickinson launched an attack on Tyra Banks, claiming the show was less of a modeling competition and more of a platform for humiliation and torture designed to feed Banks’ ego.
Dickinson, now 71, served as a judge for the first four seasons of the hit reality show. Known during her tenure for her sharp tongue and brutal honesty regarding contestants’ weight and appearance, she now claims that her persona was largely manufactured and mandated by the show’s creator, according to Daily Mail UK.
“The producers, especially Tyra, were begging me to be harsher and cruel, like Simon Cowell was on American Idol,” Dickinson shared. She alleges that while she took the heat for being the mean one, it was Banks who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
In the footage for Dirty Rotten Scandals, Janice Dickinson pulls no punches, labeling the now 52-year-old Banks a “hardcore b***h.” Dickinson claims that Banks’ treatment of the young women on the show was rooted in a deep-seated competitiveness and jealousy.
According to Dickinson, Banks often targeted Black contestants specifically, acting out of a fear of being eclipsed by a younger generation.
“She would go harder on the Black girls on the show because of competitiveness and jealousy and her being older than these young women,” Dickinson alleged. She further critiqued Banks’ “tough teen mom” persona, stating that Banks didn’t actually care about the girls’ confidence or careers. Instead, Dickinson claims, “America’s Next Top Model really tortured these girls for Tyra’s ego. I was there and I saw it… they left the show completely depressed and depleted while she got so rich.”
The timing of these claims is significant. Dirty Rotten Scandals is being positioned as a direct response to Netflix’s Reality Check, which featured participation from Banks and other core participants like Miss J Alexander, Jay Manuel, and Nigel Barker. Many former contestants, including Cycle 17 winner Lisa D’Amato, refused to appear in the Netflix version, claiming it was an effort by Banks to minimize her past behavior.
D’Amato, who also appears in the E! documentary, has famously compared the ANTM experience to the Stanford Prison Experiment, describing it as mental torture. D’Amato estimated that Banks would likely only take a small amount of accountability for the lasting trauma caused by the show’s controversial challenges and hostile environment.
“I trusted you with my dreams,” D’Amato says in a heart-wrenching clip. “How dare you take my f***ing life away from me.”
While Reality Check focused on the cultural phenomenon of the show, Dirty Rotten Scandals aims to expose the “human cost of entertainment masquerading as therapy.” The series will not only tackle ANTM but will also investigate the behind-the-scenes controversies of other iconic programs like Dr. Phil and The Price is Right.
Tyra Banks has declined to comment on the specific allegations raised in the E! docuseries. However, with Janice Dickinson leading the charge, the conversation surrounding the ethics of 2000s reality television is far from over.
