Jay Manuel is taking accountability amid the America’s Next Top Model backlash. The longtime creative director and judge on the now-controversial show admitted he wishes he had set firmer boundaries while working on the franchise.
Speaking at a February 19 book signing and Q&A in New York City, for his book The Wig, the Bitch and the Meltdown, Manuel didn’t dodge the question when asked what he would do differently on ANTM. “Ultimately, my job should have been creating a safer space, and I should have pushed back on certain things a lot harder than I did,” he said.
The conversation comes just days after the release of Netflix’s new docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, which revisits the show’s most controversial moments – from problematic challenges to the lasting emotional toll reported by former contestants.
© UPNSince its debut, the series has reignited widespread criticism of ANTM, particularly around consent, race, body image, and power dynamics. Looking back, Manuel said his intentions were sincere from the start.
He joined the show during its first cycle as Tyra Banks’ makeup artist, motivated in part by loyalty and shared history. “I did it for Tyra,” he explained. “[She’s] a Black model in this industry who fought her way to the top… I said, ‘Yes, I’m going to do this for you. I’m going to stand here and support you.’ We all went into it with great intentions.”
© GettyBut as the show grew into a ratings juggernaut, Manuel says control began to slip away. “Along the way, things started to go a little crazy,” he admitted, pointing to increased network pressure and sponsor involvement.
By Cycle 4, he said, creative decisions were no longer solely his – something he believes contributed to some of the show’s most criticized moments, including the infamous race-swapping photo shoot.
“The real answer,” Manuel said, “is the one thing I wish that I could have done in general was draw better boundaries.” He added that he wishes he’d pushed back harder against production, emphasizing that contestant safety should have come first. “The most important thing in those photo shoots was to make sure that the girls had a safe space.”
He’s previously said that after Cycle 8, he attempted to leave the show, emailing Banks to say he was done, only to receive no response for days. He ultimately returned for additional cycles but later described that period as deeply damaging. “I was so broken by the end of that cycle because of the mental torture of what was going on,” he told People.
© GettyWhile Alexander took accountability, the show’s runway coach, Miss J Alexander, who has also dealt with some criticism, insisted that while some of the delivery was rough, he insisted everything he said was “with love.” Noting that “other than [making] fun of them to show them how to do it right,” everything was constructive. He said he has no regrets except asking for “more money.”
© GettyDespite Banks’ appearance in the series, Banks had nothing to do with it and had no say in the final cut.
What some models have said
© GettyAmid the media storm, there have been some models coming to Banks’ defense. Cycle 11’s Isis King, 40, noted that it kick-started her career and said Banks paid for her gender reassignment surgery from Dr. Marci Bowers.
“I became an actress and all of these things that I would’ve never had that opportunity if I didn’t go on the show, so I can’t downplay how impactful it’s been for my life,” she told PEOPLE.
Cycle 8 winner Jaslene González, 39, echoed those statements, telling the outlet, “I continue to be a fan of the show and of Tyra and the legacy that it’s left behind — especially with the way it’s transformed my life in such a positive way.”
© GettyOne of the show’s biggest successes, Eve Marcille, told CBS Mornings she was “amazingly horrified” and “gobsmacked” by the allegations. “I saw the show. She apologized a million times,” Marcille said. “But an apology to the person that you wronged is only as good as they can appreciate it. And so for the young girls that were sexually assaulted… for the young girls that now have eating disorders or look at themselves and never feel beautiful — that little girl in them that will always live in the woman that is them — there is no sorry, I think, that’s big enough to truly feel and heal that kind of hurt.”
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