Sherri Shepherd weighs in on the Tyra Banks backlash after a new Netflix docuseries re-examines the controversial reality show America's Next Top Model.
- March 1, 2026
AceShowbiz - America's Next Top Model is facing renewed scrutiny following a new Netflix docuseries, with former contestants and judges criticizing host Tyra Banks. Talk show host Sherri Shepherd has now offered her perspective on the growing backlash.
The docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model, premiered recently and featured Banks. However, many viewers felt she did not take sufficient accountability for the show's controversial moments, which have been re-examined in a modern context.
Sherri Shepherd addressed the issue on her daytime talk show. "The show did awful things to the contestants, and I think everybody expected Tyra to take more accountability. I understand why people are mad," Shepherd stated. She then provided context for the era, adding, "But I also say, you have to understand the time this all happened was in 2003. Reality TV was the wild, wild west back then."
Shepherd also welcomed former America's Next Top Model judges Nigel Barker, Jay Manuel, and Miss J Alexander to her program. Jay Manuel, who discussed his fallout with Tyra Banks, suggested she was not her authentic self in the documentary.
Miss J, who revealed they suffered a stroke in 2022, shared an update on their relationship with Banks. They noted that while many celebrities visited them in the hospital, Tyra Banks did not, and confirmed that she still has not visited.
Tyra Banks has not publicly responded to the recent criticism. In the docuseries, she revealed she is working on bringing America's Next Top Model back for a twenty-fifth cycle.
