Reality Check: Tyra Banks Confronts ANTM’s Troubling Legacy

Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model re-examines Tyra Banks and the show, revealing how ANTM evolved from a reform-minded project into a spectacle that often exploited contestants’ trauma. The docu-series features insiders and former contestants detailing disturbing moments—from drunken, potentially non-consensual incidents to shoots that glamorized violence and racism—while Banks offers partial apologies and shifts blame to audiences and industry norms. The piece argues that the show’s success thrived on a problematic system, even as Banks positions herself as a reformer, culminating in a portrait of ambition, accountability, and legacy in reality TV.