The battle for who’s answerable for the destructive results of America’s Subsequent High Mannequin has reached a fever pitch. Whereas Netflix’s current docuseries Actuality Examine supplied a considerably polished take a look at the franchise’s historical past, a rival documentary is promising to strip away the filter. In a blistering new interview for E!’s upcoming sequence Soiled Rotten Scandals, mannequin and former choose Janice Dickinson launched an assault on Tyra Banks, claiming the present was much less of a modeling competitors and extra of a platform for humiliation and torture designed to feed Banks’ ego.
Dickinson, now 71, served as a choose for the primary 4 seasons of the hit actuality present. Identified throughout her tenure for her sharp tongue and brutal honesty concerning contestants’ weight and look, she now claims that her persona was largely manufactured and mandated by the present’s creator, in accordance with Every day Mail UK.
“The producers, particularly Tyra, have been begging me to be harsher and merciless, like Simon Cowell was on American Idol,” Dickinson shared. She alleges that whereas she took the warmth for being the imply one, it was Banks who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Within the footage for Soiled Rotten Scandals, Janice Dickinson pulls no punches, labeling the now 52-year-old Banks a “hardcore b***h.” Dickinson claims that Banks’ therapy of the younger ladies on the present was rooted in a deep-seated competitiveness and jealousy.
In line with Dickinson, Banks usually focused Black contestants particularly, appearing out of a worry of being eclipsed by a youthful era.
“She would go tougher on the Black women on the present due to competitiveness and jealousy and her being older than these younger ladies,” Dickinson alleged. She additional critiqued Banks’ “robust teen mother” persona, stating that Banks didn’t truly care concerning the women’ confidence or careers. As an alternative, Dickinson claims, “America’s Subsequent High Mannequin actually tortured these women for Tyra’s ego. I used to be there and I noticed it… they left the present utterly depressed and depleted whereas she acquired so wealthy.”
The timing of those claims is important. Soiled Rotten Scandals is being positioned as a direct response to Netflix’s Actuality Examine, which featured participation from Banks and different core individuals like Miss J Alexander, Jay Manuel, and Nigel Barker. Many former contestants, together with Cycle 17 winner Lisa D’Amato, refused to seem within the Netflix model, claiming it was an effort by Banks to attenuate her previous habits.
D’Amato, who additionally seems within the E! documentary, has famously in contrast the ANTM expertise to the Stanford Jail Experiment, describing it as psychological torture. D’Amato estimated that Banks would possible solely take a small quantity of accountability for the lasting trauma attributable to the present’s controversial challenges and hostile setting.
“I trusted you with my desires,” D’Amato says in a heart-wrenching clip. “How dare you’re taking my f***ing life away from me.”
Whereas Actuality Examine targeted on the cultural phenomenon of the present, Soiled Rotten Scandals goals to show the “human value of leisure masquerading as remedy.” The sequence won’t solely sort out ANTM however may even examine the behind-the-scenes controversies of different iconic applications like Dr. Phil and The Worth is Proper.
Tyra Banks has declined to touch upon the particular allegations raised within the E! docuseries. Nonetheless, with Janice Dickinson main the cost, the dialog surrounding the ethics of 2000s actuality tv is way from over.
