Oh baby, the girls are talking and this time it’s not at panel.
Former America’s Next Top Model winner Sophie Sumner just gave us a very British, very polite, but very pointed breakdown of Netflix’s behind the curtain moment, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. And let’s just say… nostalgia met accountability and things got uncomfortable. For those who forgot, Top Model was the glittery hunger games of fashion. Created by Tyra Banks, the show put aspiring models through photo shoots, runway challenges, and weekly judgment from a panel that included icons like J. Alexander and Jay Manuel. One by one, girls were sent packing until a winner was crowned. It was fierce. It was chaotic. It was appointment television. But it was also… a lot. Over the years, critics have called out the show for pushing narrow beauty standards and putting contestants in emotionally messy situations. The documentary doesn’t shy away from that, and Sophie says watching it back was hard. Heartbreaking even. According to her, there was a noticeable gap between cast members telling their truths and Tyra’s take on it all. Sophie basically wondered if Tyra got a different memo.She hinted that while others showed up to unpack trauma and reflect honestly, Tyra seemed to be promoting the brand. And Sophie was not subtle about that disconnect.
Still, it wasn’t all shade and side eye. Sophie lit up talking about seeing familiar faces again. She gushed over Miss J and shared how surreal it felt meeting him for the first time. That warm and fuzzy feeling was real. She also appreciated seeing a more open side of Jay Manuel, saying he always showed her kindness but often kept a wall up during filming. As for her own journey, Sophie admitted the doc stirred up deep nostalgia. Before things went left, before it all went bananas as she put it, Top Model felt magical. It felt like possibility. And as the girl who took home the crown in 2012, she carries both the sparkle and the scars.
And that’s the complicated truth about reality TV, isn’t it. It can crown you and crack you at the same time.
One thing is clear. The legacy of Top Model is not walking quietly into the sunset. The girls are reclaiming their stories, and this time, everybody is watching.
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