Former “ANTM” judge speculates on Tyra Banks' recovery from dramatic “Top Model ”docuseries backlash
Former “ANTM” judge speculates on Tyra Banks' recovery from dramatic “Top Model ”docuseries backlash
Joey NolfiThu, February 26, 2026 at 3:23 PM UTC
0
Kelly Cutrone and Tyra Banks on 'America's Next Top Model' cycle 19Credit: Craig Barritt/GettyKey Points -
Former ANTM judge Kelly Cutrone has weighed in on whether Tyra Banks can recover from docuseries backlash.
Cutrone previously lashed out at Jay Manuel for criticizing Banks on the Netflix project.
Cycle 18 star Louise Watts told Entertainment Weekly in 2023 that she quite the competition after a spat with Cutrone over "fake s---" on set.
America's Next Top Model judge and PR titan Kelly Cutrone — whose iconic spat with cycle 18 contestant Louise Watts famously led to the model quitting the competition — has spoken out in defense of Tyra Banks amid renewed backlash.
The supermodel and longtime ANTM producer-host has received sustained criticism for her comments on Netflix's new Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model docuseries, which highlights former judges and contestants revealing (mostly negative) recollections of their experience with Banks on the modeling competition show.
Now, Cutrone, who served on the Top Model panel from cycles 18-22, has revealed how she thinks Banks might recover from the fallout.
"I feel confident that Tyra will prevail," Cutrone told Entertainment Weekly's sister publication, PEOPLE. "She's done a lot for people, including the people who are out there trashing her right now, specifically the people who worked on the show."
'ANTM' personalities Tyra Banks and Dani EvansCredit: Netflix (2)
Cutrone said that "she will prevail" over the backlash, which stemmed from various instances covered on the docuseries, including judges pressuring cycle 6 winner Dani Evans to close a gap in her teeth via dental procedure during the competition, tasking models with portraying women of different races for two separate photo challenges, and Banks apologizing for not further protecting cycle 4 contestant Keenyah Hill from alleged sexual harassment during a shoot.
"I think that she will get through this," Cutrone continued. "But I think that 80 percent of [the docuseries] is incredibly twisted. I believe that the facts and the truth will come forward."
Cutrone previously spoke out on Instagram against fellow judge and former ANTM creative director Jay Manuel, who also alleged on the series that Banks, his estranged friend, refused to speak to him on set after he expressed interest in exploring creative opportunities outside the show after working with her for eight cycles.
Advertisement
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
"Do I think [Tyra is] perfect? No. Do I think the show is perfect? No," added Cutrone, who joined the panel on cycle 18 — which marked the final season for OG personalities Manuel, photographer Nigel Barker, and runway coach Miss J. Alexander. "Do I think that she deserves that? Absolutely f---ing not. As somebody who owns a company and runs a business, I would be furious if they were my employees and they behaved like that. And to what end? To what end?"
On social media earlier this week, Cutrone wrote in a comment that Manuel was "incredibly rude" to her on set, echoing what past contestants — including cycle 9 contenders Sarah Hartshorne and Ambreal Williams — have said about him, including in interviews with EW. (Representatives for Manuel did not respond to EW's request for comment.)
Kelly Cutrone, Tyra Banks, and Jay Manuel on 'America's Next Top Model'Credit: Chris Frawley/The CW; Monty Brinton/CBS Photo Archive/Getty
Cutrone's words come one week after Sherri Shepherd broke down in tears defending Banks on her talk show. She told her audience, "We're not taking into account the battles that this Black woman had to fight just to stay on the air for other people to come on the air," with regard to Banks' behavior in attempting to keep ANTM on TV.
While Cutrone and Shepherd have publicly defended Banks, the PR professional and former Kell on Earth reality series star also came under fire for her role on ANTM. In 2023, the aforementioned Watts slammed Cutrone in an EW interview, over allegedly antagonizing her during an earlier challenge, which led to the pair's infamous on-air clash that resulted in Watts walking out of the judging deliberation and quitting the competition on the spot.
"I tell everybody that works for me not to run on sets. It's a standard thing in the industry. There was no need to run, and I don't think it's unprofessional or picking on anyone," Cutrone told EW at the time. "[Louise had] zero regard for hierarchy and zero understanding of how the industry works" in the real world.
"She thought she'd embarrass me on panel, and I thought, I've had enough. You're trying to make me be a person I don't want to be. I can't do all this fake s---," Watts added to EW in the interview, further claiming that the show's post-production edit made it seem like their fight unfurled over one take, but alleged that it was actually pieced together from a lengthier instance. "I was going to [confront] her and go, 'Who do you think you're talking to?' But I held that in."
Representatives for Banks and ANTM producer Ken Mok have not responded to EW's repeated requests for comment on the Reality Check docuseries.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
