Former America’s Next Top Model judge and creative director Jay Manuel is currently on the media circuit promoting his juicy new novel, The Wig, the Bitch and the Meltdown, inspired by his time on the hit modeling competition.
Earlier this year, Manuel dished to Variety about some of the backstage drama he witnessed during his nine seasons on ANTM. Now, he’s opening up even more about it with the podcast Just the Sip.
Manuel says there were many “uncomfortable” moments he experienced on set, and that he often felt pressured to behave in ways he didn’t necessarily want to lest he be “dragged for it” by Tyra, er, the producers.
“On Top Model, there was a bit of this fear culture, so I kind of had to go along with it,” he recalls.
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Related: That time Tyra Banks told a model not to be proud about being gay has come back to haunt her
Manuel also explains that when he first signed onto the show, he agreed to an eight season contract. After the eighth season was up, he decided to move on.
Banks didn’t take the news well.
“I was free and clear to do whatever I wanted to do,” he recalls. “And they wanted to renegotiate for more cycles, and I reached out to Tyra first because she always asked me to speak with her first.”
He continues, “[I said to her] very genuinely, ‘I feel like I’ve given all I can to the show and I’m gonna work on other things.’ Tyra’s a businesswoman and I thought for sure she’d understand. I thought I was being very lovely and respectful.”
So how did the super model respond?
“She just had two words for me: I’m disappointed,” Manuel adds. “And that was it. That was the end of the discussion.”
Manuel agreed to shoot one more season of ANTM while the producers looked for his replacement. But when he arrived to set for the first day of filming, he says, Banks wouldn’t even acknowledge him.
“The first time I see her is walking on to set, you know the panel we do in casting, and I just said, ‘Hey, I’m so glad you’re here early ’cause I just wanna…’” he remembers. “Walked right by, did not talk to me.”
Manuel goes on to say in the interview that Banks eventually apologized for how she treated him.
“I got a message to come see her in her hotel room, and to be fair, she apologized. And said, ‘I wasn’t being professional. I am an executive producer, you are talent here, I should have been more professional.’”
Despite the apology, Manuel says their relationship “never really recovered.”
Watch Manuel’s full interview on Just The Sip below.
Related: ‘Top Model’ judge Jay Manuel spills all the tea on working with Tyra Banks, says “It was a struggle”
Smith David
I loved the show. Jay never seemed real to me. Now I understand why. I’m glad Tyra apologized. No one is perfect. And being a boss can be very stressful.
david_warner
She’s got as many allegations against her as Ellen … toxic personalities like this need to go.
Fat_Tony
Some of the modeling challenges were beyond ridiculous, but all-in-all, I miss that show.
dhmonarch89
OK- there was this period in the early 2000s where everything was about being a ‘DIVA’. People demanded it of the super model types- the big name female singers…now it’s starting to bite them in the ass…it doesn’t seem fair that by acting the way people demanded of them is now being used against them.
Kangol2
Exactly. This retrospective critique of divas like Tyra completely erases the culture in which they emerged and were celebrated. I mean, remember Bridezillas, My Sweet Sixteen, etc., which mocked diva behavior and yet at the same time celebrated it and were wildly popular? Tyra also has apologized for her harsher behavior; it’s not like she’s trying to erase it or act like it never happened.
Also, Jay Manuel happily collected that paycheck from Tyra’s show and did not say a peep. Nada. Now that it’s the moment to attack and pile on, he’s doing so. Meanwhile, she played a huge role in promoting BIPOC women models, working-class White models, gay and trans models, and disabled models, and jumpstarted the careers of models who otherwise would not have been given the time of day by the otherwise very racist modeling industry. Criticize Tyra Banks for her failings, yes, but she also deserves a lot of praise too!
Onecaddy13
Couldn’t watch any show with her as emcee/host. I never took a liking to Tyra. Her ego was as big as her forehead and her grammar made me cringe every time.
scottjamesmiller
There was a “mean” comedian on AGT (when she emcee’d) whose set was insulting all of the judges. He did. It wasn’t pretty. He got 4 X’s but still managed to let Banks know that “the show’s not about you Tyra.” It was delicious.
Dymension
I am so damned tired of these people moaning and bitching and trying to bring others down. Get your own show, if you can…
Paulie P
Click bait headline yet again….. how is “i’m disappointed” worthy of a war story and “yikes”…
Your headline did the trick as I clicked and here I am commenting about how you do this often.
Cam
The one question I have is…..did that show EVER produce a “Top Model”?
Kangol2
Yes, it did. Leila Goldkuhl didn’t win, but she is a high fashion model and was named as one of the 50 top models in the world in 2018. Danielle Evans won the show in season 6, then went on to have a successful runway career. Winnie Harlow didn’t win, but has become quite famous as a model because she shows rather than masks her vitiligo, and this has helped transform high-fashion depictions that chronic illness. Toccara Jones didn’t win, but became a very successful plus-sized model, and is still doing print and runway shows. Eva Pigford won, but then had a modeling career before she became a successful actress and now reality show star. & Queerty has featured Nyle DiMarco, who became the second man and first deaf model to win ANTM. He has continued to model and be a spokesperson for various causes. There are many more, but these are just a few of the ones who went on to modeling careers. Others, like Yaya DaCosta and Analeigh Tipton, have made their names on TV shows and in films.
startenout
I’m so tired of reading stories bashing this woman. She had to work harder than anyone the rise as high as she did and the attitude she had would have been respected in a man and was tolerated in many a white woman at the time, but she’s called a B.
No.
He sideswiped his “friend” of 8 years with “Im gonna go.” You’d think that if she’s actually been his friend he might have given her some inkling that he was ready to move on. A mention. A discussion on set. No, you call this great friend to tell her over. the. phone. and then you’re upset that she’s upset. Like let’s not give her time to process losing the good friend you claim to be. FOH
HankHarris
His ‘people’ contacted a company I worked with about creating a beauty line with him. In 30 years of business I’ve never encountered more arrogance or ego.