Jay Manuel’s Friendship With Tyra Banks Never Recovered After ‘America’s Next Top Model’
Jay Manuel said his friendship with Tyra Banks never recovered after he quit America’s Next Top Model.
He said Tyra ignored him but later apologized for being unprofessional.
Jay previously said he was afraid to speak up during filming.
Around the time Tyra Banks was called out this summer for all the “insensitive” moments on America’s Next Top Model, Jay Manuel came forward and recalled feeling “scared to speak up” during incidents on-set. Jay noted how Tyra discouraged contestant Kim Stolz from speaking about being gay and how the show had a challenge that required the aspiring models to “swap races.” And during an appearance on Just the Sip last week, “Mr. Jay” revealed even more about his time on the show and how Tyra treated him after he quit.
Talking to Justin Sylvester, Jay described the initial vibe on-set as “bubble gum and roses.” Clearly, things changed. Although Jay spoke up during the “swap races” ANTM challenge and was told he wouldn’t be “dragged for it,” he still felt “uncomfortable” and questioned his multi-season contract. He added, “On Top Model, there was a bit of this fear culture, so I kind of had to go along with it.”
When his contract expired after eight seasons, Jay was out the door. He said:
“I was free and clear to do whatever I wanted to do. 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. And I said, ‘Unfortunately, I can’t come back to the show…I feel like I’ve given all I can to the show and I’m going to work on other things.’”
Spoiler: Tyra allegedly didn’t handle it very well. He continued, “She just had two words for me: ‘I’m disappointed.’ And that was it, that was the end of the discussion.” Eek!
Even though Jay quit, he came back for one more season to help as the ANTM team tried to find a more permanent replacement, but apparently, Tyra’s demeanor toward him was straight-up icy during most of his time on-set. “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 remembered. “Walked right by, did not talk to me.”
Eventually, Tyra owned up and apologized. Jay added, “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.’”
After that, “things did get better,” but Jay said their friendship “never really recovered.” In short: The ANTM set sounded really problematic, unprofessional, and like a big ol’ mess.
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