What Really Happened Between Jay Manuel and Tyra Banks Is Finally Coming Out
Jay Manuel is one of the former staple cast members reflecting back on his America’s Next Top Model journey in the new Netflix docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.
Jay was the show’s iconic creative director from the very beginning. He infamously exited the series after 18 seasons, sparking years of rumors about a massive fallout. However, time has given him the perspective to speak openly about the rigid power dynamics behind the scenes. After Tyra Banks refused to discuss their severed relationship on camera for the documentary, Jay responded by making it clear that the estrangement is not one-sided.
Cameras captured Tyra asking, “Can we talk now about what happened with you and Jay?” while Jay bluntly answered, “I don’t,” when asked if he misses their friendship. Reacting to Tyra’s refusal to elaborate on their falling out, Jay stated that the ball has always been in her court.
“My phone number’s is the same. She knows it,” he explained. “I have not gotten a phone call, but I don’t think I will get that phone call to be honest with you. And I’m not expecting it.” He went on to describe the unspoken rules of working with the show’s creator, noting, “In Tyra’s world, and this can speak to everyone in Tyra’s world, you don’t leave Tyra. Tyra leaves you.”
He says that after years of silence, he has made peace with the end of their era together. “If I never spoke with Tyra again, in this lifetime, I’m okay with that. I’m really okay with it. I don’t need it.”
Do you think reality TV creators hold too much power over the personal lives and boundaries of their cast and crew?