Parents' Guide to Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model

The troubling unscripted series mixes conversations about, and explanations and excuses for, how far the producers of America's Next Top Model went to ensure its continued success. As Tyra Banks and others involved in the production and distribution of the series talk about the show's history and how it evolved (for better or worse) over the years, conversations also revolve around some of the show's more controversial photoshoots, including those in which models are made up in black and brown face, made to look like violently murdered women, told to behave like vomiting heroin addicts, and are photographed as women who live on the streets with actual unhoused individuals. Meanwhile, former contestants revisit some of the confusing and painful experiences they had on the show as young and inexperienced aspiring models, including intense body shaming and racism at the hands of the producers and judges, and the long-term impact it has had on them.

But it's the discussions about the sexual violence committed against some of the contestants (which was captured on camera and largely aired) that are the most disturbing. Despite some embarrassed or apologetic reactions when asked to comment about these events, producers and show contributors largely frame them within the broader cultural norms of the time, the pressures imposed by the industry, and TV audience expectations. While there is some truth to this, the unwillingness of Tyra Banks and others to take more responsibility for some of the destructive production decisions that were made, and the show's failure to protect the contestants, only reinforces the harm former contestants describe. As a result, Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model helps fuel the anger expressed by contemporary social media pundits while offering a generation of ANTM fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the series perpetuated, exploited, and continues to reinforce problematic ideas about what really makes women beautiful for TV ratings.