“America’s Next Top Model” cycle 2 star reveals what shocked cameramen said after filming drunk sex incident (exclusive)

The intersection of reality and reality TV isn’t always easy to spot, but as she previously told Entertainment Weekly for a 20th anniversary oral history on the controversial Tyra Banks-hosted reality show, the line became crystal clear for America’s Next Top Model cycle 2 contestant Shandi Sullivan.

Often regarded as one of the most shocking moments in ANTM history, Sullivan, who was famously cast on the 2004 cycle after holding down a customer service gig at Walgreens, had sex with an Italian man on set, all while still in a relationship with her then-boyfriend, Eric.

After a group of male models visited the competitors’ apartment upon cycle 2 production relocating to Milan, Italy, for the season’s back half, alcohol flowed — and, per Sullivan, so did tensions. Specifically, during a phone call Sullivan had with Eric after the ordeal, which marked a low point for the series as Eric launched into a verbal tirade while cameras captured Sullivan crumpled into a bawling heap.

“I was really drunk, falling down. If I would’ve seen me out with that dude in [public], I would’ve been like, ‘Okay, grab [her], you’re way too drunk to even know what’s going on,'” Sullivan told EW in a 2023 interview pegged to the show’s 20th anniversary.

She additionally alleged that production “manipulated” her encounter with the male model, upon, as she claimed, suggesting that the cast invite the male models over. Sullivan also claimed that the crew provided them with alcohol.

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“We had sex for two seconds, that was it, and then I passed out. When I woke up, I was like, ‘Oh s—-,” Sullivan remembered. “It wasn’t safe, and I wanted to make sure he was [clean]. They ended up [filming] me talking to the guy, like, ‘Do you have STDs? When was the last time you were tested?’ Thinking about that now, it’s so bizarre. Like, this is my life, it’s not a scripted thing.”

Later, Sullivan reflected on the painful phone call she had with Eric informing him that she had sex with the model, and cameras captured it in the moment.

Sullivan said the phone call was unbearably painful, and said that she insisted production film it from afar, if they had to shoot it at all. Eric was heard crying and called Sullivan a “bitch” on the line, while she crumpled into a bawling heap on the floor.

Afterward, Sullivan remembered that the crew even told her that they regretted having to capture it for the series.

“They weren’t supposed to talk to us,” Sullivan said. “But after, they were like, ‘We’re so sorry we had to film that.'”

According to a spokesperson for Banks, the supermodel “played no role in the events that occurred this night. Everyone, including production, was surprised to find out what had transpired.” (Executive producer Ken Mok declined to comment on this instance, while representatives for producer Laura Fuest Silva did not respond to EW’s repeated requests for comment.)

Sullivan, who now owns a Brooklyn jewelry business, Dream Meow Corner, told EW that there was another call with Eric a few days after the incident, in which he forgave her and apologized for calling her a bitch — an insult that’s long been dissected by the ANTM fandom, enough so that Sullivan said Banks had the former couple on The Tyra Banks Show to break it all down months later.

It wasn’t until an alleged subsequent chat with Banks on the Emmy-winning talk series that Sullivan said she learned to keep her distance from being on television.

“There was another time I was on her show by myself, and I said, before filming, ‘I’ve never seen that episode, please don’t show it, that’s my one request.’ And she showed it. I had my eyes closed the whole time,” Sullivan said, alleging that the show teed up the emotionally charged footage of her on cycle 2 anyway.

Sullivan added, “I almost got up in the middle of her f—ing showing it and left, but I was like, don’t do that, that’s what they want; they want a reaction out of you, and they’ve got enough.”

Banks’ spokesperson told EW at the time that, “Ms. Banks was not personally approached about this request and would never deliberately air a moment if someone specifically asked her not to. This goes against her beliefs.”

Sullivan is next set to open up about her ANTM experience — alongside other contestants like Shannon Stewart (cycle 1 and cycle 17), Giselle Samson (cycle 1), Ebony Haith (cycle 1), Keenyah Hill (cycle 4), Bre Scullark (cycle 5), Dani Evans (cycle 6), Joanie Dodds (cycle 6), and more — on Netflix’s docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.

The project also features a lengthy interview with Banks, as well as appearances by former judges Nigel Barker, Jay Manuel, and Miss J. Alexander, who starred on the show alongside Banks until they were all let go from the production ahead of cycle 19.

In a trailer for the series, Banks admits, “I knew I went too far” as head judge of the 2003 show. In recent years, the reality show underwent a contemporary reexamination in the age of social media, with fans reigniting conversations about controversial elements of the show, such as shoots that darkened models’ skin to portray different ethnicities, body-shaming panelists, and more.

Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model streams Monday, Feb. 16, on Netflix.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly