Hulu\/UPN<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMok weighed in that they treated the show like a \u201cdocumentary\u201d and informed the women from the start that they\u2019d be followed by cameras constantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Manuel recalled that Shandi was in the shower with the man, and the rule was that a camera couldn\u2019t follow anyone who went into a bathroom alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in the shower, she was technically not alone. So the cameras went in, and they captured it. I don\u2019t know whose decision it was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But because it was a \u201cstory point,\u201d the producers felt the need to \u201csee it all the way through,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\nSullivan said the camera man and sound man apologized to her. Hulu\/UPN<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen Shandi called her then-boyfriend to inform him what happened, he called her a \u201cf\u2013king bitch\u201d and the show captured it on camera.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just the sound guy, and the guy filming,\u201d she recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After hanging up with her boyfriend, she was lying \u201con the floor in the fetal position, just crying. And [the sound guy and camera man] both come up to me and they said, \u2018We\u2019re really really sorry that we had to film that.\u2019 They just knew that this isn\u2019t right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nKen Mok said when Shandi\u2019s scenes were being edited, \u201cwe scaled back that scene in a significant way.\u201d WireImage for VH-1 Channel \u2013 New York<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMok said that when the episode was being edited, \u201cWe scaled back that scene in a significant way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the incident, Banks said that she wasn\u2019t involved in the show\u2019s \u201cstory\u201d and editing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Ken Mok, but\u2026It\u2019s important for people to know that we didn\u2019t put everything on TV.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cReality Check\u201d dives into the legacy of complicated photo shoots. \u00a9CW Network\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nControversial photoshoots, like the \u201crace swap\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe documentary covers how \u201cTop Model\u201d started having outlandish photoshoots, such as having models pose with cockroaches, pretend to be murder victims, and pretend to be a different race.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Banks cited \u201cFear Factor\u201d and \u201cSurvivor\u201d for the segments. \u201cIt was a time in the world where there were these shows\u2026pushing the limits. And so, we kept pushing it. You guys were demanding it. The viewers wanted more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Manuel said, \u201cThe shoot I had the most difficult time with was this race swapping shoot,\u201d citing a Cycle 4 and Cycle 14 photoshoot where they had the aspiring models dress up as other races, such as a white woman dressing like a black woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents are from South Africa, they grew up during Apartheid, I\u2019m very aware of that history,\u201d he said. \u201cI just had to do my job.\u201d<\/p>\nTyra Banks said her hindsight is \u201c20\/20.\u201d \u00a9CW Network\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBanks didn\u2019t think it was controversial at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in my own little bubble, my own head, and this was my way of showing the world that brown and black is beautiful. But then we put it out there and the world was like \u2018are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Banks said that as she reflects back, \u201cit\u2019s an issue, and I understand 100% why.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nModels said they had pressure to do cosmetic procedures such as fixing a gap tooth. Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPressure to get cosmetic procedures<\/strong><\/h2>\nDanielle Evans, aka Dani Evans, was on Cycle 6 in 2006. She had a gap between her teeth that she was proud of, but she recalled the production sending her to the dentist and encouraging her to fix it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018no I don\u2019t wanna close my gap, it\u2019s not your right to tell me what to do with my body,\u2019\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she eventually was pressured to close it.\u00a0<\/p>\nDani Evans said she was pressure to close a gap between her teeth. Liz Sullivan<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe documentary pointed out how in a future season, Banks encouraged another contestant to widen a gap between her teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barker weighed in and said that he didn\u2019t think it was a good idea for Evans. \u201cI thought she looked great with a gap between her teeth and that perfection is boring,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Onscreen, Banks chimed in, \u201cI\u2019ve actually apologized for the issue with Dani and what happened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Banks claimed that she felt like she was \u201cbetween a rock and a hard place,\u201d because agents told her that a tooth gap would prohibit Evans from getting work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what they told me. And again, I could have just been quiet and let them handle it. But hindsight is 20\/20 for all of us,\u201d said Banks.\u00a0\u201cIt just so happens that a lot of things that are 20\/20 for me happened in front of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evans scoffed at Banks\u2019 apology onscreen, saying, \u201cBull f\u2013king s\u2013t. Me getting my gap closed is not opening any doors for me. You knew what you were doing. It\u2019s a TV show to you guys, but this is my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nSome of the models felt \u201cthrown to the wolves\u201d after the show, they said. BACKGRID<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n