Former ANTM judge Kelly Cutrone has weighed in on whether Tyra Banks can recover from docuseries backlash.
Key Points
Cutrone previously lashed out at Jay Manuel for criticizing Banks on the Netflix project.
Cycle 18 star Louise Watts told Entertainment Weekly in 2023 that she quite the competition after a spat with Cutrone over "fake s---" on set.
America's Next Top Modeljudge and PR titanKelly Cutrone— whose iconic spat with cycle 18 contestant Louise Watts famously led to the model quitting the competition — has spoken out in defense ofTyra Banksamid renewed backlash.
The supermodel and longtimeANTMproducer-host has received sustained criticism for her comments on Netflix's newReality Check: Inside America's Next Top Modeldocuseries, which highlights former judges and contestants revealing (mostly negative) recollections of their experience with Banks on the modeling competition show.
Now, Cutrone, who served on theTop Modelpanel from cycles 18-22, has revealed how she thinks Banks might recover from the fallout.
"I feel confident that Tyra will prevail," Cutrone toldEntertainment Weekly's sister publication,PEOPLE. "She's done a lot for people, including the people who are out there trashing her right now, specifically the people who worked on the show."
Cutrone said that "she will prevail" over the backlash, which stemmed from various instances covered on the docuseries, including judgespressuring cycle 6 winner Dani Evans to close a gapin her teeth via dental procedure during the competition,tasking models with portraying women of different racesfor two separate photo challenges, andBanks apologizing for not further protecting cycle 4 contestant Keenyah Hillfromalleged sexual harassment during a shoot.
"I think that she will get through this," Cutrone continued. "But I think that 80 percent of [the docuseries] is incredibly twisted. I believe that the facts and the truth will come forward."
Cutronepreviously spoke out on Instagram against fellow judge and formerANTMcreative director Jay Manuel, who also alleged on the series that Banks, his estranged friend, refused to speak to him on set after he expressed interest in exploring creative opportunities outside the show after working with her for eight cycles.
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"Do I think [Tyra is] perfect? No. Do I think the show is perfect? No," added Cutrone, who joined the panel on cycle 18 — whichmarked the final season for OG personalities Manuel, photographerNigel Barker, andrunway coach Miss J. Alexander. "Do I think that she deserves that? Absolutely f---ing not. As somebody who owns a company and runs a business, I would be furious if they were my employees and they behaved like that. And to what end? To what end?"
On social media earlier this week, Cutrone wrote in a comment that Manuel was "incredibly rude" to her on set, echoing what past contestants — includingcycle 9 contenders Sarah Hartshorneand Ambreal Williams —have said about him, including in interviews with EW. (Representatives for Manuel did not respond to EW's request for comment.)
Cutrone's words come one week afterSherri Shepherd broke down in tears defending Bankson her talk show. She told her audience, "We're not taking into account the battles that this Black woman had to fight just to stay on the air for other people to come on the air," with regard to Banks' behavior in attempting to keepANTMon TV.
While Cutrone and Shepherd have publicly defended Banks, the PR professional and formerKell on Earthreality series star also came under fire for her role onANTM.In 2023, the aforementioned Watts slammed Cutrone in an EW interview, over allegedly antagonizing her during an earlier challenge, which led to the pair's infamous on-air clash that resulted in Watts walking out of the judging deliberation and quitting the competition on the spot.
"I tell everybody that works for me not to run on sets. It's a standard thing in the industry. There was no need to run, and I don't think it's unprofessional or picking on anyone," Cutrone told EW at the time. "[Louise had] zero regard for hierarchy and zero understanding of how the industry works" in the real world.
"She thought she'd embarrass me on panel, and I thought,I've had enough. You're trying to make me be a person I don't want to be.I can't do all this fake s---," Watts added to EW in the interview, further claiming that the show's post-production edit made it seem like their fight unfurled over one take, but alleged that it was actually pieced together from a lengthier instance. "I was going to [confront] her and go, 'Who do you think you're talking to?' But I held that in."
Representatives for Banks andANTMproducer Ken Mok have not responded to EW's repeated requests for comment on theReality Checkdocuseries.
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