QuickBlog

Highlights

• Season 18 marked the exit of Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker from ANTM despite their success and experience in the industry.
• The former judges admit there was no bad blood behind the scenes and their departure was motivated by personal career growth.
• Both Manuel and Barker reveal some of the struggles and controversies they faced on ANTM, including their relationships with Tyra Banks.

On America's Next Top Model, Mr. Jay and Nigel Barker sat beside Tyra Banks, helping her judge young wannabe models. After 18 cycles, the creative director and photographer left the show. Jay and Nigel joined America’s Next Top Model in the very first season. Nigel, was an established fashion photographer, and Jay worked as a stylist and makeup artist for magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. The pair used their experience to help coach girls to deliver good pictures week after week.

Fans were shocked when the pair were let go from ANTM after years on the show. In the years folllowing, the judges have spoken up about their lack of relationship with Tyra Banks and the real reason they left the popular reality TV show. “To my Nigel Barker, Miss J, and Mr Jay: Thank you for all of our years together on America's Next Top Model,” Tyra announced on her Facebook page in 2012. “Working with you is always an absolute pleasure. Excited for what the future holds for us."

In the following, we take a look at why Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker left America's Next Top Model and what their relationship is like with Tyra Banks since leaving the show. We also reveal what Nigel Barker and Jay Manuel have said about their time on ANTM.

Why America's Next Top Model Cut Ties With Jay Manuel And Nigel Barker After Season 18

In 2012, ANTM saw a decline in its viewing figures, forcing Tyra and the modeling competition's other executive producer, Ken Mok, to make “major changes planned for [season] 19." Mok and Banks claim it had nothing to do with Jay or Nigel's personality, nor was there any behind-the-scenes drama.

Jay Manuel claims he was not fired from ANTM's judging panel and had no intention of returning for cycle 19.

"It was 100% my decision to leave the show, as I was ready to move my career in a different direction, but unfortunately at the time, my departure was misreported to the press, and contractually, I could not speak about leaving the show. Now, I can speak about it, so I can be clear that my departure from the show was one of choice."

Although there was no bad blood behind the scenes, Jay Manuel did admit there was some pressure due to the low ratings. "I had to juggle what the sponsor wanted and what production wanted for TV ratings and also create the creative, so it just became very difficult to manage."

"By the time I finished with Cycle 18, there was just so much more I needed to do with my career and I wasn’t offering anything new to the show, at that point."

'America's Next Top Model': The 10 Most Dramatic Model Exits

When a contestant decided to leave America's Next Top Model of their own accord, things tended to get pretty heated.

Nigel Barker also backed up Jay Manuel, claiming it wasn't about his relationship with Tyra. “We had an incredible run and there aren’t any hard feelings,” the photographer explained.

“This isn’t a Tyra thing. This is a network thing.”

He admitted the low ratings led to him being removed from the show, but he almost didn't make it to cycle 18.

“There had been a discussion that ratings were down and that something like this would happen. There had been previous years where discussions about me being eliminated from the show had happened, and I had actually survived the chopping block before.”

Tyra Banks' Relationship With Jay Manuel And Nigel Barker Today

In 2020, Jay Manuel opened up to Variety about his relationship with Tyra Banks, eight years after he was forced out of ANTM. Manuel admits their relationship never recovered from his firing, even though he helped to find his own replacement.

'America's Next Top Model': What Miss J. Alexander's Life Looks Like Today

Miss J. was widely known for his time on 'America's Next Top Model,' but what has he been doing since his time on the show ended?

Jay told Variety that he and Banks had “no relationship” and had only seen each other once at BeautyCon in 2017 since he left ANTM. “Over the past few years, we’ve emailed,” Jay said about Tyra Banks.

“To be very honest, we really have no relationship to speak of, which is really sad. Our time together on ANTM was amazingly productive and, at times, magical. We got to experience being part of a global phenomenon.”

Jay Manuel wrote a novel, "The Wig, The B---ch, and The Meltdown," heavily inspired by his time on ANTM. The story focuses on a fictional modeling competition show and is described as a cautionary tale about fame and the cutthroat world of fashion. While he claims everything is fictional, fans can't help but find the similarities between the characters in his book and Tyra Banks.

What Nigel Barker And Jay Manuel Have Said About Their Time On ANTM

Jay Manuel admitted he felt “scared to speak up” about some of Tyra’s controversial comments on ANTM. As the show became popular on streaming, people took to social media to criticize much of the judges behavior. Throughout the cycles of the show, the judges made insensitive remarks about the weight of contestants, forced them to alter the looks and questioned their sexuality.

Jay Manuel admitted that all the controversy wasn't down to the producers and judges. “There were sometimes several objections by other producers and myself about layers that were added to creative, and we were just told to execute,” Manuel told Variety.

Which America’s Next Top Model Contestants Regret Appearing On The Show?

America's Next Top Model was once one of the most popular shows on TV, but not every contestant enjoyed all the smize-ing.

“I do think it’s a little unfair for people to persecute Tyra now, especially because she has already taken heat for her past executive decisions in past years," Manuel added.

“However, I can’t really defend her either because when ratings were high and things were great, she remained a clear figurehead, because it was her show.”

Nigel Barker believes his appearances on ANTM had a negative impact on his career. Before appearing on the CW show, he was shooting for the likes of Jill Sander and Versace. He believes his career took a hit after he signed up to judge alongside Tyra Banks.

“The Vogues and various people – they wouldn’t touch me,” Barker reveals. “They wouldn’t even look at my book.” Contestant Yaya DaCosta also admitted she struggled in her acting career due to her appearance on the infamous reality TV show.

Nigel also revealed that Tyra purposely picked bad photos of the girls to help her follow the narrative.

"Tyra would have last say, final say. There were times where I’d be like 'wait, that’s not the best picture that I picked!'"

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