Kelly Cutrone, a former “Top Model” judge and Bravo star, also pointed out Manuel’s “spray tanning” and “filler” in an incendiary social media comment.

ANTM judge slams ‘incredibly rude’ Jay Manuel for speaking out about Tyra Banks

Kelly Cutrone, a former "Top Model" judge and Bravo star, also pointed out Manuel's "spray tanning" and "filler" in an incendiary social media comment.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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February 24, 2026 11:08 a.m. ET

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Kelly Cutrone and Tyra Banks on 'America's Next Top Model' ; Jay Manuel. Credit:

Chris Frawley/The CW; Monty Brinton/CBS Photo Archive/Getty

- Former *ANTM* judge Kelly Cutrone has slammed Jay Manuel for criticizing Tyra Banks in the new *Reality Check *docuseries.

- Cutrone claimed that Manuel "was so incredibly rude" to her in cycle 18.

- Cycle 9 contestant Ambreal Williams previously alleged to EW that Manuel was "dismissive."

Former *America's Next Top Model* judge and Bravo reality star Kelly Cutrone has hit back at creative director Jay Manuel after the latter spoke out against Tyra Banks in the new Netflix docuseries *Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model*.

Cutrone, a powerhouse fashion industry publicist who served on the permanent *ANTM* panel from cycles 18-22, reacted to Manuel's criticism of Banks throughout *Reality Check*, in which he alleges that the supermodel host refused to speak to him on set after he expressed interest in leaving the series following cycle 8.

"Side note – Jay never even worked in the fashion industry – he worked at a MAC make up counter in Toronto – Tyra boosted him and how did he repay here [sic] – by writing a novel about her and the show (which no one bought) and now he is trying to become relevant by being out there trashing her again," Cutrone wrote in an Instagram comment reacting to a fan-made video about *Top Model. *****It should be noted, however, that Manuel did work in the fashion industry, including as Banks' makeup artist prior to his time on *Top Model*.

Kelly Cutrone on Instagram.

Kelly Cutrone/Instagram

"Maybe he will get a deal as a spokesperson for spray tanning or filler," Cutrone joked, referencing Manuel's physical appearance in the *Reality Check* docuseries.

She further alleged, "He was so incredibly rude to me my first day on the show – he come [*sic*] up to me and said – welcome to the show – you are in the ejector seat ( meaning anyone who sat in that seat – Andre [Leon Talley] etc) wA [*sic*] fired – oddly enough he was does [*sic*] at the end of that season."

In a 2025 interview with **, cycle 9 contestant Ambreal Williams also alleged that Manuel was "dismissive" toward her after the cycle aired. Fellow cycle 9 star Sarah Hartshorne additionally alleged in her 2025 book about the show that "Mr. Jay didn't get along with anybody," on cycle 9, which aired in late 2007.

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"I walked to the set, and the photographer, Mike Rosenthal, was sitting with his camera looking disinterested. He barely looked at me as I approached. Mr. Jay had been showing someone his new iPhone and all the features as I walked up," Hartshorne wrote in her book. "He rolled his eyes as he put it in his pocket and took a deep, ragged sigh as though he were steeling himself to be on camera again." (Representatives for* Reality Check *and Manuel did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.)

Cutrone's *ANTM* run came began at the end of Manuel's, as the latter detailed in *Reality Check *his firing after cycle 18 (alongside *ANTM* staples like photographer-judge Nigel Barker and runway coach Miss J. Alexander). On the series, Manuel suggests that, after drafting a press release announcing the trio's amicable departure from the program amid what Banks said was a network request to revive the show with a talent shake-up, he was blindsided when a news "leak" about their firing made headlines before the release could go out.

Manuel also alleged that Banks treated him coldly after he expressed interest in leaving the show as far back as cycle 8. "On camera, we learned to play and laugh, but it was just clear I was not allowed to speak with her outside of that, which, after that first day, I thought, there's absolutely no way I'm going to survive this cycle," Manuel remembered of his dynamic with Banks on set after he said he emailed her about wanting to exit before cycle 9.

Kelly Cutrone and Tyra Banks on 'America's Next Top Model'.

Michael Desmond/The CW

Miss J additionally revealed at the end of the series that he had a stroke that left him in a coma and partially paralyzed in 2022, and alleged that Banks hadn't visited him in the hospital.

When asked about Manuel on *Reality Check*, Banks — who also sat for an interview for the three-part docuseries — replied, "Nah, I'd prefer… Yeah, I should call Jay. I don't want to do this here. But he's a special man." (A representative for Banks did not respond to **'s repeated requests for comment on *Reality Check*.)

In addition to Manuel's words in *Reality Check*, various other contestants are featured in the documentary speaking out about their experiences, including models addressing shoots that tasked them with portraying women of different races, Dani Evans speaking on the show pressuring her to get a gap in her teeth closed during production, and allegations of sexual harassment.

Cutrone also came under fire in an EW interview with cycle 18 contestant Louise Watts, who famously sparred with the fashion publicist during a judging session that led to Watts quitting the competition mid-deliberation. Watts took issue with the way Cutrone spoke to her during an earlier challenge, with the judges also chastising Watts for her attitude about the situation in the judging room.

Jay Manuel and Tyra Banks on 'ANTM' cycle 7.

"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 told EW of the moment, claiming that the edit made it seem like the argument unfolded over one take, but that it was cobbled together from a lengthier spat. "I was going to [confront] her and go, 'Who do you think you're talking to?' But I held that in." (A representative for Banks declined to comment on this instance at the time.)

Shocking 'America's Next Top Model' moments.

Banks has spoken about *ANTM* controversies in the past, strongly pushing back against allegations of putting models in blackface for the switching-races shoots (which Banks has strongly denied in the past), and admitted on *Reality Check* that she went "too far" in some instances during production.

The 52-year-old repeated the sentiment during an appearance on at the 2025 *Essence* Black Women in Hollywood event, where she told the audience that she "said some dumb s---" on the show, and defended her legacy.

"We fought and we struggled, but we made it happen," she said of introducing models with different body types and from different backgrounds and identities into the mainstream culture. "Did we get it right? Hell, no! I said some dumb s---. But I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the internet when there were 24 cycles of changing the world."

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