Was America’s Next Top Model empowering young black women… or quietly exploiting them for entertainment? This week on The Strapdown Podcast we unpack the messy legacy of Tyra Banks, reality TV ethics, and why the new documentary has people rethinking everything we thought we knew.In this episode, we dive into the Netflix documentary Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, which revisits the cultural impact and controversies surrounding America’s Next Top Model. For many Black millennial women was a cultural moment led by Tyra Banks, one of the few Black women running a major television franchise at the time. We talk about why the show meant so much to young viewers and how its influence still shapes conversations about beauty, ambition, and representation today.We also confront the darker side of the series. We discuss the treatment of Ebony Haith, a Black queer contestant whose experience is the intersection of homophobia, poverty exploitation, and colorism. We also revisit the disturbing controversy involving Shandi Sullivan, and the ethics of filming extremely vulnerable moments for entertainment.From the pressures contestants faced to the impact the show had on viewers at home, we ask the big question: Was Tyra Banks creating opportunities for women or building a reality TV empire that came at their expense? Let us know your thoughts below. Is Tyra Banks still in your head? Did you think the show did more harm than good? Tell us what we got right and what we got wrong. For a full uncensored discussion, visit our Patreon at Patreon.com/thestrapdownpodcast