Cycle 4 contestant Brittany Brower.
Image: X/@celebskart
The documentary on Tyra Banks and the famous "America’s Next Top Model" show has been the talk of the town, and by town, I mean the internet, since its release.
And trust me, you will never look at the show that informed your childhood the same again after watching Netflix’s new three-episode docuseries.
Cycle four contestant Brittany Brower recently shared her thoughts on a TikTok video. “I'm not gonna lie, it’s been hard for me to commit and watch it,” the 43-year-old admitted.
“It's triggering. It brings back so many emotions like not feeling good enough, all the stuff we went through, it's a lot.” And girl, she’s talking about the kind of drama that makes your old high school group chats feel like a meditation retreat.
Brower was part of one of ANTM’s most controversial photo shoots, the infamous ethnicity swop, where she portrayed a black woman. The season aired in 2005, and the memories are… still raw.
She doesn’t hold back about the host either, claiming Banks “does not take any accountability for anything.”
“Yes, it was a totally different time then,” Brower explained. “There's a lot of things that should be forgiven and looked over, but what she doesn't do is take any accountability for how they were with all of us and how we got completely used.”
That said, Brower keeps it real: it wasn’t all tears and trauma. “There were great things about it, too,” she says.
“I don't want to be a negative Nancy here. There was so much good. I have the best friendships now and so many good people that I have from the show. So many doors were opened, and I did so many great things afterwards, so I can't hate all of it.”
In an interview with "People", she called out Banks for being “fake” in the documentary. “Just say the truth,” Brower said. “Just say, 'You know what? We were making a reality show. We were trying to make it spicy, and we got ratings. And yeah, we cross the line sometimes.'
"It's just weird how she tries to defend herself and not really take accountability … She is so beyond fake.”
Brower knows it was a tough, even awful, experience, but she’s over it. “I think that some people just give it a little bit too much of a hard time on the show, or they give it too much power.
"I just don't see anything that was done on the show could ruin someone's life… Not all things in life are perfect.”