“America’s Next Top Model” was fashion’s it show in the early 2000s, leaving fans both shocked by emotional storylines and motivated by the courage of the many women who competed in near-naked scenes to be crowned Tyra Banks’ ideal supermodel.
While “ANTM” hasn’t aired for eight years, the new Netflix documentary, released on Feb. 15, “Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,” sheds light on what fans didn’t see. Not only that, but judges Nigel Barker, Jay Manuel and Miss J. Alexander joined to discuss where they are now after taking over the fashion industry more than two decades ago.
Miss J Retaught Himself How to Walk & Talk After Stroke
Perhaps one of the most shocking revelations of the new tell-all was that catwalk coach Miss J, 67, suffered a near-fatal stroke in 2022. While talking about his brush with death, Miss J admitted he cried many tears throughout his healing, noting that he’s “not ashamed to say that I cried.”
“On December 27th of 2022, I had a stroke. I woke up. I didn’t know where I was other than in the hospital,” Miss J bravely shared. “I spent five weeks in a coma, and I couldn’t walk. And I couldn’t talk. And I thought to myself, ‘What was I going to do?’”
Having all starred together on “ANTM” for the majority of the cycles between 2003 and 2018, Miss J’s co-stars Manuel and Barker visited him while he was in the hospital during his medical crisis.
Nigel Barker Held Miss J as They Cried Together in the Hospital
During the Netflix doc, Barker shared that he held Miss J as they cried together in the hospital. The famed photographer noted that despite knowing Miss J didn’t exactly want him to see him in that condition, he made sure to show up for his longtime friend when he needed it the most. “I don’t know whether he even wanted me to see him in that way,” Barker said. “I was going to go see him. And that was just such a terrible shock and really upsetting and horrifying and scary.”
“ANTM” creative director Manuel also opened up about Miss J’s stroke, adding that “he could feel how upset he was” and that he “can only imagine where he was in his mind.”
Unfortunately Miss J’s stroke left him unable to walk, leaving him to put his top-notch runway strut in the rearview. Nevertheless, he’s betting on himself, emphasizing that he’s determined to get back to having one of the fiercest walks in the business. “I can’t walk. Not yet. Not yet. I’m determined to walk,” he said. “I’m sure you’re gonna see me again, I’m sure. It’s not over for me yet.”
