In the wake of a bombshell documentary lifting the lid on the darker side of America’s Next Top Model, fresh questions are being asked about the culture behind one of reality TV’s most iconic shows. The series, fronted by supermodel Tyra Banks, has been thrust back into the spotlight by Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model amid claims of manipulation, humiliation and toxic
on-set behaviour. But one Kiwi who experienced the phenomenon up close says the story was very different on this side of the world.
Colin Mathura-Jeffree, 53, was a judge on New Zealand’s Next Top Model during its run here from 2009 to 2011, as well as a guest judge on the American version when it filmed in Aotearoa. He admits some elements of the show might raise eyebrows by today’s standards, but insists it was a far kinder environment for its contestants than its US counterpart.
He explains, “There was plenty of behind-the-scenes drama here, of course, but America’s Next Top Model, well, that was a completely different thing and I remember thinking, ‘Oh, yuck’ when I watched it because it just wasn’t real. So much of it didn’t represent real modelling. “Here, we were always careful to keep an eye on the whole concept of what modelling really was, but the US show diverted into a caricature of modelling. It was sort of Disney slash horror.”
The pressure of looks
Colin is frank about the realities of the industry. Of course appearance mattered. “Designers only made a sample size back then, so you needed to fit into it,” he says. Colin does, however, look back with some discomfort at moments when the judging panel – himself included – joked about the junk food being ordered by aspiring models.
“But I think they ended up switching their hot chips order to wedges instead,” he laughs.
The New Zealand show had its wacky challenges, too. Colin recalls, “We took them to Spookers for a shoot once and scared the living daylights out of them. I remember standing behind the wall almost dying of laughter.”
A show that still holds up
In fact, Colin recently rewatched New Zealand’s Next Top Model and doesn’t believe it has aged badly.
“That doesn’t mean it hasn’t aged – it definitely has – but that’s to be expected. The only constant in life is change. And it’s amazing how the evolution of something just rolls and changes. In fashion, that happens super-fast.”
Despite the competitive nature of the reality show, he says he and fellow judges Sara Tetro and Chris Sisarich looked out for the aspiring models. He recalls a time when he called out a group of contestants for bullying another wannabe.
“I saw what was going on, where the group had turned against one girl in particular, so I sat them all down and talked to them for 40 minutes about bullying, and the impact it can have,” recalls Colin.
Private moments vs public scandal
The cameras were turned off during Colin’s heart-to-heart – a distinctly different situation to what has blown up in the US, where 21-year-old contestant Shandi Sullivan was filmed having sex in Milan after a heavy night of drinking.
In the recent documentary, Shandi, now 43, says she was drunk and could not have consented to having sex with the man, whom she’d met while filming.
Shandi tells, “All I remember is just him on top of me. I was blacked out. Nobody did anything to stop it and all of that was filmed. Every moment of it.”
Calling out sexual assault
Colin is appalled by this. “It was sexual assault – there is no doubt,” he says. “As a person who’s been part of the Top Model global family, I took pause to really think about what I would have done if I’d
been faced with that here. I was really racking my brain. And I think I would have turned to production and said, ‘WTF? How is this relevant?’
“But I know in my heart, our camera people, producers and the sound guys would have put their devices down and stopped it. One of our producers would have stormed into that room and shut the party down. There are lines that shouldn’t be crossed for entertainment – unless you’re a psychopath.”
He believes America’s Next Top Model lost sight of the original concept due to its constant quest for ratings.
The quest for sensation
“Everyone’s looking for a sensational moment – the judges, the producers, viewers, the media… It’s madness. We live in a cruel world. And people now can stand on the fence and go, ‘They’re all bad!’ But everyone was absorbed and watching it.”
Colin believes there should have been a duty-of-care officer on set at all times and a psychologist.
“But hindsight is such a wonderfully stupid thing, isn’t it?” he muses.
While Tyra has come in for heavy criticism in the wake of the new documentary – particularly as she appears to shift blame to production for some of the more disturbing content – Colin doesn’t believe she should shoulder it all.
A star-studded encounter
“It was a huge machine,” he says.
“There were many different people involved.
His own brief interaction with the superstar, he adds, was positive.
Behind the glamour
“It was actually really kind of nice, I’m not going to lie.”
Colin appeared as a guest judge on America’s Next Top Model when it filmed in New Zealand and attended one of Tyra’s star-studded events in Auckland, where she was speaking about beauty inside and out. He had ducked to the bar to grab Champagne for friends when he quite literally bumped into her.
Words of wisdom from Tyra
“I said, ‘Hi, I’m Colin,’ and she goes, ‘I know exactly who you are.’ And then it was this brilliant back-and-forth, really fast, really considerate.”
He says Tyra also offered advice that proved invaluable at a time when he was being pulled in multiple directions. As host of two major TV shows – NZ’s Hottest Home Baker and New Zealand’s Next Top Model – he was rarely off duty.
“Tyra said, ‘When you’re in this moment, they’ll work you every day. And if something happens to you, they’ll just get another you. So take time off. Take time out for yourself.’ “That meant a lot because that was exactly what was happening. I didn’t have a day off. I was being farmed out by the network, the agents – requests were coming from everywhere. I was feeling the pressure.”
When they posed for a photo together, Colin noticed Tyra subtly lowering herself so she wouldn’t tower over him in her heels.
“I told her that’s not very women’s empowerment. She shot up like a bullet!”
Behind the glamour
While he enjoyed the meeting, he admits there was something undeniably polished about her presence.
“Tyra was… performative. Beauty queen-ish. Like she was playing a part. Maybe that’s just survival in the big world of American television, who knows?”
A career in the spotlight
Having worked in modelling for more than 30 years, Colin – who has Indian and British heritage – has seen every side of the industry. He was scouted on his first day at the University of Auckland and quickly found international success. Eventually, he broke into the commercial market and spent nearly a decade living in India, where he moved in glamorous circles alongside Bollywood stars, beauty queens and even royalty.
His career there reached dizzying heights, and he looks back on those years with pride and nostalgia. Colin loved being immersed in a world of creative energy, celebrity encounters and high-society parties. But modelling, he says, is far from easy.
The reality behind the lens
He explains, “Models work incredibly hard and they’re often in really strange situations. I know that from my own career.”
He recalls a shoot in the jungles of India, hanging from a bungalow roof in searing heat, dressed in polyester.
“The art director was screaming at me to stop sweating,” he laughs. “I was dangling there, thinking, ‘Hmm… how exactly do you stop sweating?!’”
More than looks
Colin, who still models both here and internationally, insists the job has never simply been about your looks.
“Modelling was never about being the most beautiful person in the room,” he insists.
“Some people are aesthetically attractive – that’s true – but the most important thing is being photogenic. Your photos have to pop. “And ultimately, it’s about selling. You have to know how to sell a product believably. That’s what it’s all about.”
