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Although Netflix’s America’s Next Top Model Revisiting the documentary series Sandy SullivanSexual assault on screen—including what had to be removed from the final cut—Executive Producer Tyra Banks declined to discuss the incident.
In a three-part special released on Monday, February 16, Sullivan recall season 2 almost won Before going on a group trip to Italy.
“When we first got there, they said, you’re going to go to a lot of shows,” she said of the 2004 episode. “It was a whole day. It took a whole day. And then we came back to the little house where we lived.”
The actors were also joined at dinner by locals who drove the aspiring models around in Vespas. But Shandi, 43, didn’t “eat anything” that day and remembers drinking “two bottles of wine” before one of the men took advantage.
“I remember him falling on top of me. I blacked out. No one did anything to stop it,” she claimed. “It was all captured on film.”
Tyra, 52, Executive Producer and Host The show’s producers declined to reveal the sexual assault that occurred on screen, saying: “I do remember her story. It’s a little difficult for me to talk about the production because that’s not my area.”
Reality Check: The Inside Story of America’s Next Top Model Provides a platform for mountains Sharing her unfiltered description of the situation. The creative director also has unique insights Jay Manuel and executive producer Moken About what goes on behind the scenes.
Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations:
Shandy Sullivan shares harrowing memory of sexual assault
Before joining America’s Next Top Model In 2004, Shandi Sullivan was working at her local Walgreens restaurant in Missouri. She participated in the second season of the then UPN series and reached the final three before the group traveled to Milan.
“I don’t remember who said it, but someone said, ‘How would you feel if someone on a moped came over and had dinner with you? We’d have a drink or something,'” she recalled. “I was so excited to have a night out. We just talked and drank. I don’t think I ate anything at all and didn’t sleep.”
Sandy doesn’t remember much of what happened that night.
“I remember getting in the hot tub. I remember April (Wilkner), Mercedes (Selba Short) getting in the hot tub. And then I just remember the guy looking at me and me looking at him. I was drunk at the time. Everything after that is a blur,” she continued. “I was hammered.”
Cameras were said to be rolling even though Chandy was barely conscious. “I just remember bits and pieces. He threw me in the shower and just sat in the shower,” she said. “Then we lay in bed. A lot of the time I passed out. I didn’t even feel like the sex was happening. I just knew it was happening. And then I passed out.”
She concluded: “The next day, I woke up. I was like, ‘Oh my God, what the hell happened last night?’ It all fucking hit me. It overwhelmed me. I just sat there crying.”
Sandy Sullivan talks about the consequences of sexual assault
Even though Sandy Sullivan was too unwell to consent to sex, the incident was introduced as an infidelity storyline on America’s Next Top Model.
“I think after getting out of the hot tub, whatever happened after that, I think (the production) should have been like, ‘Okay, this has gone too far. We’ve got to pull her out of this,'” Chandy told the documentary’s producers, while executive producer Tyra Banks had a different reaction, saying, “It’s kind of hard for me to talk about the production because that’s not my area.”
Executive producer Ken Mock defended the decision to continue filming. “We treated ‘Top Model’ like a documentary. We told the girls when they showed up on their first day. We’d go over the rules with them, like, ‘There will be cameras with you 24/7, and they’ll cover everything,'” he recalled. “It’s going to cover the good, the bad and everything in between. No matter what happens – when you’re on camera – we’ll be documenting it all.”
What did the cast and crew have to say about Sandy Sullivan’s behind-the-scenes attack?
Creative director Jay Manuel said they “got word” that Sandy Sullivan was “having sex with a guy in the shower,” adding, “The rule on Top Model is if you go into the bathroom alone, the camera can’t follow you. But when she goes into the bathroom, technically, she’s not alone. So the camera goes in and captures the scene. I don’t know whose decision it was, but as the producers did, now it’s a story point and we’ll see it along the way.”
Tyra Banks, Producers and creators of America’s Next Top Modelthen spoke with Shandi about infidelity as the contestant was dating her then-boyfriend Eric.
“Everyone screws up, Sandy. I’m not judging you. But I think we have to fight our lust,” she told Sandy at the time. “I know people do get attracted to other people. It all depends on your relationship and how open it is and how honest you are with each other.”
Shandi Sullivan’s infamous phone call to Eric on “America’s Next Top Model”
Sandy Sullivan said in the Netflix documentary that she asked to call Eric but was refused. She then asked to leave and the producers tried to talk her out of it, before offering her a phone to contact Eric – a conversation they later filmed.
“When I spoke to Eric again on the phone, they actually filmed me talking to the guy and asking him in person, ‘Are you wearing protection? Do you have an STD?'” she recalled. “Why couldn’t you ask them yourself? Why did you have to film this? You already called me and Eric called me a jerk.”
All she needs is her signature smile! Tyra Banks started out as a model, but in this day and age, she’s probably better known as a television host. The businesswoman launched America’s Next Top Model in May 2003, which took the world by storm. Not only does she serve as a presenter and mentor(…)
What didn’t make the final cut after Sandy Sullivan’s sexual assault story?
Jay Manuel recalled the time Sandy Sullivan was sent to the doctor after the encounter, which was also filmed. Meanwhile, photographers told Shandy they felt bad about having to record her phone call with Eric, who had broken up with her at the time.
Meanwhile, Tyra Banks Version issue resolved broadcast.
“I’ll tell you this. When I went into post-production and saw the footage, we scaled back that scene significantly… For better or worse, it’s one of the most memorable moments on Top Model,” executive producer Ken Mok said before Tyra clarified in her own confessional, “I wasn’t the one in charge of the story. That was Ken Mok. But I did become a lead editor. It’s important for people to know that we didn’t put everything on TV.”
According to Jay Manuel, the review is related to the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, when Justin Timberlake briefly exposed Janet Jackson’s breasts on live television, and an FCC investigation fined CBS $550,000 for a wardrobe malfunction.
“When that happens, regulations limit what you can show,” Jay points out. “So they had to rush to re-edit that scene.”
Sandy Sullivan reunites with Tyra Banks on her daytime talk show
Three years after Season 2 aired, Sandy Sullivan appeared on Tyra Banks’ daytime talk show and shared in a Netflix doc, “I told her I’d never seen[the Milan episode]. It just brought up so many things, and I was like, ‘I’m never going to watch this show again.'” Then she put it on the screen in front of me. I wasn’t looking at it and she said, “I noticed you weren’t looking.” I did tell you behind the scenes that I had never seen it and I didn’t want to see it. “
Sandy scolds Tyra for not respecting her wishes. “It was horrible. It was so painful. The behavior wouldn’t stop. Her behavior didn’t change.” (Tyra didn’t mention the Tyra Banks Show moment between her and Sandy.)
Where is Sandy Sullivan now?
after leaving America’s Next Top ModelShandi Sullivan briefly reconciled with Eric, saying, “We tried — he really tried. He moved to New York with me after the show. But it’s terrible when I’m walking down the street with Eric and someone recognizes me and calls me a s*** to my face. Or (calls me) a cheating whore, and Eric is standing next to me. It’s funny. It makes me hate myself.”
Work finally returned to her preAnt Financial Work at Walgreens. She now makes a living caring for animals, she shared at the end of the special. “I want to live on a farm and have an animal sanctuary. I’ve always loved animals,” she added.
Tyra Banks expressed her hope to star in another season of “America’s Next Top Model.”
“After the show ended, I had a lot of different thoughts about my life. I became obsessed with transitioning. I now live in Australia,” Banks said in the filing. “I feel like my work is not done yet. You have no idea what we have planned for Cycle 25.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
