‘ANTM’: Jay Manuel Revealed the Last Conversation He Had With Tyra Banks

Makeup artist Jay Manuel and model Tyra Banks were close when they started working on America’s Next Top Model together. Over time, Manuel admitted that he grew disenchanted with the show and attempted to quit. At this point, he said his relationship with Banks fell apart entirely. Manuel said the last time he spoke to Banks was in 2017.

Jay Manuel said he last spoke to Tyra Banks in 2017

In 2012, Manuel, Nigel Barker, and Miss J Alexander were fired from America’s Next Top Model. At this point, Manuel’s relationship with his one-time friend was purely professional. He said they never spoke to each other when the cameras were not rolling. 

While he admitted his abrupt exit from the reality series stung, he had a “really nice conversation” with Banks at BeautyCon in 2017. In the near-decade since then, he said he has not heard from Banks.

“Other than that, we’ve had no communication of any sort, text, email, anything,” he told People.

While they are no longer friends, Manuel said he respects the sanctity of the relationship they once had.

“Tyra and I were close, and when we were in New York shooting, or even in L.A. shooting, she’d be at my house or I’d be at her house, and we would really download,” he said. “But at the same time, and she knows this to be true, the things that are those really, really trusted important things that she has said to me, I will never repeat. I will forever honor my relationship with her in the past.”

He said he is “open” to reestablishing communication with his former friend.

Jay Manuel said his relationship with Tyra Banks fell apart after he tried to quit ‘ANTM’

After eight cycles with America’s Next Top Model, Manuel decided he was ready to part ways with the show. He sent Banks an email to tell her this and thank her for everything she’d done for him.

“She didn’t respond,” he said in the docuseries Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. “It was probably the longest three days ever. And she ultimately wrote back just three words. ‘I am disappointed.’ After that email exchange, all communication just stopped. It should’ve been the opportunity to have a heart-to-heart, but that did not happen.”

Manuel said he ultimately stayed with the show because of what he described as pressure from higher-ups. His relationship with Banks had completely changed on set.

“Tyra chose not to speak with me at all while the cameras were off. When they were on, she’d speak to me,” he said. “After [trying to leave], I did cycle 9, which was … torture for me. I was so broken by the end of that cycle because of the mental torture of what was going on.”

Manuel, Barker, and Miss J were all fired after cycle 18.

Miss J Alexander also said he hasn’t seen the model in several years

In 2022, Miss J had a stroke that left him in a coma for five weeks. Afterward, he had to relearn how to talk and is still working toward walking again. While he has seen Barker and Manuel since his stroke, Banks has not visited him.

“No, not yet,” he said. “She just sent me a text, she wants to come to visit me. But no, not yet.”