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Netflix is set to peel back the curtain on one of reality TV’s most iconic and controversial competitions with Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. The revealing three-part documentary brings together host Tyra Banks, former judges, and past contestants. They revisit the show’s biggest moments and the cultural conversations it sparked. Danielle “Dani” Evans, the winner of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 6, appears in the trailer for the Netflix docuseries. And she notes that she had a “horrific” experience on the show. Here’s what to know.

‘America’s Next Top Model’ Cycle 6 winner Dani Evans speaks out in the trailer for the Netflix docuseries

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Fans who watched Tyra Banks put potential top models through grueling photoshoots and emotional challenges are gearing up to watch Netflix’s new docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model. The trailer for the series shows Banks admitting to her silence over the years. “I haven’t really said much,” Banks tells the camera regarding the reality show that ran for 15 years. “But now it’s time.”

One moment in the trailer shows some of the contestants undergoing medical procedures to compete. Danielle “Dani” Evans, the winner of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 6, calls this aspect of the show “horrific.”

“It’s a TV show to you guys, but this is my life,” she says in another moment in the trailer over a clip of her in a stretcher.

Evans was widely known for having a gap between her front teeth. She pushed to keep some of the gap despite being told it’d make her more difficult to market for modeling deals. In the end, many fans praised her authenticity and loved how she pushed to remain true to herself.

The trailer for Reality Check continues to show intense moments in the series. Another clip shows production carrying Evans, as she was too dehydrated to continue. “It’s so f***ed up,” she states in the trailer through tears.

‘America’s Next Top Model’ winner Dani Evans previously addressed the gap-tooth controversy

When America’s Next Top Model aired its sixth season in 2006, future winner Dani Evans had a distinctive gap between her front teeth. In a now-viral scene, host Tyra Banks questioned whether Evans could land a CoverGirl contract with a gap in her smile. The host pressed her to consider dental work before judging. Though Evans initially stood her ground, she ultimately agreed to partially close the gap.

Evans previously posted a video to Instagram explaining what fans didn’t see regarding her teeth.

“We were all going to the dentist as a whole,” she explained in a now-deleted clip, according to People. “They repeatedly asked me if I want to close my gap. No, I don’t want to close my gap. Push pin, none of this aired on TV. We’re now in elimination, so I go forward. Tyra’s like, ‘Why don’t you want to get your gap closed?’ I’m like, huh? She’s like, ‘I told you to get your gap closed.’ I’m like, ‘No, you didn’t.'”

Evans added that she felt “set up” by production not telling her that Banks wanted her to close her tooth gap. She and Banks then went back and forth several times, which didn’t air on TV. “What you saw was me coming up with a compromise, saying, ‘I’m OK with you closing it some of the way, but not all of the way,'” Evans continued.

“I wasn’t tight because of Tyra’s comment about me not being able to model with a gap,” the model clarified. “… What I was tight about is them trying to play me to make for good TV.”

Tyra Banks agreed that she made ‘off choices’ on the show

Tyra Banks has publicly acknowledged that some of the moments from America’s Next Top Model were mistakes in hindsight. This particularly rings true for scenes that resurfaced online showing contestants being criticized or pressured over their appearance.

In 2020, after viral clips sparked widespread criticism about the show’s insensitivity, Banks took to social media to say she “agree[d] with” fans who called out certain scenes. Banks added that “those were some really off choices” and expressed appreciation for honest feedback, TheWrap reports.

More recently, while accepting a Luminary Spotlight award at the 2025 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards, she candidly admitted, “Did we get it right? Hell no. I said some dumb s***,” even as she defended the show’s broader mission of championing diversity and inclusion in fashion television, according to People.

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