When Tyra launched America’s Next Top Model, Jay — alongside Tyra’s runway coach, Miss J — was offered a role on the show as creative director and judge. He had been there from the very first cycle in 2003.
What was their friendship like?
The pair seemed extremely close, frequently spotted together off camera and cracking jokes on camera.
Speaking to Reality Check, Jay said he considered himself “besties” with Tyra, adding, “Tyra and I weren’t a traditional work relationship. You work in such close proximity, and you’re travelling together. It becomes like a relationship.”
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What happened between Jay and Tyra on ANTM?
Jay began struggling with the show during Cycle 4 — the season that featured the now-infamous “race swapping” photoshoot.
Speaking on Reality Check, Jay revealed that his parents are both from South Africa and grew up during apartheid, which left him feeling “uncomfortable” with the concept of the shoot. He also addressed it in a 2020 interview with Variety, saying, “I was so, so, so uncomfortable with this. I was so afraid that I would wear this because I was the creative director, but it was not my idea. That race-swapped layer was added in.”
Jay has said that around Cycle 3 or 4, he and Tyra made a pact to always come to each other first if there were issues. He recalled sending a “short, beautiful email” to the supermodel towards the end of Cycle 9. “By then, I had procured a contract with E! as a correspondent, and I was hosting another show on Style Network,” he told Netflix’s Tudum.
However, Tyra’s reply came three days later. “I remember getting the email, and my heart went into my throat when I saw her name come up,” he said. “The email had no salutation — nothing. It just said, ‘I am disappointed.’ That’s it. And then she never spoke to me again.”
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