Entertainment
Milla Jovovich Goes Full ‘Taken’ in New Thriller That’s as Absurd as It Is Brutal
Protector, the new action film starring Milla Jovovich as a soldier who must rescue her kidnapped daughter from sex traffickers, is one of the most oddly structured thrillers in recent memory. Though the logline clearly establishes the film as a gender-swapped Taken — which you’d think would be a straightforward affair — Protector makes some bold plays in its storytelling, including the omission of a crucial event in its own narrative and a twisty ending that recontextualizes the entire movie.
Handled artfully, these decisions could have helped Protector stand out in a crowded, low-budget action movie field. Unfortunately, director Adrian Grünberg (Rambo: Last Blood, Get the Gringo), working from a script by Bong-Seob Mun, isn’t able to wrangle these elements well enough to put them to effective use. As a result, Protector ends up feeling too generic for most of its runtime before becoming baffling when it attempts to catch the viewer off guard in its closing scenes.
What Is ‘Protector’ About?
In Protector, Jovovich plays Nikki Halsted, a special-forces soldier who has largely missed out on her daughter Chloe’s (Isabel Myers) life because she’s been busy serving her country overseas. When her husband becomes ill and dies, Nikki returns home permanently to finish raising her teenage daughter. There’s some resentment on Chloe’s end, since mom wasn’t around a lot while she was growing up, and Chloe sneaks out on her 16th birthday to hit up a local bar with her friends. Turns out, those friends absolutely suck at their job, because they quickly exit, leaving Chloe alone with a cute boy she met at the bar. One spiked drink later, and Chloe has been abducted by a human-trafficking ring known as “The Syndicate” (who are presumably a different entity from Mission: Impossible‘s anti-IMF force by the same name).
Nikki arrives just in time to witness the tail-end of the kidnapping and is forced to pull a Liam Neeson to rescue her kidnapped daughter. After taking out the first group of traffickers (one via a car key to the eye — a nifty bit of gore), she follows the trail to a Syndicate-controlled brothel named Club 30, where she … well, we don’t exactly know what she does here because the movie never bothers to show us. Thanks to some exposition and a few quick frames of flashback footage, we know she burned the place down (catching the attention of the local police) and gleaned enough info to continue her pursuit. It’s a bizarre omission, as part of the fun of this kind of movie is watching the hero travel from point A to B to C on their mission of revenge. Protector cuts point A from the movie and picks up at point B, with Nikki setting the timer on her wristwatch because she knows the trail will grow cold at 72 hours.
Now, there are some late-stage plot reveals that could account for why the filmmakers decided to omit an event that seems like it should have been a major set piece, but even once you have that information as a viewer, it’s still hard to parse a specific set of rules the movie follows to tell its story. On the whole, you get the sense that Grünberg and his team were throwing various ideas at the wall just to see what might stick, while, at the same time, trying to stay within the film’s small budget. At one point, Jovovich successfully fights off six armed SWAT team members, which I would have liked to have seen, but that also happens off-screen.
Milla Jovovich Still Has Action-Heroine Chops
If there’s any reason to watch Protector, it’s most likely for Jovovich, whose action-star cred doesn’t suffer at all here. Though she’s now 50, you buy the long-time Resident Evil star taking down rooms full of bad guys as she frantically searches for her daughter. She seems committed to the stuntwork. There’s a fun little bit where she quickly puts in a mouthguard before ramming her car into a convoy of vehicles she’s pursuing. She even provides voice-over narration throughout the film in an attempt to keep the story on track. Sometimes this works, like when she tells the viewer that “pain is temporary, infections are not” while stitching up a nasty gash after a fight. Other times, it feels a little desperate, like when the movie opens with her explaining “the logistics of death” directly to the camera — a scene that might have had more of an impact had it been presented in one take without cuts.
When Protector takes its focus off of Jovovich, it really starts to suffer. Way too much time is devoted to a subplot where the local police department decides to ignore the massive sex trafficking ring in the city to instead focus on capturing — and maybe even killing — Nikki. It’s a bizarre bit of side-storytelling that only makes sense if … well, you can probably figure that out on your own. What’s really funny is that the movie knows you’re going to be ahead of it here, so it eventually and abruptly wraps that subplot up with the bare minimum of fuss.
The supporting cast is largely unnotable. The villains, with names like “The Butcher” and “The Chairman,” are of the stock action-movie variety from start to finish. Matthew Modine (Stranger Things, Full Metal Jacket) shows up in a small role as Nikki’s former commander, and it seems like he was only brought on board in an attempt to provide some gravitas to the film’s late-stage plot twist. It’s fair to say he’s done much better work elsewhere.
‘Protector’ Forgets that Revenge Movies Should Be Fun to Watch
In addition, Protector is just an ugly movie. And I don’t mean that it’s ugly to look at (though it’s true that many of its fight scenes are dark and uninspiring). It’s ugly in that it never misses a chance to have a character call Nikki a “bitch” or refer to trafficked victims as “livestock.” Doing those things once or twice to reinforce that these are not good people who Nikki is going up against is fine. But doing them over and over again shows a lack of imagination, and it becomes wearying to the point where there’s little fun to be had in watching Protector. Revenge movies should be fun, and it should be an enjoyable experience watching Jovovich viciously strike back at those who have done her wrong.
But Protector spends way too much of its time recycling the most basic of action movie tropes. And by the time it attempts something different, pivoting the story to present Nikki as less of a standard-action movie badass and more of a psychologically flawed superhero who’d feel at home in M. Night Shyamalan‘s Unbreakable universe, the credits are about to roll. Either the twist needed to come earlier, or the filmmakers needed to do a better job of making sure it provided enough of a jolt to make the previous, largely generic 85 minutes worth the effort. As it stands, Protector‘s twist ending feels adrift in a movie that’s not compelling enough to support it.
Protector comes to theaters on March 6.
Protector
- Release Date
-
March 6, 2026
- Runtime
-
92 minutes
- Director
-
Adrian Grünberg
- Writers
-
Mun-Bong Seub
Pros & Cons
- Milla Jovovich has still got action-heroine chops at age 50.
- Protector wallows in generic revenge-thriller tropes and leaves too much of its action off-screen.
- The film’s oddly structed plotting only becomes more head-scratching once a twist ending is deployed.
Continue Reading
Rob Rausch is sharing an update on where he stands with ex Leah Kateb two years after they won over fans on Love Island USA.
During a Wednesday, March 4, appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the Traitors season 4 winner, 27, was quizzed about whether there’s a chance of a friendship with Leah, 26, with whom he was coupled up on Love Island USA season 6.
“I haven’t talked to Leah, like, since pretty much after the show, right after the show,” he said.
“It’s been a long time. I wish them the best, but probably not,” he added.
They got a text — and found love in the Love Island USA villa. The beloved British dating show made its way across the pond in 2019, following a crop of American bombshells searching for The One in a luxury tropical villa. In season 1, eventual winners Elizabeth Weber and Zac Mirabelli had a connection […]
Rob and Leah were instant favorites on Love Island USA season 6, but Rob ended things with Leah when Andrea Carmona entered the villa. He was ultimately eliminated from the show after 30 days.
While he didn’t find love on Love Island, Rob recently revealed that he has found love with a mystery woman, whose identity he is keeping private for now.
Rob shared during the Traitors season 4 reunion that he had been dating someone for “almost two months” and “[it’s] very fresh.”
Viewers also wondered if there was something between Rob and Maura Higgins, who was runner-up on the latest season of The Traitors.
Maura Higgins, Rob Rausch on “The Traitors” season 4 Courtesy Euan Cherry/PEACOCK
“I’m not gonna ruin it for the viewers, but no, nothing ever happened between me and Rob,” Maura, 35, told Us Weekly in an exclusive cover interview recently. “I genuinely look at Rob like a brother. Literally nothing ever happened.”
“People online are saying I’m ‘d***matized.’ Believe me, you would know if I was d***matized. If they think that’s me flirting, then they do not know me and they have never watched me on Love Island,” she added.
Rob told Us, “We did not [hook up], and we will not. We are just friends. I’m touching the chair [in a viral scene from The Traitors season 4], not her leg!”
Rob took home the $220,800 grand prize during the Traitors season 4 finale but consoled Maura by offering to buy her a Birkin bag, which he gifted her on Watch What Happens Live.
“He told me he’s going to get me a gift, which is going to be a Birkin handbag. So when he gets that, then he’s fully forgiven,” Maura previously told Us. “For me, a girl that has not watched Traitors, not one episode of Traitors, I got to the finale, and yeah, I didn’t win, but I got to wear all my outfits. And if I get that Birkin handbag from Rob, then for me, I have won. That’s all I need.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/britney-spears-1-10debe17774e4c4b8900342ae914b691.jpg)
They explained that Spears’ “loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being.”
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
It’s tough being a fantasy fan: good films like the Lord of the Rings movies are sublime, but once you start looking for other media to watch, you discover that most fantasy films stink worse than Gollum’s loincloth.
But what if there was a perfect fantasy film hiding in front of us for decades? The 1985 movie Dreamchild is pitch-perfect and currently has a 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dreamchild focuses on Alice Liddell, the real person who inspired Lewis Carroll’s literary classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The plot itself is fictional, and we follow the elderly Liddell as she visits America to get an honorary degree from Columbia University.
At this point, you might be forgiven for asking the obvious question about Dreamchild. If we’re focusing on the real-life inspiration for the classic Alice in Wonderland story, where does the fantasy element come in? Alice frequently has hallucination-style memories of a reverend in the Victorian era, and as her memory flip-flops between Victorian England and Depression-era New York, she needs the help of a young orphan to navigate a complex world full of outward exploitation and inner revelation.
As you might expect, the real Alice’s hallucinatory memories are eventually filled with some familiar characters like the March Hare and the Mock Turtle. If you’re mostly familiar with seeing Alice’s playmates as animations (either the 2D Disney style or the CGI of the Tim Burton movies), you may be pleasantly surprised by the amazing puppet work courtesy of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. Throw in a killer voice cast, and you’ll be instantly charmed by these colorful characters.
Dreamchild features great performances from actors who will be familiar to genre fans. For example, Ian Holm (perhaps best known for playing Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings films) plays the reverend whose memory haunts the older Liddell. Peter Gallagher (best known for playing Sandy Cohen on The O.C. and William Dodds on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) plays Jack Dolan, a new friend who helps Liddell navigate this brave new world.
Dr. Crusher: Puppet Master
Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Gates McFadden helped make this film, but you won’t see her onscreen at any point during Dreamchild. The Dr. Crusher actor actually developed both the choreography and movement for the puppets. Just think: if McFadden hadn’t blown us all away as Dr. Crusher, there’s a chance she would have ended up bringing the puppets to life for other sci-fi productions such as Farscape.
Incredible Reviews
As of this writing, Dreamchild has a whopping 100 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and ratings that high are virtually unheard of for genre films. If you’d like to check it out, that’s easy enough: the film is currently streaming for free (albeit ad-supported) on Plex. Don’t blame us, though, if you end up becoming obsessed with this quirky gem of a film and join Alice as she goes right down the rabbit hole into this fantastic cinematic world.
Entertainment
Daniel Radcliffe cringes as “The View” makes him watch footage of his “Harry Potter ”audition
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/daniel-radcliffe-the-view-harry-potter-audition-030526-bc0db6d334b048c3a866c5f1d211f763.jpg)
The actor could be seen mouthing “it’s bad” after “The View” played footage of him auditioning to be the boy wizard at age 11.
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Any true crime fan will tell you how awesome Mindhunter is, but only before lamenting the fact that it’s never coming back for Season 3. We want it to. I want it to. But it’s gone forever, and we need to accept that in order for the healing process to begin. To help cope, you can always fire up 2021’s No Man of God, a thriller based on the life and times of Bill Hagmaier, who famously logged over 200 hours interviewing Ted Bundy while he was on death row between 1984 and 1989.
Though Bill Hagmaier didn’t work directly with FBI agents John E. Douglas and Robert K. Ressler (fictionalized as Holden Ford and Bill Tench in Mindhunter), he was one of the earliest profilers working in the agency’s Behavioral Science Unit in the 70s and 80s. In fact, Ressler, who wasn’t interested in interviewing Bundy when invited to do so, contacted Hagmaier and encouraged him to take it on.
A Film That Depicts Bundy’s True Colors
When No Man of God writer C. Robert Cargill was asked why he felt compelled to pen the screenplay, his answer was simple. He was tired of all the true crime media that glorifies Ted Bundy’s mythos. He’s always called charming and attractive while being praised for his intimidating intelligence. In Cargill’s mind, “the deeper you dig into the story you realize there’s nothing to mystify here, there’s nothing amazing about him.” If that’s the point he wanted to get across, mission accomplished.
No Man of God centers on a young Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood), who’s tasked with getting to know Bundy (Luke Kirby) so his department can continue developing and fine tuning its profiling efforts. Between 1984 and 1989, the two men become close in that “I’m using you for research” kind of way. Bundy, who puts up a strong mental front at first, remains guarded because he doesn’t trust the FBI. He only warms up to Hagmaier because the young profiler seems genuinely curious about his motives and wants to understand. Everybody else, in Bundy’s mind, wants to spin a yarn and sell a book. Over time, their “friendship” forms around that uneasy rapport.
As their relationship develops, Bundy tries to convince Hagmaier that they’re not so different, which understandably troubles the FBI agent. Of course, this could simply be another one of Bundy’s manipulation tactics. In this case, though, his musings seem to come from a place of respect, giving the serial killer a level of depth that’s not often portrayed in popular media. When Florida Governor Robert Martinez signs the death warrant that expedites Bundy’s execution, the cracks begin to show, and Bundy finally seems ready to reveal his deepest and darkest secrets to a by now anxious and emotionally wrecked Bill Hagmaier.
A Must-See For True Crime Fans
Cut from the same cloth as Mindhunter, No Man of God is a dialogue heavy film that relies on its source material to drive its authenticity home. We’re getting dramatized reenactments of the actual interviews Hagmaier conducted with Bundy, much like the conversations with Ed Kemper, David Berkowitz, and Charles Manson in the now-defunct Netflix series. Similarly, Luke Kirby is a dead ringer for Ted Bundy, and if you squint you’d be hard pressed to think he’s not the real deal. If you’ve watched Netflix’s docuseries Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, you’ll quickly notice how Kirby nails Bundy’s mannerisms, verbal tics, and cadence.
There are no fireworks or theatrics in No Man of God. It’s very much a slow burn thriller that unpacks one of the earliest profiling efforts spearheaded by the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. If you’re still aching about Mindhunter’s unceremonious demise like I am, it comes with a strong recommendation that you stream No Man of God for free on Tubi the next time you want to witness the kind of conversations that will make your skin crawl.
Britney Spears
Instagram Goes Dark After DUI Arrest
Published
Britney Spears is showing more signs of turmoil following her DUI arrest … because her Instagram account has suddenly been deactivated.
Search for Britney’s page now and you’ll be met with the generic message, “Sorry, this page isn’t available. The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.”
It’s unclear if Britney pulled the plug herself or if the account was taken down for another reason.
The disappearance is a big deal — Britney’s IG has long been her main outlet, especially in recent years as she’s posted her signature solo dance videos from inside her L.A.-area home.
In fact, the last clip she uploaded was just yesterday — showing her dancing hours before she was pulled over around 9:30 PM.
TMZ broke the story … CHP officers arrested Britney Wednesday night and later took her to a hospital for a blood draw.
She was booked in the Ventura County Jail around 3 AM Thursday … and she was released three hours later. She’s now due in court on May 4.
Britney’s manager, Cade Hudson, tells TMZ she plans to comply with the law and take the right steps moving forward … adding he hopes this can be the start of long-overdue change in her life.
Below Deck‘s Kate Chastain was brutally honest about her tepid opinion of Ben Robinson’s fiancée before their split.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly while promoting House of Villains, Kate, 43, revealed she wasn’t surprised about Ben, 45, ending his engagement to Kiara Cabral, saying, “I own a condo in the same building as Ben. So I know everything.”
She continued: “I know more than I want to know, to be honest. I was like, ‘This is too close.’ Everything happens for a reason and I’m actually so happy for him that they didn’t get married because I do not think it was meant to be.”
Kate admitted she wasn’t too fond of Ben with Kiara.
The cast of Below Deck and its spinoff series will do just about anything for love … or at least to have a fun crew hookup. After seven seasons of the Bravo series — with more than 100 episodes — there have been plenty of romances to watch unfold. Add in the Below Deck Mediterranean flings and Below Deck Sailing […]
“It wasn’t tough because I didn’t like her that much,” she added. “I was happy for him [when they broke up because] he was finally seeing the light. But I was with him when he picked out the engagement ring. I was eight and a half months pregnant — and we went to pick out his ring. So to be part of that journey, I know it was very sad for him … the end of a dream.”
Us originally broke the news in May 2023 that Ben and Kiara were engaged after more than three years of dating. Before their planned nuptials, Ben confirmed in September 2024 that his wedding had been called off. He offered more insight on what caused the split on season 4 of Below Deck Down Under, which premiered last month on Bravo.
“I was meant to get married last year. And I caught her — she had been seeing one of my friends for a very long time,” he claimed. “I’m more sensitive because everyone’s just f***ing let me down, that’s why.”
Kiara, however, offered her own version of how their relationship came to an end.
“Everything Ben has said about me on the show is 100 percent false,” she said in a TikTok video posted in February. “I have never and I would never be romantically involved with any of his friends. That’s not the kind of person I am.”
She concluded: “The truth is I was the one that left the relationship — not easily, I may add — because of the way he was treating me. There was a lot of trauma I had to deal with from that relationship. And honestly, I just want it to be over. It’s been over two years, and I really feel like I’ve healed. … This is really hard for me to talk about. It’s been over two years since the relationship ended, and I’ve healed since then. I truly hope he has as well.”
Below Deck has followed various relationships and flings throughout the franchise — but some stars found love with one another outside their seasons. Malia White‘s introduction to Below Deck Mediterranean in season 2 came with a love triangle between Adam Glick and Wesley Walton. Although Malia and Wes gave their romance another try offscreen — […]
Kate, meanwhile, is sticking by Ben after they originally developed a friendship on Below Deck.
“Ben and I are great friends. We are like family,” she told Us. “I know I wouldn’t call him for all emergencies but I know if I call him, he would show up.”
While supporting Ben’s return to Below Deck, Kate has had a fun time watching the show, adding, “I know this job and I know Ben really well. I’m actually enjoying this season of him because he’s showing a more vulnerable side.”
Kate, for her part, is now on season 3 of House of Villains.
“It is so shocking to me that I loved House of Villains so much more than The Traitors, because it was so much more fun,” she shared with Us. “But I think if people in the Bravo world [and] want to do Traitors and House of Villains, Traitors is the one to do first.”
House of Villains is streaming now on Peacock with new episodes released every Thursday.
Entertainment
Apple TV’s Most Colossal Sci-Fi Series Gets Beaten By Tense 2-Part Idris Elba Thriller
On Apple TV, competition is always strong as the streaming service releases new TV shows and episodes. The streaming platform has built a robust library of thrillers and sci-fi dramas, with each week bringing new installments of their hit shows. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters returned for Season 2 last week on Friday, and the Monsterverse series immediately shot to the top of Apple TV’s top TV shows. The much-awaited season returned with an explosive season premiere that cements Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as the most ambitious sci-fi drama on the streamer. The series is set in the Monsterverse, which has been successful on the big screen but has never quite been attempted on the small screen.
At the same time, the second season of the hit crime thriller Hijack was wrapping up, with the season finale released this Wednesday. The new episode has helped Hijack dethrone Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, claiming the top spot this week according to FlixPatrol. The ranking could change when Episode 2 of the Anna Sawai-led drama debuts on the service this Friday. In the March 6 episode titled “Resonance,” Lee (Wyatt Russell) and Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) investigate a secretive village with a cult devoted to a mysterious creature while Cate (Sawai) crosses paths with a deadly stowaway. Hijack Season 2 was largely well-received by critics but did not receive the same acclaim among viewers. The show was initially conceptualized as a limited series but was renewed after it became a hit. With Season 2 behind the rearview mirror, Season 3 might also be in the running, according to writer Jim Field Smith.
Time Travel Thursday — The Collider TV Quiz!
Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend. Before we surge an hour into the future, take a moment to check in with these time travel telecasts.
Will ‘Hijack’ Return for Season 3?
Apple TV has not renewed the show for Season 3, but Field Smith hinted in an interview with Variety that Hijack could return if the right idea materialized. “I think more like, is there more story for Sam? It’s not so much like, ‘Oh, could we do it again?’ Because, of course, you can do it again. Do I want to do it again, that’s a different conversation. Right now, I’ve literally just delivered this season,” Field Smith said. He added:
“If Apple decides they want another bite of the Hijack cherry, the question I will always ask is, what story is there for Sam? Not, where can we do it, but why? Of course, yeah, it could be on a boat. It could be on an e-bike, it could be in the back of a limo, it could be, you know, a submarine. Or it could transcend the Hijack format and it could move into a different arena. But that’s what I mean. The precinct is kind of irrelevant. It’s more about ‘Where could Sam go?’”
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Hijack are streaming on Apple TV. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
-
November 16, 2023
- Network
-
Apple TV
- Showrunner
-
Chris Black, Matt Fraction
- Directors
-
Julian Holmes, Matt Shakman, Mairzee Almas, Andy Goddard, Hiromi Kamata
- Writers
-
Al Letson, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Chris Black, Mariko Tamaki, Amanda Overton, Andrew Colville, Matt Fraction, Milla Bell-Hart
Britney Spears was arrested Wednesday night (March 4) in Southern California and booked early the following morning. The charge was unclear, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office website. However, TMZ reports that the detainment was in connection with a DUI.
RELATED: Whew! Judge Decides What’s Next In Shia LaBeouf’s New Orleans Arrest Case
What To Know About Britney Spears’ Arrest
As mentioned, the California Highway Patrol arrested Britney Spears around 9:30 p.m. in Ventura County and booked her around 3 a.m. At around 6 a.m. on Thursday, officials reportedly released the pop star, according to the sheriff’s office records and TMZ. There are no other details about the arrest and a mugshot has not been released. She is scheduled to appear in court on May 4.
Spears Granted Restraining Order Ahead Of Arrest
Britney’s arrest follows a legal win. According to TMZ, a California court granted the singer a permanent restraining order against a 51-year-old man named Donald. Court docs claim he’s been harassing Britney Spears online since 2013, making seemingly threatening posts like “bullet hole heart.” Also, last year, Donald was reportedly arrested for trespassing after popping up at her property. Donald was allegedly “shaking” and smoking a cigarette when cops pulled up after a 911 call from the singer’s security guard. The arrest report allegedly stated that Donald was behaving oddly and “made several incoherent comments.”
Now, the restraining order requires Donald to stay at least 100 yards away from Britney Spears at all times. The order is in place until 2030, per TMZ. Britney Spears said in the court docs that she doesn’t personally know Donald or have a relationship with him. He, however, reportedly has a criminal history that includes burglary and harassment charges, convictions of criminal trespass aggravated assault and accusations of cyberbullying.
Britney Went From THAT GIRL To A Tabloid Sensation
Britney Spears was born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana. She was a teen pop phenomenon who became a defining superstar of the ’90s and 2000s. She rose to fame from Disney Channel’s ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ to MTV and beyond. Spears is also the talent behind heavy hitters like ‘Baby One More Time,’ ‘Oops! … I Did It Again’ and ‘Toxic.’ Most of her albums have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Additionally, she has two diamond titles: 1999’s ” … Baby One More Time” and 2000’s “Oops! … I Did It Again.” She released her last full-length album, ‘Glory,’ in 2016.
Despite musical success, Britney Spears became a focus of tabloids in the early 2000s. Headlines often dragged her as she battled mental illness and paparazzi documented the details of her private life.
Later, cultural opinion evolved to recognize the misogynistic media coverage of the time. The #FreeBritney movement was born and fans supported her fight to control her life. In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship. Her father and his lawyers had the say-so, controlling her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. The conservatorship was dissolved in 2021. Two years later, she released a bestselling, tell-all memoir, ‘The Woman in Me.’
RELATED: Former Prince Andrew Arrested On Suspicion Of Misconduct In Public Office Over Ties To Jeffrey Epstein
Associated Press staff contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
What Do You Think Roomies?
Entertainment
Netflix’s Surging 3-Part Docuseries Just Made Tyra Banks’ Response the Most Frustrating Part
Alongside the talented singers of American Idol and the nail-biting betrayals of Survivor, another show dominated early-2000s television: America’s Next Top Model. Decades before social media existed, aspiring models had little access to breaking into the cutthroat modeling industry. It’s even harder when the biggest modeling hotspots are often limited to major cities like New York and Los Angeles. That is, unless supermodel Tyra Banks had something to say about it.
As an underdog herself, Banks knew firsthand how hard it was to make a viable career out of modeling. America’s Next Top Model thus became her passion project — some would argue a little too passionate. On the one hand, Banks’ reality show gave women from all walks of life the chance not only to learn how to model, but also to compete for a magazine feature and a contract. On the other hand, the project slowly evolved into the stuff of nightmares for these once bright-eyed contestants — most are explored in Netflix’s latest docuseries, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.
Tyra Banks Has No Editorial Control Over ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’
Appearing in Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model without editorial control over how the docuseries portrays her, Banks seems poised to defend the show’s legacy. Early on, she frames ANTM as an educational platform designed to break down stereotypes surrounding the modeling industry. At a time when models were frowned upon for being “snobby” or “unintelligent,” Banks wanted to challenge that image by revealing the hard work required behind the scenes. Drawing from her own experience as a Black model often overlooked early in her career, she envisioned ANTM as a doorway for aspiring talent. Yet, as ratings soared and millions tuned in, the show’s popularity appeared to eclipse its original mission.
Following the success of its first season, ANTM quickly became the talk of reality TV, pulling in an average of five to six million viewers per episode at its peak. Due to popular demand, the show began releasing two cycles — essentially two seasons — per year. However, growing demand also meant increasing supply. As a producer, Banks felt it was her job to deliver more and more to keep the show relevant. In the process, education turned into entertainment, and models were put through the wringer with increasingly outrageous challenges. These included getting knocked off by a massive pendulum on the runway, posing as homeless people, and shooting with cockroaches. The irony is, as former contestants point out, these concepts aren’t even practices used by real fashion publications.
Tyra Banks Fails to Take Accountability for the Harm She Caused to Contestants and Fellow Judges
Despite the long list of atrocities mentioned in Reality Check, Banks doesn’t seem to take accountability for what happened. Rather than empathizing with the victims, she positions herself as a savior. Cycle 6 winner Dani Evans struggled to find legitimate modeling work due to the stigma surrounding ANTM within the industry. Instead of stepping in to help, Banks called Evans to apologize for doing “nothing” after learning that “there were certain doors that [Evans] couldn’t get into because [she] did Top Model.” However, Banks also claimed that she “always rode the fence” with Evans — a remark the former contestant finds offensive.
Other times, Banks positions herself as a fellow victim. In 2012, all three of ANTM‘s staple judges — Jay Manuel, Miss J. Alexander, and Nigel Barker — were let go. In Reality Check, Manuel recalls initially wanting to step back to focus on his own endeavors, only for Banks to ghost him and later send an email saying, “I am disappointed.” Although Manuel stayed for ten more cycles, he describes the environment as uncomfortable, citing Banks’ passive-aggressive behavior and the stripping of his producer rights. When the judges were ultimately fired, Banks claimed it was the TV heads’ decision, not hers. However, her treatment of Manuel — and failure to visit a hospitalized Miss J — suggests a disconnect between her words and actions.
Tyra Banks Hints at Cycle 25 of ‘America’s Next Top Model, Proving Some Lessons Remain Unlearned
Every high has a comedown, and the same can be said for America’s Next Top Model. By Cycle 10 in 2008, the show’s ratings had slipped from their usual five to six million average viewers to around three to four million. By Cycle 16 in 2011, that number dropped further to two million. By its final season in 2018, Cycle 24 averaged fewer than one million viewers. In an effort to offset these losses, ANTM chased relevance through region-specific spin-offs like Asia’s Next Top Model, an All-Stars cycle, and one cycle dedicated to removing height restrictions altogether.
America’s Next Top Model eventually experienced a resurgence, but for all the wrong reasons. During the pandemic, ANTM became a binge-watch staple, and in today’s socio-political climate, social media users revisited the series to call out its long-standing problematic elements. At this point, the idea of ANTM returning as a pop culture phenomenon feels outdated, especially as audiences are now becoming aware of how much the modeling industry has evolved. Still, as Banks closes out Reality Check, she insists, “I feel like my work is not done. You have no idea what we have planned for Cycle 25.” Clinging to the remnants of the legacy she built, Banks appears unwilling to let go despite past controversies — an attitude that risks repeating the same mistakes if serious reflection remains absent.
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is currently streaming on Netflix.
Tech29 seconds ago
13 Niche Makita Tools (And What They’re Used For)
NewsBeat2 minutes ago
‘I grew up on a cattle ranch and now I’m selling out stadiums with Luke Combs’
Business3 minutes ago
No HPAI vaccine yet, but research continues
-
Politics7 days agoITV enters Gaza with IDF amid ongoing genocide
-
Politics2 days agoAlan Cumming Brands Baftas Ceremony A ‘Triggering S**tshow’
-
Fashion6 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Iris Top
-
Tech5 days agoUnihertz’s Titan 2 Elite Arrives Just as Physical Keyboards Refuse to Fade Away
-
Sports6 days ago
The Vikings Need a Duck
-
NewsBeat5 days agoDubai flights cancelled as Brit told airspace closed ’10 minutes after boarding’
-
NewsBeat5 days agoAbusive parents will now be treated like sex offenders and placed on a ‘child cruelty register’ | News UK
-
NewsBeat5 days agoThe empty pub on busy Cambridge road that has been boarded up for years
-
NewsBeat4 days ago‘Significant’ damage to boarded-up Horden house after fire
-
Tech12 hours agoBitwarden adds support for passkey login on Windows 11
-
Entertainment3 days agoBaby Gear Guide: Strollers, Car Seats
-
Tech6 days agoNASA Reveals Identity of Astronaut Who Suffered Medical Incident Aboard ISS
-
Business7 days agoOnly 4% of women globally reside in countries that offer almost complete legal equality
-
Politics5 days ago
FIFA hypocrisy after Israel murder over 400 Palestinian footballers
-
NewsBeat4 days agoEmirates confirms when flights will resume amid Dubai airport chaos
-
NewsBeat3 days agoIs it acceptable to comment on the appearance of strangers in public? Readers discuss
-
Crypto World7 days agoFrom Crypto Treasury to RWA: ETHZilla Retreats and Relaunches as Forum Markets on Nasdaq
-
Tech4 days agoViral ad shows aged Musk, Altman, and Bezos using jobless humans to power AI
-
Video3 days agoHow to Build Finance Dashboards With AI in Minutes
-
Business2 days agoGuthrie Disappearance Enters Fifth Week as Family Visits Memorial