Ashley Graham Is 'Glad' Tyra Banks Is 'Fessing Up' to 'Crazy' 'America’s Next Top Model' Controversy: 'There Were a Lot of Lines Crossed'

Ashley Graham is just as excited as fans to see what’s exposed in the upcoming America’s Next Top Model documentary.

During the Wednesday, February 11, episode of TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle, the 38-year-old, who judged one of the final seasons of ANTM in 2018, admitted there were “a lot of lines crossed” in the series, particularly in its earlier seasons.

“When I was on the show, it was not as dramatic. There was a big break, and then they came on and had new judges. There was even a new host for one season, and then Tyra [Banks] came back in and was like, ‘This is my baby,’” Graham explained. “It wasn’t really as crazy as [what you see in the documentary trailer]. We were hard on the girls in a loving way because I know what it’s like to get criticism. I know what it’s like to be told, ‘You’re not good enough,’ or ‘Be a better model. What is that? You don’t even know what you’re doing.’”

The supermodel further dished, “There were a lot of lines crossed, I think, throughout the whole series. I’m glad that Tyra’s fessing up to it and talking about it. This is very Tyra. She’s taking control of the situation. She is that person.”

Graham clarified she has no ill will toward Banks and still respects her, regardless of any past mistakes.

“I love Tyra, and I’m always going to ride for her because she gave me some amazing advice, opportunity. She’s a girls’ girl,” the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit star expressed.

Graham understood that when ANTM became successful, there was consistent pressure to push the envelope to ensure viewership.

“That’s exactly what Tyra said. She was like, ‘You guys kept asking for it,’” she shared. “I did a backbend in six-inch heels on the Brooklyn Bridge once for a denim campaign…but I never was in a tree, hanging by a pinkie nail. Nobody ever asked me to change my ethnicity, that’s for sure.”

Graham alluded to a controversial ANTM episode where contestants were placed in hair and makeup that transformed them into an ethnicity other than their own. Fans still call out the show’s blatant display of “blackface” on social media.

“How is she not canceled?” one person asked about Banks on TikTok, while another said, “This is not ok ahhhh wtf.”

“I’m rewatching the series and it’s honestly shocking how out of touch even cycle 20 was,” a third expressed. “But this is horrid. Shows how much society can still grow!”

In the trailer for the ANTM documentary, which drops on February 16, Banks admitted her past behavior was flawed as the host and creator of the series.

"I knew I went too far. It was very, very intense, but you guys were demanding it, so we kept pushing it, more and more and more," she spilled.