One of the most-shocking revelations to come out of the new Netflix documentary Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model was the sad news that runway coach/ANTM legend Miss J Alexander had suffered a debilitating stroke in December 2022 that left him wheelchair-bound and paralyzed. In the documentary, Miss J explained that he spent five weeks in a coma and woke up unable to talk or walk. While he had recovered his speech by the time the documentary was filmed last year, he was still unable to walk.
However, according to Miss J’s friends and ‘ANTM’ co-stars Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker, the Queen of the Catwalk has made a lot of progress since then.
“[Miss] J is getting stronger every day. He does physical therapy every day. He can get out of that [wheel]chair,” Jay said in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight. “That’s what people don’t know. At the time of the documentary, he couldn’t. He can [now]. He can take steps.”
Jay also stressed how much he believes that his friend will walk again.
“Look, if anyone is gonna walk again, it’s Miss J,” he said.
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Miss J spoke openly about the aftermath of his stroke, telling viewers at one point, “I’m the person who taught models how to walk. I taught models how to walk, and now I can’t walk.” He also vowed that he would walk again.
“There’s no stopping Miss J,” Nigel told ET. “The reality is, is that Miss J has still got that spark.”
During ‘Reality Check,’ Miss J spoke fondly of Nigel and Jay visiting him in the hospital after he had the stroke. He added that Tyra Banks— who was once his very close friend— had “yet” to come visit him since his stroke, but had recently texted him asking to visit.
Jay had a lot to say about that.
“Tyra reaching out [to Miss J] so late, it breaks my heart because she has been in New York a ton,” he said. “She doesn’t want to face some things. She’s ducking out.”
(Fans will remember that, after Cycle 18, Miss J was infamously fired by Tyra, alongside Jay and Nigel. Miss J did return briefly for Cycle 21 in 2014.)
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In the ET interview, Nigel recounted a visit he paid to Miss J not long after he had the stroke.
“He couldn’t move. He was completely paralyzed and lying there, and only half his face could move, and one eye,” he said, adding that he then made a joke to Miss J.
“He looked at me with his one eye, and he opened it, and he rolled his one eye!” Nigel said. “And I was like, ‘OK, you’re still there!’ I’m like, ‘If you’re still able to roll that one eye of yours, we’re gonna get you back!'”
‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’ is currently streaming on Netflix.
2 Responses
This is good news.
And shame on Tyra for being such a jerk.
Karma has her number.
Is that picture used a recent picture? They look really good.