Former America’s Next Top Model judge Miss J Alexander revealed he still can’t walk after suffering a debilitating stroke that left him comatose.
In Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model docuseries, streaming now, Miss J, 67, discussed his time on the show with Tyra Banks, Nigel Barker and Jay Manuel. It wasn’t until the final minutes of the three-part special that Miss J opened up about a health scare he battled away from the public eye.
“Everything changed. On December 27th of 2022, I had a stroke,” he revealed. “I didn’t know where I was other than in the hospital. I spent five weeks in a coma and I couldn’t walk and I couldn’t talk. And I thought to myself, what was I going to do?”
Miss J’s personal footage from his hospital room revealed he lived there for at least “one year and five months” because he “couldn’t walk and couldn’t speak.”
“It was emotional. I cried. I am not ashamed to say that I cried. Then once I was in the hospital, Jay and Niguel came to visit,” he recalled. “I thought back to how we used to do shows together. I cry because I just miss them so much.”
America’s Next Top Model, a competition series where aspiring models competed for a chance to begin their career in the modeling industry, aired from 2003 to 2018 on several networks. Banks hosted the show, while Jay served as the creative director and Miss J and Nigel, both 53, served as judges.
The trio remained on good terms after they were fired, and according to Miss J properly reconnected amid his severe health scare.
“I don’t know whether he even wanted me to see him that way. I was going to go see him. That was just such a terrible shock and really upsetting and horrifying and scary,” Nigel said in the Netflix doc. “When he saw me, he was happy to see me and the two of us cried together and I held him.”
Jay, meanwhile, said Miss J initially struggled, adding, “I could feel how upset he was for sure. I can only imagine where he was in his mind.”
Miss J was asked whether Tyra, 52, visited him in the hospital after his stroke. (Tyra was interviewed for the docuseries but no footage of her discussing Miss J’s health issues was included in the final cut.)
“No, not yet. She just sent me a text that she wants to come and visit me,” Miss J replied. “But no … not yet.”
In the docuseries, Jay, Miss J and Nigel were seen spending time together between filming. Jay and Nigel comforted Miss J, who was still emotional about being in a wheelchair, which the viewers didn’t see until the end of Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.
“It has been a journey and you’re speaking so much better now,” Jay said, to which Nigel added, “You are batting through. When we first saw you in that hospital, you could hardly move, hardly talk. Now you’re sitting up doing an interview, chatting, talking, rolling your eyes and making us laugh.”
Nigel continued: “It is a long journey but you are going to get there. I know it has been really hard.”
In his own confessional, Miss J discussed his progress, saying, “I miss being the queen of the runway. I am the person who taught models how to walk and now I can’t walk. Not yet. I am determined to walk. I am sure you are going to see me again. It’s not over for me yet.”
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is currently streaming on Netflix.
