Miss J, the “ANTM” runway diva extraordinaire, revealed in a new Netflix doc an emotional health setback that was kept secret for nearly four years.

ANTM runway coach Miss J. Alexander left paralyzed by stroke in 2022, says Tyra Banks didn’t visit in hospital

Miss J, the "ANTM" runway diva extraordinaire, revealed in a new Netflix doc an emotional health setback that was kept secret for nearly four years.

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February 16, 2026 8:00 a.m. ET

Miss J. Alexander and Tyra Banks on 'America's Next Top Model'. Credit:

Eric Liebowitz / The CW

Miss J. Alexander, the runway diva extraordinaire who coached legions of glamazon hopefuls how to strut the catwalk on 18 cycles of *America's Next Top Model*, has emotionally revealed a serious health setback that was kept secret for years.

Near the end of the final episode of Netflix's new *Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model *docuseries, Alexander — known by host Tyra Banks and *ANTM* fans simply as "Miss J" — revealed that he had a stroke on Dec. 27, 2022, which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

"I had a stroke. I woke up, I didn’t know where I was, other than the hospital," Miss J said in the docuseries. "I spent five weeks in a coma, and I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t talk. I thought to myself, what was I going to do? I couldn’t walk, I could’t speak. It was emotional, I cried. I’m not ashamed to say that. I cried, and then once I was in the hospital, Jay [Manuel] and Nigel [Barker] came to visit."

Miss J. Alexander and Tyra Banks on 'America's Next Top Model' panel.

Monty Brinton/UPN

Manuel and Barker served as judges alongside Miss J on the hit modeling competition series, before all three show personalities were dismissed from the program in 2011 after cycle 18.

According to their interviews in the docuseries, which also includes a sit-down conversation with Banks, the trio have remained close, though Miss J said that Banks hadn't checked up on him amid his health scare. (A representative for Banks did not respond to **'s request for comment.)

“Did Tyra come and visit you?” a producer is heard asking Miss J, who replied, "No, not yet. She just sent me a text that she wants to come and visit me. But, no, not yet."

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Of his visit to the hospital, Barker, a noted fashion photographer who served on the *ANTM* panel and shot multiple contestants for various photo challenges over the years, said, "I don’t know if he wanted me to see him in that way. [But] I was going to see him. That was such a terrible shock and really upsetting, horrifying, and scary."

Manuel, the show's creative director and frequent panelist who's now estranged from Banks following what he alleged in *Reality Check *to be major behind-the-scenes drama, added, "I could feel how upset he was, for sure. I can only imagine where he was in his mind."

Reflecting on seeing Barker and Manuel enter his hospital room following the stroke, Miss J said, "I thought back to how we used to do shows together. I cried because I just missed them so much," before the series showed a more recent reunion between the trio in a New York City studio.

Twiggy, Miss J. Alexander, Tyra Banks, and Nigel Barker as judges on 'America's Next Top Model'.

Upon entering the room, the fashion figures embrace, with Miss J crying as he sits with his friends in the room. “The thing is, you’re *here*," Manuel stressed to his friend in the clip, as he consoled Miss J.

Later, Miss J reflected on what he regrets as he continues his healing journey.

“I miss being the queen of the runway. The catwalks, of course,” Miss J added. “I’m the person who taught models how to walk. I taught models how to walk, and now I can’t walk — *not yet!* Not yet. I’m determined to walk. I'm sure you’re going to see me again, I’m sure. It’s not over for me yet."

The docuseries includes additional allegations about Miss J, Manuel, and Barker's exit from the beloved program. Manuel recalled in the series that he initially wanted to leave the show before cycle 9, and alleged that Banks, whom he considered to be a friend, ignored an email he sent about the situation for three days before replying with three words: "I am disappointed." He alleged that she then wouldn't speak to him when the cameras weren't rolling for the rest of that cycle of the program.

Years later, he said that the show needed to revamp itself to boost viewership, and that he, Miss J, and Barker were let go as a result. Before releasing what he alleges was a joint press release announcing their departure, Manuel recalled a "leak" to *Page Six* revealing that the trio was fired — which he alleged in the doc was Banks' doing.

“It was disappointing, and I felt a little bit betrayed," Barker says of the development in the docuseries.

When asked in the docuseries about Manuel's exit from *ANTM*, Banks declined to comment. "Nah, I’d prefer… Yeah, I should call Jay. I don’t want to do this here. But he’s a special man," she said on camera.

*Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model* is now streaming on Netflix.

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