JAY MANUEL (on Tyra, America's Next Top Model, Life After & Iconic Hair) - I

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

Jay Manuel steps Behind The Rope. The Man, The Myth, The Legend. Checking in from his home in Connecticut, Jay is here to tell it all. Growing up, Jay was drawn to fashion at a young age. That led him to land in NYC, and the rest is history. Not so fast. Jay didn't take no for an answer during his early career in fashion, pounding the streets, portfolio in hand, which eventually landed him his first cosmetics campaign for Revlon. One day, Tyra’s makeup artist missed their flight to NYC and Jay got a call to do Tyra’s makeup last minute for the GQ Man of The Year Awards. He ran to her hotel room, she loved the way she looked, and voila, the two started working together consistently after that. Jay is no stranger to working with high profile clients and we discuss a few such as, oh we don’t know, Jennifer Lopez. Jay details, and we slow him down to miss nothing, how the idea for America’s Next Top Model came about and what his initial reaction was when Tyra ran the idea by him at 3am. We discuss casting and filming. Jay explains the evolution from Episode One when they were just figuring all out to his becoming the official Creative Director on the show, a transition which happened before our very eyes. Jay discusses what it was like to work with some of ANTM’s judges such as Janice Dickinson, Nigel Barker and J. Alexander. Ahh, Janice! Tune in now to our Part I sit down with Mr. Jay Manuel. He opens up about why he decided to leave the hit show in Cycle 8. He explains what his conversation with Tyra was like when he told her he wanted to leave the hit show and his fear that he may “never work in this town again”. Jay explains how he was convinced to stay after giving notice and the icy environment on set once he decided to stay for another cycle. Yes, Tyra Banks was not at all thrilled nor pleased. We discus the overall toxic environment on ANTM and what it was like to work in that environment for many many years. Jay chat about why he was really ready and really did leave in Cycle 18 of the show. Next, we discuss the book!!! The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown. We have so many questions, where to begin. Jay explains why he decided to write this book now and why he chose fiction as opposed to a memoir. We prod Jay to discuss what is fiction in this novel versus what is really, well, real on the set of Model Muse. We discuss some of the bigger issues in the book such as the attraction to fame, the cost of fame, and the abuse of power. Of course, we ask Jay if he has heard from Tyra since writing the book and, if so, what that conversation was like. We also discuss whether he has heard from Janice Dickinson, Miss J and Nigel Barker since the book hit the shelves. We discuss the creative process to writing a book and what Jay discovered about himself throughout the process. Finally, we discuss some of Jay’s many other accomplishments such as the E! Red Carpet, which Awards Shows are his favorite, who he would love to sit down and have lunch with and last, but certainly not least, his iconic silver hair.

@mrjaymanuel

@behindvelvetrope

@davidyontef

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