Tyra Banks announced today that three of her America’s Next Top Model judges will not return to the CW network show for season 19.
J. Alexander, Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker have been fired in a decision that comes at the end of of a lackluster cycle of the series that first aired in 2003. They were informed on Thursday that their contracts would not be renewed.
Show creator and host Banks hit her Facebook page to comment on the major shakeup: “They have been an integral part of the ANTM brand and they helped turn this show into the household name it is today. We will continue to actively work with each of them on future projects.”
Barker holds no outward animosity for the former supermodel. He said, “We had an incredible run. This isn’t a Tyra thing. This is a network thing. My contract was so exclusive that it was holding me back from other projects.”
Check out a photo of the ousted talent below:
Photos: Facebook-Tyra Banks