Tyra Banks made a shocking America’s Next Top Model announcement on Friday that her longtime panel of judges, Nigel Barker, Jay Manueland J. Alexander, would not be returning for Cycle 18 of the show.
And Alexander, (known affectionately as Miss J) was just as surprised as everyone else!
“After 18 cycles, I found myself in the bottom three and Tyra pulled a surprise triple elimination,” Miss J, 53, told Us Weekly exclusively Friday afternoon. “I didn’t even get to runway for my life!”
The judge also acted as a catwalk coach for contestants since the show started in 2003.
Banks thanked the three judges for work on her official Facebook page Friday writing, “To my Nigel Barker, Miss J, and Mr Jay: Thank you for all of our years together on America’s Next Top Model. Working with you is always an absolute pleasure. Excited for what the future holds for us.”
Barker, 39 told E! News Friday that the news “wasn’t a shock” to him. “I’m friends with Tyra and the producers,” he explained. “There had been a discussion that ratings were down and that something like this would happen.
