Tocarra Jones says there’s a simple reason she isn’t in the Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model documentary that has everyone talking. “I think it was very one-sided. And I think that’s the reason why I wasn’t on the documentary, because I didn’t have anything bad to say,” she declared to EBONY. “I guess it was to uncover the dark side of Top Model. That’s what they should have called it.”
Few contestants embodied the hustle Jones brought to the screen. A fan favorite from Cycle 3, the charismatic plus-size model entered the competition with one simple goal: get seen. Understanding that it was a reality show, the model-turned-entrepreneur made the most of her time, developing a devoted fan base that has supported her for more than two decades.
With the new documentary revisiting Top Model’s complicated legacy, Jones is reflecting on the experience with empathy and perspective. While some former contestants have spoken about difficult moments behind the scenes, she says her own journey unfolded differently, defined by resilience, opportunity, and the determination to make the most of the platform she was given.
Here, she revisits ANTM and reveals her interactions with Tyra, the cast, and her fans beyond the runway.
EBONY: What immediately went through your mind after you stopped watching the documentary?
Toccara Jones: After I stopped watching? From the beginning, when I popped it on, I thought it was documenting the journey models go through, the industry as it was, Tyra’s experience, and her growing up, because that’s familiar to me. I started when I was 14, going to the agencies. But then, as the documentary went on and I just heard the stories about the different girls and their experiences, I was heartbroken. I was heartbroken that that was their experience. I have a lot of empathy. I really feel for them feeling helpless — someone groping on you when you feel like you don’t know what to do, being intoxicated and having your sexual life put on television, having all this high of success and then turning around and saying that your friend hasn’t called you. To hear about Tyra’s relationship with Mr. and Ms. Jay, it’s sad.
What was your drive to audition for the show, and what were you hoping to get out of it before you actually got to set?
My first thing was just put me on TV. Put me in the room with the right people, and I’m gonna make this happen. That’s why I went and auditioned for America’s Next Top Model. When I was in Ohio, when I left out of my audition, everybody in the auditorium just knew that I was gonna be on the show. They were clapping for me. But I didn’t get a callback, and other girls were. They had another audition in Indianapolis. There, they had the casting director, Michelle Mock. And when Michelle saw me, baby, the rest was history, okay? I came to compete, baby. I don’t play games, but I knew I just needed to be on. I just needed to be seen.
So you knew that it was a competition show.
Oh, of course. I knew it was gonna be a reality show. You could tell that they were looking for models, but they were also looking for personalities, and they were filling in different characters: you gotta have the plus size girl, you gotta have the short girl, you gotta have the funny girl, you gotta have the exotic girl, you gotta have the mean girl, yes, I understood that this was for TV, too. I even said, “You can cut my hair bald, and I’m still gonna give you everything. If you don’t have clothes in my size, I’m still gonna work this the best way I can.” I was the plus-size girl. That gave me a lot of confidence because I was like, “Hey, I can’t be going home anytime soon.” So I used that to my advantage.
Did Tyra Banks help or hinder you when you look back?
I was on season three, and I was very blessed because I was in the beginning before America’s Next Top Model really got that stigma on itself. But like all the other contestants, once I got eliminated, I was eliminated. The show didn’t come and hand walk me into my success, or say, “Hey, this is your guide into the real world now.” Just like when you go to college, you go to college, you get your degree, and they send you out into the world, you gotta go find your job. You try to use your credentials to get what you can get. I was very fortunate that Ashley Stewart reached out to me, and I felt this was what had happened to all the girls. I didn’t even know that I was special at the time.
Did you feel like you were protected as a plus-size girl?
I don’t think I was protected being a plus-sized girl, but I will say that when I did feel like Tyra liked me, she did take up for me plenty of times in the judging room when we had our panels. When Janice Dickerson first saw me, nodded her head, slapped the table, and gave me approval. But then, as the show went on, she started teeter-tottering with me, and that’s when Tyra spoke up in my defense.
Many of the Black women on Top Model went on to be successful, whether or not they won. How did the Black community support you in moving on from top models so you could get to the next level of your career?
The Black community held me down. I love my people so much. I love them so much. Even after the show, people just always held me in high regard. They’ve always given me their flowers every time, and it’s been a 20-year-plus run. And even to this day, people stop me and tell me how important it was to see a Black woman with confidence, with a real figure — a genuine person on the show — representing them. I am honored. And I’m so thankful because they keep me in check, too. I am mindful of the decisions that I make moving forward because I don’t wanna let my people down.
How has life been after ANTM?
Life is fantastic. I have a bra line that I do. I do it for naturally busty girls. It separates, supports, and lifts, and it doesn’t give you that double bump in the front. I feel like I’m still changing lives because when I put women in my bras, it changes their lives. Our undergarment is the most important thing that we put on as a woman, especially when you big busted. It determines how your clothes are gonna fit on you and your confidence. I’m also a sound healer worldwide, and I hold a monthly meditation here in Atlanta called Soulful Stillness Rendezvous. When people visit or live in town, they wanna come see me to get some of this energy. I’m here.
Tyra said at the end of the documentary that there will be a season 25. What do you think of that?
I don’t think Tyra read the room when she came out with that. When someone came up to me, and they were like, “Did you hear Tyra’s gonna be doing a season 25?” I was like, “Yes, mother.” The mother said, “My work is not done yet.” But then when I saw the documentary, I was like, “Uh, maybe not.” She didn’t defend herself in the documentary, and it doesn’t seem like she’s come out now that it’s aired to do so or clear up any misunderstandings. But listen, honey, people love the drama. I wish Tyra had shown some vulnerability and empathy in the documentary, but if she had, we might not even be talking about this anymore. The fact that she came on there and just seemed not sincere and not authentic, and didn’t show much emotion, I think, made her infamous. As much as people say they don’t want Cycle 25, they’re like, “What’s the drama? What’s the tea?” For all you think about Tyra, she’s kind of a genius.