"She basically just said 'I'm disappointed' and that was it and kind of cut me off," the makeup artist said. "And even outside of the show, we would almost talk every day and it was very weird."
Later, he said Banks, 46, apologized and he “went back under pressure” to work on the show for ten additional seasons.
In May, Manuel first opened up about some of his more "uncomfortable" experiences during his time on ANTM, and how he hasn't maintained a close relationship with Banks, who served as host and executive producer.
"Over the past few years, we've emailed," he told Variety. "To be very honest, we really have no relationship to speak of, which is really sad."
Manuel also addressed recent criticism of Banks who has come under fire as ANTM clips resurfaced and were slammed for being insensitive and problematic. Recalling a challenge from Cycle 4 which asked contestants to "swap races," Manuel said that made him feel "so, so, so uncomfortable."
Banks later responded to the backlash on Twitter, agreeing that some of ANTM's past moments were "really off choices."
"Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending so much love and virtual hugs," she wrote in a tweet at the time.
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