Nigel Barker has spoken about being dropped from America's Next Top Model for the next cycle.
Tyra Banks confirmed Barker's departure - along with the exits of J Alexander and Jay Manuel - earlier today (April 20).
Barker reportedly told TMZ: "Good luck to whoever [replaces me]. I would imagine it's a tricky thing to replace someone who's going on their 19th season.
"Who knows if this is going to work? I don't necessarily think it's a good idea... Maybe it will work. Maybe it won't. I wish them luck."
However, E! Online reports that Barker saw it coming and holds no grudge.
"It wasn't a shock. I'm friends with Tyra and the producers," he is quoted as saying. "There had been a discussion that ratings were down and that something like this would happen.
"There had been previous years where discussions about me being eliminated from the show had happened and I had actually survived the chopping block before."
He went on: "We had an incredible run and there aren't any hard feelings. 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.
"I'm looking very much forward to creating my own show that focuses on some of my passions like photography.
"We're looking at producing and directing a number of projects. There are several scripts we're looking at right now."
