If you’ve ever seen America’s Next Top Model , then you probably remember how messy that show was.
At the time, we loved all the drama. But in hindsight, there may have been a few problematic areas, and they are suddenly resurfacing…
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Back in the early 2000s, *America’s Next Top Model* aired its very first episode on UPN.
Hosted by Tyra Banks, the reality series aimed to weed out the best aspiring models in the country.
At the time, fans loved it. We couldn’t get enough of the shade, drama, meltdowns, catfights, and Tyra telling girls to smile with their eyes (I still don’t know what that means).
But admittedly, the show has aged quite poorly.
There are countless obvious reasons why the modeling industry itself is problematic.
And there were plenty of instances in the show that would never fly on TV now.
But some clips in particular have recently resurfaced the Internet, and Tyra Banks is facing a ton of backlash over it.
And honestly, there’s no excusing this kind of behavior.
It was very cringe-worthy.
In one clip, Tyra insists that one of the models needs to fix the gap between her teeth.
“Do you really think you can have a Cover Girl contract with a gap in your mouth?,” Tyra says to one of the contestants.
“Yes, why not?,” she replies.
“This is all people see,” Tyra says, pointing her finger on her front teeth, trying to drive her point home. “It’s not marketable.”
To add insult to injury, this fan pointed out that in a later season, Tyra actually wanted to widen another contestant’s gap.
And because she was a white contestant, there is some speculation that Tyra was especially hard on the previous contestant because she had darker skin.
Speaking of which, another clip surfaced, shedding light on a whole other race-related issue.
During a “bi-racial” photoshoot, Tyra had some contestant’s painting their skin darker, something we now know as blackface.
There was also an instance where Tyra insinuated that it was unnecessary for one of the contestants to flaunt the fact that she’s a lesbian.
SMH. Tyra. WYD?
Another fan pointed out another episode where Tyra allegedly “manipulated” one of the contestants to shoot a naked next to a man, after expressing she was a victim of sexual assault and didn’t feel comfortable around men.
I cannot believe how much of a savage she was and how none of us saw anything wrong with it.
This person shared a story from an episode where the theme of the photoshoot was the seven deadly sins.
And they assigned “gluttony” to one of the contestants who struggled with her weight.
Wow.
The general consensus currently is that Tyra Banks was a bit of a jerk back in the day.
What’s more concerning is that nobody noticed this while it was happening.
How we’re all just realizing this now is beyond me.
Numerous fans are asking for a documentary to be made about the girls who had to deal with Tyra Banks over the years, suggesting it be called “Surviving Tyra Banks” — a play on the R. Kelly docu-series.
Seems a bit extreme, but tbh, I would definitely watch it. No questions asked.
Other fans are pointing out that we went most of our lives thinking Naomi Campbell was the villain, and clearly we were confused.
I’m sure Naomi is somewhere enjoying this.
What do you think of some of the problematic clips of *America’s Next Top Model* that have been resurfacing?
Does Tyra deserve all the backlash she has been getting?
Let us know in the comments below!
