“When I look back at that episode I cringe. And I cringe through the eyes of today.”
Tyra Banks addressed the recent controversies surrounding resurfaced clips from “America’s Next Top Model.“
During an interview with ET, the TV host shared her thoughts on the show being accused of pressuring models to have cosmetic surgery and promoting Blackface, among other improprieties, according to social media followers.
Regarding the episode where the models are asked to darken their skin for a photo shoot, Banks said she had already acknowledged wrongdoing on her talk show “The Tyra Banks Show,” which ran from 2005 to 2010.
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“Yes, I apologized for it. Because we put it out and even me just watching it after, I was like, ‘Oh, this ain’t right,'” the 46-year-old revealed. “We felt like our skin is beautiful, let’s paint the world our color. And then when we saw it, we were like, ‘Oh no, this excuses other people to do this in a negative way.'”
“We realized that, and I went on my talk show and did an entire segment on what we did,” she continued. “What we did was wrong, and we apologized for it. But not everybody saw that. There’s a whole new generation of people that didn’t grow up with my show and didn’t see that.”
Another resurfaced clip causing outrage showed Tyra calling out Dani Evans for her gap in her teeth, saying Dani would never get a modeling contract with it.
“When I look back at that episode I cringe,” Tyra confessed. “And I cringe through the eyes of today.”
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The former “America’s Got Talent” host said she apologized for that before as well, but “felt I needed to apologize again because not everybody saw that.”
Tyra went on to explain how she sometimes lost sight of what was most important to her in producing a show for young women aspiring to be models.
“I also have this mission to get the models as much work as possible,” she began. “And at times, this desire to make sure my girls get work, made me forget my mission of why I get up every single day which is more important than any damn magazine cover.”
Earlier this month, Tyra had tweeted about the controversy as well.
“Been seeing the posts about the insensitivity of some past ANTM moments and I agree with you. Looking back, those were some really off choices.”
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“Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending so much love and virtual hugs.”
At the time the clips had resurfaced, Dani took to social media to address her experience on “ANTM,” saying she eventually agreed to partially close the gap to avoid elimination, as she was using the show to launch her career and move her out of her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas.
“I had a laser focused goal, nothing or no one was going to stand in my way,” she explained. “It wasn’t about copping out. It was about understanding what really carried weight and holds value in my life and teeth was not one of them.”
Dani added a message to “all the young queens” who might have seen the episode and were affected by it.
“If I could love on all of you right now, I would. I want to remind you of your worth,” she said. “You’re a masterpiece, you’re so loved, you’re adored and you’re beautiful.”
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