Former reality host Tyra Banks has confirmed that there are things she ‘shouldn’t have done’ as she reflects on her time on hit modelling show America’s Next Top Model
Tyra Banks says there’s things she regrets about her long-running reality show competition, America’s Next Top Model (ANTM).
In a recent interview, Banks was questioned about the show, which has been condemned in recent years for its toxic climate and for Banks’ treatment of the young models. She acknowledged that she certainly has regrets when it comes to ANTM, but explains why it was difficult to have perspective in the moment.
“There’s so many things that we would change,” Banks says. “But at the time, you’re operating with the information that you have, on a show that is hugely popular. So we’re all experiencing this together.”
Alluding to the public outcry that arose from resurfaced clips during the pandemic, Banks told Essence Magazine: “There were things on Top Model that we did, and I’m like, ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’ Y’all let me know that was whack. I would mention it on the talk show and apologize. Or I wrote a book, and in it, I talked about it: ‘Oh, I said this on Top Model,’ and ‘I shouldn’t have done this, even though it would have hurt their career.'”
Banks clarified though that she was battling other industry pressures with ANTM. She said: “Sometimes history can be a little bit revised, and people don’t understand that there’s a timeline when it comes to change.”
The model went on to explain some of the challenges she received from the modelling industry in her attempts to promote racial diversity: “I would hear, ‘Oh, you got these girls from the ’hood on your show.’ Like, all of that. You have no idea.”
Banks issued an apology for her insensitive comments and behaviour on the show in 2020 during ANTM outrage. Taking to X, Banks wrote: “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. Appreciate your honest feedback and am sending so much love and virtual hugs.”
Some of the moments that were aired on the show include supermodel Tyra forcing a model to pose in a coffin after her friend died days prior, shouting at a contestant for not removing the natural gap in her tooth and for promoting a blackface photoshoot.
