‘I went too far’ – Tyra Banks revisits America’s Next Top Model in documentary
The 52-year-old spent more than a decade as the face of the American reality TV series.
American model Tyra Banks has admitted she “went too far” when she shouted at a contestant on America’s Next Top Model, as she revisits the controversial reality show in a new Netflix series.
The 52-year-old spent More than a decade as the face of the American reality TV series, in which aspiring models competed for the chance to begin their career in the modelling industry.
On Monday, Netflix released a documentary titled Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model in which judges, producers and previous contestants revisit the show eight years after it ended.
In the three-part documentary, Banks was shown a clip of herself shouting at model Tiffany Richardson from season four of the show, which has gone viral on platforms such as TikTok.
Speaking about the incident, fashion photographer Nigel Barker said: “Tyra really scared all of us. We literally jumped out of our seats.”
Banks said: “I went too far. I lost it. It was probably bigger than her.
“It was family, friends, society, black girls, all the challenges we have. So many people saying we’re not good enough.
“I think all of that was in that moment. That’s some black girl stuff that goes real deep inside of me, but I knew I went too far.”
The documentary also looks back at moments in the show in which Banks was seen to pressure contestants to undergo dental procedures, and encourage them to adopt another race for a photoshoot.
Banks is seen pressuring model Dani Evans into a dental procedure to fix a gap in her teeth, with Evans saying that the TV star implied that she would be kicked off the show if she did not do it.
Speaking about this, Banks said: “I’ve actually apologised for the issue with Dani and what happened. That was between a rock and a hard place for me, because there were agents that would tell me, ‘she will not work with those teeth, it’s just not going to happen’.
“I could’ve been quiet and just let them handle it – but hindsight is 20/20 for all of us. It just so happens that a lot of the things that are 20/20 for me happened in front of the world.”
Banks also addressed the photoshoot which saw white contestants undergo “blackface”, as the models were tasked with dressing up as different races.
She said: “I didn’t think it was controversial, I was in my own little bubble in my own little head.
“This was my little way of showing the world that brown and black is beautiful. But we put it out there and the world was like, ‘are you crazy, have you lost your mind?'”
Banks also recounted telling her co-stars, Barker, Jay Manuel and J Alexander they had been axed from the show in 2013 after almost a decade in a network switch-up.
She called it “the hardest news I ever had to deliver in my existence”, and said she “cried myself to sleep” after telling them they would no longer be on the show.
Banks went on to say that she appreciates the criticism the show has garnered, and said: “I thank you for that. That is the only way you change, that is the only way you get better – by somebody calling you out on your shit. It is important.”
In 2018, America’s Next Top Model was cancelled because of a decline in viewership.
Banks has gone on to host TV shows including Dancing With The Stars and America’s Got Talent.
The reality star and supermodel has also launched a flagship ice cream store in Sydney, Australia, where she now lives.
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is available to watch on Netflix.
