Tyra Banks Addresses “America’s Next Top Model” Backlash in Speech: ‘Did We Get It Right? Hell No“. ”I Said Some Dumb S---’

Tyra Banks addressed some longstanding criticism of America’s Next Top Model — and she made it clear that she firmly believes the show’s legacy is one of diversity and inclusion.

On Feb. 27 in Los Angeles, Banks attended the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards, where she was the first-ever Luminary Spotlight honoree. During her acceptance speech, the runway modeling star admitted that she didn’t always get everything right during the show’s 24 seasons. However, she said that she was fighting hard for onscreen diversity well before it was a topic that others were talking about.

“Over 20 years ago I created a show called America’s Next Top Model,” Banks, 51, began. “And you guys have no idea how hard we fought to bring the diversity to that television show at a time when it didn’t exist; to show different beauties at a time when the world was like, ‘What? You casting that?’ A time when people in the fashion industry were telling me, ‘You putting the girls from the hood on your show?’ “

“I was like, ‘Why can the girl from the trailer park become a supermodel but the girl that’s chilin’ in the park in the hood can’t?’ “ she continued. “And we fought and we struggled and we made it happen.”

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She then seemed to address the backlash to the show — which premiered on UPN in 2003 — that emerged in recent years.

“Did we get it right? Hell no. I said some dumb s---,” she said, which was met by laughter from the audience. “But I refuse to have my legacy be about some stuff linked together on the Internet when there were 24 cycles of changing the world. And I am so excited that I, and so many of us, have opened that door for others to follow.”

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“And now my 51-year-old, dimpled, cellulite-covered bigger tummy and 10 million times bigger titties is walking through that door that I opened with all of us behind us on that runway saying, ‘Baby, it’s just the beginning,’ “ she concluded to thunderous applause.

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Several old clips from the series began surfacing online in 2020, which prompted a wave of negative feedback directed at both Banks and the show’s creative team. One clip showed Banks telling a contestant that she should “fix” a gap in her teeth, while another featured a now-controversial “race swapping” challenge in which some contestants modeled in “black face.”

Banks addressed the backlash on Twitter (now X) at the time, writing, “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,” per CNN.

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Banks attended the recent ESSENCE event alongside a number of notable other celebs, including Cynthia Erivo, Gabourey Sidibe, Yvette Nicole Brown, Tia Mowry and more.

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