Nevertheless, this move is, at the very least, an expression of Banks’ new values as a beauty mogul whether or not she’s actually making a difference in the modeling industry. Most would argue that monetizing the fantasy of equality for marginalized people in the beauty and fashion space is not the same as dismantling oppressive beauty norms, and there’s even an obvious argument here that it’s exploitative. Nevertheless, Banks, who also served as an executive producer, will always be the unmistakable face of the program and has enough problematic soundbites for the internet to map most of the show’s ethical failings onto her. It’s also a direct reflection of the cutthroat state of the fashion industry and the mistreatment models are expected to endure, a topic that’s been brought to light in recent years thanks to the #MeToo movement. These troubling incidents-in addition to the clip-demonstrate how much of the toxic, cruel nature that has come to define ANTM was a collective effort on the part of the producers, judges, and other people working behind the scenes in addition to Banks’ own contributions. This led Twitter users to go down a rabbit hole of some of the show’s other controversies, including a lawsuit that was filed by former contestant Angelea Preston, who claimed her prize from cycle 14’s all-star season was revoked after production discovered that she was a former escort, and an episode on cycle 4 in which a contestant named Keenyah Hill claimed that she had been inappropriately touched by a male model on a photoshoot, and the judges insisted that she should’ve controlled the situation. When Jacob retorts that she has “beautiful skin,” Banks cuts her off and scolds her for “placing the blame” on the photographer. The judge’s evaluation of Jacob’s photo is even more baffling, as Banks tells her that women of color have to wear more makeup because “we don’t reflect light.” Maybe the show’s most routinely petty judge Dickinson then goes into an animated bit having the producers switch back and forth between her untouched and retouched photos, comparing it to a Hitchcock film and mimicking horror-film violin screeches. But with the addition of the show on several streaming platforms since last year, her re-circulated antics and soundbites as a host-in addition to her past beef with Naomi Campbell and her short-lived yet indelible daytime television show-have made her less of a fun, eccentric personality in the eyes of the public and more of a celebrity supervillain. For the most part, Banks has made the most out of her brand simply by doing the most. (I would be remiss not to mention the multitude of “surprised” GIFs starring Miss Jay Alexander). Believe it or not, these were once casual if not frequent occurrences on America’s Next Top Model, a show that could only thrive in an era prior to social media and the widespread adoption of social justice rhetoric on the internet.Įven before its latest reassessment on Twitter, America’s Next Top Model’s legacy online, like most reality juggernauts of the early 2000s, has been that of a plentiful meme farm, from Banks’ “two women stand before me” spiel to her famous “hoe but make it fashion” tutorial to the clip of her asking “how many people were scared?” after a contestant fainted. Despite her best efforts to position herself as an advocate for size inclusion and racial diversity in the modeling world over the past decade, Tyra Banks can’t escape the problematic ghosts of her television-hosting past as her critics on social media continue to rehash her most controversial and cringeworthy moments.įor Gen Z consumers of television, it may be hard to imagine a beloved competition show in which women are forced to weigh themselves in front of their fellow castmates (and thus the world), are given drastic makeovers against their tearful pleas, don blackface for a challenge, are instructed by the show’s judges to lose weight, and advised to wear additional makeup if they’re not white.
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