Tyra Banks is still around despite the failure of her self-centered exploitative talk show. She’s still doing “America’s Top Model” on the CW Network and the new season premieres this fall. In a promo video for the show, Tyra gushes over a 6’2″ would-be model with a scary small waist. When people called Tyra out for it, she of course denied responsibility for the video, said it was “misconstrued” and made it all about her. She did have some nice things to say about body image and self esteem, but it comes with so much self righteousness that it’s hard to stomach.
Tyra Banks is finally responding to a growing controversy surrounding an America’s Next Top Model promo featuring a 6’2″ model with a shockingly small waist.
“In an effort to create a fun and entertaining sneak peek of the upcoming cycle, America’s Next Top Model released a trailer that was edited in way that misconstrued our overarching message,” Banks says in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE.
“As a leader in celebrating and promoting healthy body image, I must admit that I regrettably didn’t see this clip before it was released to the public, (with multiple Top Model departments, it’s just impossible to review everything) but on behalf of the Top Model team, these were not the intentions, and we truly apologize for any confusion, anger or disappointment it may have caused,” the statement continues.
“The passionate response the trailer has evoked proves that the message to promote and celebrate all different — healthy and natural –- body types has resonated with our viewers and I’m so proud of every one of you who voiced your opinion and participated in this conversation. I have experienced body image scrutiny from one extreme to the next –- as an awkward, extremely thin pre-teen who couldn’t gain weight no matter what I did, to later being slammed by the media for my fuller, curvier frame,” continues Banks, who was the victim of body bullying in 2006 after unflattering beach shots were splashed across the Internet.
“Driven by these personal experiences,” she says, “I am committed to expanding the definition of beauty which includes ALL shapes, sizes and proportions, from skinny to curvy and everything in between. It’s about women telling the world to KISS their –- skinny, wide, droopy, flat, cellulite-covered or FAT -– you know what!”
“Through Top Model and my other platforms, I am able to connect with women directly,” says Banks, an executive producer on the show. “During this season of Top Model, you will see that Ann (the woman featured in the trailer) provided another opportunity for me to support a young woman struggling with her own body image issues (she’s 6’2″; and is the receiver of countless stares and ridicule). Helping young ladies, like Ann and countless others that have confided in me, furthers and supports my core mission.” –Tim Nudd and Michelle Tan
[From People]
Tyra’s statement on her website has more, including the detail that the trailer has been removed from The CW.
On one hand I feel for this girl, because who are we to judge whether or not she has an eating disorder? There’s something obviously disturbing though about Tyra praising such a frail-looking woman while Jay Manuel quips that the other judge, J. Alexander, will starve himself to look like her. On the other hand, if she was 20 pounds heavier (and still thin) she probably wouldn’t have made it to this level of the show. Tyra wants ratings, whether it’s in the form of a transsexual contestant a model of more normal proportions or a preternaturally thin person. She can shriek about how we don’t understand and make a bunch of grandiose statements about body image, but there’s nothing empowering about a model competition show where catfights, drama and controversy drive programming decisions.
