Tyra Banks is now saying her attack on an America’s Next Top Model contestant went “too far.”
Banks, 52, is looking back at her journey at the helm of the show, as documented in the candid new Netflix series, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model.
The incident, which became a viral meme and a point of contention, occurred in 2005, during the fourth cycle of the retrospectively controversial reality show.
Banks infamously melted down when eliminating Tiffany Richardson, yelling at the contestant, “I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you!”
Those lines have sparked countless TikToks, GIFs, stickers, and YouTube mixes. ATNM judge and makeup artist Jay Manuel calls it “the most discussed scene” in the history of the show.
The outburst at Richardson occurred because Banks felt that the aspiring model was “mocking” her elimination and not taking the competition seriously, according to sources.
“I’m extremely disappointed in you,” Banks continued to Richardson. “This is a joke to you. You’ve been to anger management. You’ve been through your grandmother getting her lights turned off so she can buy you a swimsuit for this competition. And you go over there, and you joke, and you laugh?”
Richardson responded to Tyra, saying “looks can be deceiving” and that she was “hurt” by not making it through on the show. “Maybe I am angry inside!” Richardson yelled.
At that point, Banks broke down. “Be quiet, Tiffany! Stop it! I have never in my life yelled at a girl like this. When my mother yells like this, it’s because she loves me. I was rooting for you. We were all rooting for you. How dare you! Learn something from this!”
Banks admitted that the incident was “very tough” for her.
“Tiffany... that girl was my heart,” she said, explaining how Richardson appeared on cycle three but had to leave after getting into a bar fight. Banks said she and her team mentored Richardson to bring her back for ANTM’s fourth cycle.
“I went too far,” Banks admitted. “I lost it. It was probably bigger than her. It was family, friends, society, Black girls, all the challenges that we have. So many people saying that we’re not good enough. I think all 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.”
“I just wanted to change this woman’s life,” she said.
Of the showdown, Nigel Barker, a photographer and judge on the series, said, “Tyra really scared all of us.”
“We literally jumped out of our seats: ‘What is happening right now?’” he continued.
“People tried to make it funny,” Manuel reflected. “But it really wasn’t.” He also revealed that “the production staff literally took Tyra off set.”
Reality Check examines the evolution of the modeling competition that had viewers glued for 24 seasons. Banks and other key figures from the reality series recount their varied experiences. Banks, as NPR notes, is not a producer for the Netflix docuseries, which juxtaposes accounts from the supermodel and her panelist judges with archival footage.
Surprisingly, the doc teased the return of ANTM in some form. The series concluded in 2018, but appears to be making a comeback. “I feel like my work is not done,” Banks said towards the end of the Netflix series. “You have no idea what we have planned for Cycle 25.”
Reality Check premiered on Netflix on February 16.
