Tyra Banks responds to backlash over old ANTM clips

There are a lot of cultural moments from the past 20 years that, when viewed through today’s lens, do not stand the test of time. Low-rise jeans. Frosted tips. The first few seasons of Sex And The City. And last week, some long-time America’s Next Top Model viewers unearthed old show clips from the early 2000s where Tyra Banks is giving some questionable and controversial advice to young models, and let’s just say, unlike a fine wine, they definitely didn’t age well. So much so, that Tyra Banks personally responded to the backlash on Twitter.It all began when one eagle-eyed viewer posted an ANTM clip of contestant Danielle Evans getting grilled by Tyra for not closing the front gap in her teeth. “So Danielle, you went to the dentist, but you refused to have your gap closed. Do you really think you can have a Cover Girl contract with a gap in your mouth?” Banks snarked in the sixth cycle of the show. “It’s not marketable.” Danielle actually went on to win her cycle of ANTM back in 2006.

Why was this allowed to air wtf Tyra banks is going to straight hell pic.twitter.com/xtiWl3srKJ

— Aisha Oladapo (@OladapoAisha) May 5, 2020

Of course that left a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouth, especially since many famous models and celebrities, like Madonna, David Letterman and Lauren Hutton, have gaps in their front teeth that are part of their signature looks. That’s when other viewers piped up to remind everyone of some of the problematic “advice” Tyra has dished out on the show over the years.[video_embed id='5244756067001']RELATED: Ashley Graham Credits SI and Tyra Banks For ANTM Role[/video_embed]There was that cringe-worthy incident from 2004 where Yaya Dacosta was admonished by the judges for being “overbearing” with her ethnicity, something that Dacosta called out a few years ago with an Instagram post surrounding the show’s lack of “ethnic sensitivity.”

The part on ANTM that never sat right with me was how Tyra did Yaya that one episode. She let that white lady tell Yaya she was acting too black then told her she was being defensive. Like girl wtf ? pic.twitter.com/EASO8zVY8t

— nae. (@euphorixa) May 5, 2020

Then the barrage of clips, anecdotes and memories from the show flooded the social media site, with viewers reminding us of all the dubious moments from the model-search competition show over the years. It came to a head on May 8 when Tyra herself could not ignore her own name as a trending topic any longer, and tweeted out a response to the backlash. “I agree with you,” she posted. “Those were some really off choices.”

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. ❤️

— Tyra Banks (@tyrabanks) May 9, 2020

ANTM producer Ken Mok also weighed in on the subject on Twitter, quote-tweeting Tyra’s response, and adding, “I look at some of the #ANTM moments and cringe.” He then added that he and the entire creative team behind the show were largely responsible for some of those moments, not just Tyra, and asked that he too shoulder the blame for these inappropriate moments.

Want to reiterate what @tyrabanks said. I look at some of those #ANTM moments and cringe. Just a FYI - the entire creative team made the choices in those shows - not just Tyra. So please feel free to yell at me for some of the worst moments in ANTM history! Apologies to all. https://t.co/OzoqqXrDoU

— Ken Mok (@kenmok) May 9, 2020

Mok later tweeted that he is glad times have changed because he is learning from these past mistakes and the backlash that comes with them. That’s the great thing about 2020—we now know better, so it’s heartening to see people genuinely trying to use this knowledge to do better.[video_embed id='1953268']BEFORE YOU GO: Adele shares rare photo for her birthday[/video_embed]