Who could ever forget that cringeworthy America’s Next Top Model moment when Tyra Banks reprimanded contestant Tiffany Richardson? For context, these were her words verbatim: “I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you! How dare you?!”
Since then, the memorable 2005 occurrence has become an infamous meme. But if she had a choice, Banks affirmed that she would have done things differently. In a recent interview with BuzzFeed, the former supermodel revealed she understands how viewers and Richardson might have taken her approach of tough love.
“A lot of the times, it’s easy to go either way. It’s easier to say, ‘Oh my god, that was awful, I’m a victim,’ or it’s the other way around, ‘I’m awful,’ and you kinda blame yourself,” Banks explained. “I felt like [Richardson] took ownership of some of the things she could’ve done better, but at the same time said, ‘That was some crazy sh*t.’”
Still, Banks says her and the rest of the ANTM team really did believe in Richardson’s potential, which is why her dismissive reaction spurred a very emotional response. “It was such an emotional, visceral moment for me,” she said. “I had so much love for this girl.”
Additionally, Banks addressed Richardson’s complaints about being criticized harshly on the show stating that in the real world of modeling things are actually worse.
“The things I have heard — it makes you insecure about things that you weren’t even insecure about,” she continued. “A lot of girls see it on TV, but it’s not the same as when it’s happening to you. So Top Model is nothing new, you’ve seen it for ages and you see these girls crying and you’re like, ‘I’m gonna go on there and I’m gonna be amazing,’ and then you get this feedback that maybe you’re not perfect and these are the areas that you need to improve being said to you in so many different ways from different judges and that can hurt.”
One thing is for sure, she certainly would’ve done things differently. “Oh my god totally, I wouldn’t have done it,” Banks said. “Actually, maybe I wouldn’t have aired it.”
