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Tyra Banks Addresses ANTM's Culturally Insensitive Challenge
12 Feb
Summary
- Banks defended ANTM's race swap, aiming to showcase beauty in diversity.
- She now understands the cultural implications with a 2020 hindsight.
- Banks reflected on 'going too far' in a viral 'rooting for you' scene.
Tyra Banks has addressed the controversial "race swapping" challenge from America's Next Top Model, which first aired in 2005 and was later revisited in 2007. Banks defended the challenge, stating her intention was to celebrate the beauty of brown and black skin, explaining "This was my way of showing the world that brown and black is beautiful." However, she now acknowledges the cultural implications, stating, "Looking at the show now with the 20:20 lens, it's an issue and I understand 100 percent why." The challenge involved contestants altering their appearance to embody different ethnicities, including East Indian, African American, and Eskimo, through makeup and attire. Banks also reflected on a viral moment from 2006 where she intensely criticized contestant Tiffany Richardson, admitting, "I went too far, I lost it," and acknowledging the deeper societal pressures reflected in that moment.
