Tyra Banks Says Taking Abuse From Tyra Banks Simply Reflective Of How The Industry Works

SYDNEY—Responding to backlash following the release of Netflix’s America’s Next Top Model docuseries, supermodel and television personality Tyra Banks stated Tuesday that taking abuse from Tyra Banks is simply how the modeling industry works. “You can ask hundreds of models around the world, and they’ll all tell you that getting emotionally abused by Tyra Banks is par for the course at any model call or runway show,” said the 52-year-old Banks, who noted that being forced by Tyra Banks to change one’s body, hair, or teeth for a photoshoot was “practically a rite of passage.” “If anything, what people saw on America’s Next Top Model was a toned-down version of the level of degrading comments from Tyra Banks that most young models in the industry actually receive. It’s unfortunate, but I don’t make the rules.” Banks went on to say that she herself had endured countless demeaning remarks from Tyra Banks when she was an up-and-coming young model.