Tyra Banks, host of America’s Next Top Model and person to whose opinion we defer on most if not all occasions, has hit out at the current state of the modelling industry in a lengthy Instagram post.
Banks, who highlights a diverse array of models on her show, lamented the amount of pressure that young women in the business face, and the demand placed upon them to be “skinnier than skinny.”
While similar concerns have been raised many times in the past, it’s rare that someone of Banks’s stature and position should speak out so publicly on the subject.
She began by posting a picture of herself kickin’ it in sneakers at the age of 16, backstage before walking in a YSL show, and noted that “I think I was a size 6, not a size 0.”
On the Tyra Gets Really, Really Fired Up scale, this is somewhere below the now-legendary Vaseline Frenzy incident, but we still give the ensuing rant about six fired-up Tyras out of ten:
Models have so much pressure today. They have to look good on AND off the set. They have to arrive backstage at fashion shows looking and dressed as if they are already ON a runway. They have to be slimmer than slim. Skinnier than skinny. They have to compete with actresses, recording artists and reality stars for magazine covers and ad campaigns. They have to have tons of followers on social media to book top notch jobs. And they have to do selfies that make them look relatable, but not TOO relatable, because then people may comment that they don’t understand, “Why the heck is THAT girl a friggin’ model??!!!!”When I was a young model, yeah, we had to think about our weight, but not like today. I think I was size 6, not a size 0. And backstage at fashion shows, I looked like this photo you’re looking at. Yep, that’s teenaged me right before a YSL show was about to start in sneakers, plaid flannel and bad jeans. Mr. Yves Saint Laurent could care how I looked when I arrived to his show. But when I hit his stage, he expected excellence. And I made sure I delivered that every time I was chosen to walk his amazing runway. I’m sending love and hugs to all working, aspiring and super models worldwide. You all have lots to live up to. And I’m here cheering for you every single day. Stay strong girls.
America’s Next Top Model will return for Cycle 22, another Boys Vs Girls season, on August 5. Tyra, Kelly Cutrone and J. Alexander are set to be coming back to the judging panel.
Earlier this year, Banks paid tribute to the Cycle 21 constant Mirjana Puhar, after the 19-year-old aspiring model was found dead in her North Carolina home, the victim of a triple homicide.
Photo: Mark Metcalfe via Getty Images
