Talk show host Sherri Shepherd is coming to Tyra Banks’ defense following mounting backlash from Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model (ANTM).
On Thursday (Feb 19), Shepherd opened the ANTM segment discussing Dani Evans, winner of Cycle 6. During her 2006 season, Evans underwent a significant dental procedure, encouraged by Tyra and other judges, that closed her signature gap.
Shepherd weighed on the topic defending Tyra, citing the culture in the early 2000s was more of a “wild, wild, west.” She contextualized the moment, pointing out that reality TV was new and good ratings were how shows received renewed seasons.
“A lot of people are angry at Tyra after watching this. The show did awful things to the contestants and everybody I think expected Tyra to take more accountability.” She continued, “They had season six winner Dani Evans… and Dani Evans talked about how she was pressured by Tyra into closing the gap in her teeth… Dani wasn’t accepting it… [she said] “you knew what you were doing for the show it you were making good for TV at my expense”.
“I do understand but I also say you have to understand the time that this all happened was in 2003 reality TV was a wild wild west back then. Every show was trying to outdo each other to stay on the air… we’re not naive to what goes on behind the scenes in reality shows today so we’re trying to compare a time today that we know a lot to a time when there was nothing like this show on the air.
Breaking barriers
Another angle Shepherd mentioned was Banks being a “young black woman trying to make it” in reality TV.
She stated, “We’re not taking into account the battles that this black woman had to fight just to stay on the air for other people to come on the air. “No network wanted to pick up the show except UPN everybody said no.” She continued, addign a comparision, “I bet you if Heidi Klum had shopped the show around and every model looked like Gigi Hadid it have been picked up immediately… [Tyra] came to them saying ‘I want a diverse cast. I want black women and I want Lat women, I want plus-size women; and everybody said no because the industry standard looked like one thing.”
Shepherd emphasized that people need to remember the struggles that are fought behind-the-scenes for certain communities. She wants viewers to realize the long-game play that is needed to have minority representation on TV.
“I’m not saying that the show didn’t do terrible things because it did… she does need to take accountability… But I also know the battles some people will never understand the battles that are fought.” She added, “you always think about the long game: I want the show to stay on the air. I want more black women to come on, I want more plus-sized women… what we know now we accept. We love the trans community, we accept our skin now but back then when I tell you the battles people don’t understand.”