It's always tragic when two female celebrities are pitted against each other. But there's a reason Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell's rivalry remains iconic to this day. Who could forget about their confrontation in The Tyra Banks Show? Banks poured out over a decade of resentment while Campbell sat there smiling, unable to recall the mean things Banks alleged that she did.
People were quick to assume that Campbell was guilty, especially with her notorious anger management issues at that time. Then Banks was this sweetheart giving girls in America an opportunity to be a supermodel. But that changed recently when America's Next Top Model became available on Hulu and Amazon Prime during the lockdown.
What was meant to be a happy binge-watch became a dark revelation... That Tyra Banks wasn't the modeling industry's fairy godmother she made herself to be. We're not only referring to her famous rage-turned-meme moment, too.
Tyra Asked Contestants To Change Their Natural Look A Lot (Naomi Would Never)
America's Next Top Model's crazy makeovers are a show highlight. You know, the extreme haircuts and the hysterical cries of the unlucky girls who got them. As if that's not bad enough, fans were also upset about this episode where Banks forced a contestant to fix the gap between her teeth.
According to her, it's not marketable or CoverGirl material. It's ironic since Banks coined the term "flawsome" which means showing your flaws is still awesome. She even said it's key to self-confidence.
When Naomi Campbell was a mentor in The Face, she never told a girl to change her look. She did give her models tough love in improving their runway walks. But that's only because she believed in their potential to grow. She was there to teach them.
Meanwhile, Banks was fitting diverse sets of models in a certain mold no one's even sure what is. Telling someone's gap-tooth isn't marketable should not be coming from an established top model who's gone through scrutiny herself. Especially when that's a painful experience Banks ranted about in her one-on-one with Campbell before.
Tyra Darkened The Girls' Skin For A Photoshoot (Something Naomi Would Never Think Of)
Oh yes, you read that right. On the 9th episode of ANTM cycle 13, about six girls were made to look biracial for a Hawaiian themed photoshoot. Banks told Chicks in the Office that she learned about the word "hapa" in Hawaii which means mixed race. At that time, the locals kept referring to then-president Barack Obama as a hapa.
According to the ANTM host, she only wanted to celebrate the term and Obama's recent presidential win as a person of color herself. She said she meant well but that she knows how it could come off wrong. Yes, we didn't really get a sincere apology.
Naomi Campbell would have put an end to this photoshoot idea the moment it was pitched. She's always stood for equality and would be careful in choices like this. Remember when she stood up for a black contestant in The Face who was told she'd never win the competition because of her skin color?
Okay, the Russian girl who said it was actually misunderstood because she said the complete opposite. But that shows how Naomi is not here for any of that racist stuff.
Tyra Shamed Contestants For Their Personal Life Choices... A Lot (Naomi Wouldn't Be That Involved)
Once again, this makes you question the narrative that Tyra Banks was the victim and Naomi Campbell was the villain. Below is a scene from ANTM where Banks told a contestant not to be openly gay. Again, she thought it wasn't a good runway look.
You would think we'd get an apology after all these years. But during recent interviews, Banks would only keep her "the show broke barriers" justification. Meanwhile, Campbell never had to defend anything about her efforts to help models with their careers.
If anything, Naomi is known for arguing with interviewers who bring up her personal issues during discussions about her advocacy. She always keeps it professional and refuses to be treated any less. She observed the same courtesy to the aspiring models she mentored in The Face. Instead of eliminating their quirks, she helped them use those to their advantage.
The woe-is-me Tyra narrative has definitely worn off. We don't want to reignite the rivalry. But at least now it makes sense why in their face-off, Naomi just sat there smiling, looking cold-hearted, dodging all the accusations Tyra made.