Tyra Banks is mad at the things people have been writing about her. They say she's fat. They've been calling her names and making fun of her body for so long. And she has decided to fight back. Read the story below
Tyra before and after
Television personality and former supermodel Tyra Banks has hit back at critics who mocked her as fat and dubbed her "America's Next Top Waddle" after recent weight gains.
Banks, 33, who swapped the fashion runway in 2005 for a career as a TV chat show host and presenter of the reality show America's Next Top Model, said she was hurt by the comments.
Banks, who is 178 cm tall, said she now weighs about 73kg - about 13.6kg heavier than in 1997 when she first made it as a swimsuit model.
"I still feel hot but every day is different. It's when I put on the jeans that used to fit a year ago and don't fit now and give me the muffin top, that's when I say 'Damn!'," she told People magazine in an interview for its Friday edition.
Recent unflattering pictures of Banks in a swimsuit on a beach in Australia have circulated on the internet with headlines such as "Tyra Porkchop" and "Tyra Banks is Fat".
"It was such a strange meanness and rejoicing that people had when thinking that was what my body looked like. It was really hurtful to me," Banks told People.
She said she was worried about the effect such reports would have on her fans.
"I get so much mail from young girls who say, 'I look up to you, you're not as skinny as everyone else, I think you're beautiful'," she said.
"So when they say that my body is 'ugly' and 'disgusting', what does that make those girls feel like?"
Banks said she was criticised in her 20s for her curves and hips when she was a runway model. Instead of strict dieting, she launched herself as a swimwear and lingerie model.
She has sought to highlight discrimination against overweight people, donning a padded "fat suit" and going undercover as a 159kg woman in 2005 to show how obese people are treated by others.
Banks said she was dedicating part of her talk show next week to putting the record straight about her size.
This is courtesy Reuters
Is this woman not sexy?
Anyway after all the talks, that apparently hurt her feelings, Tyra wrote this personal note in her website.
This here is Tyra in her own words
Have y'all,
Ever typed in your name on Google just to see what comes up? I've done it before for fun, and have seen lots of articles and photos from my career come up. But after returning from Australia recently and coming home to phone calls asking me if I was OK, I was confused. What were they talking about?
Then I remembered my flight back from Australia. Why did that flight attendant look my thighs and butt up and down -- and say, "Thank God! Thank God! They're liars!!!" I just wasn't getting it. I told myself I didn't care, but I was having trouble sleeping that night so I got outta bed, went over to my computer, and Googled myself. This time I typed in "TYRA FAT" -- and child, I had NO idea what was about to pop up on that screen.
My eyes were met with headline after headline "THIGH-RA BANKS!" "AMERICA'S NEXT TOP WADDLE!" "TYRA PORK CHOPS!" "TYRA TOPS 200LBS!" There were blogs from people shocked that it was reported I had gained almost 50 pounds in two months. I COULDN"T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS READING. Then I saw the photo of me on the beach in Australia. Written next to it was, "Tyra Banks shows the world why she retired from the runway." I needed to let everyone know what I thought about these headlines, and on the Tyra Show this Thursday, February 1st, I put on the very same swimsuit I was wearing in Australia...and confront those fat tabloid photos.
I hope you watch to see what I have to say!
Love,
Tyra
Tyra at a beach shoot for america's next top model.
Tyra you have added alot of weight. But its good, really really good. You are still curvy with alot of flesh. Men love that. Whats the fuss about? Pls girl tell me what you did to add all that weight. I want to be like you. Really.
But whether slim or fat, Tyra is still beautiful. Dont you guys think?
