The Wright Times

Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: Columns

Tyra Banks was once a wellrespected
woman; that is, as
respected as you can be when
strutting down a runway in panties
and oversized wings. And
while Banks is now a successful
talk show host, it'd be nice if she
spent more time listening and
less time talking about herself.
Banks was the first African-
American woman on the cover of
Sports Illustrated in 1997, setting
a precedent for black women everywhere.
In 1999, she founded
TZONE, a program for teenage
girls in Los Angeles, Cali., helping
them resist peer pressure,
talk about their lives and face
new challenges in a camp environment.
In 2003, Banks became
the executive producer and host
of America's Next Top Model;
to this day, millions of viewers
still tune in as a handful of girls
compete for a modeling contract,
a $100,000 contract with Cover-
Girl cosmetics and a cover and
six page spread in Seventeen
magazine. By 2005, she was
also hosting "The Tyra Banks
Show," which received two daytime
Emmys and a Teen Choice
Award.
But since then, she's been
falling into a downward spiral.
Her egocentrism first came out
of its shell on April 13, 2005,
when Banks yelled at a model for
attempting to lighten the mood.
And we'll never let her
forget it. Now, most
of Tyra's pent
up energy
goes towards her show on Oxygen
where she plays the black,
female Dr. Phil, while appropriating
the style of Oprah Winfrey.
But Tyra dear, you're not Oprah
and you never will be. She gives
out cars, schools and God knows
what else while you give out...
vaseline. Ground breaking.
Last January, Banks was
photographed resembling what
most gossip sites were calling a
"beached whale", and retaliated
with a new bathing suit picture
and an article in a magazine, explaining
the importance of having
"confidence" and how the photo
was taken from a bad angle. Banks
also spent time on her talk show

Continued...

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