Supermodel-turned-TV host Tyra Banks showed a little trademark
vanity during today's final episode, which she filmed while sitting next
to her two Emmys. But while the show took plenty of flak from critics who noted her emulation of Oprah
and tendency toward self-absorbtion, it's also true that the 36-year-old
multi-millionaire took a few earnest stabs at social consiousness.There
was the episode, in late 2005, in which she experienced firsthand the
shame and embarrassment of being obese by going out into the world in a
fat suit.
Banks, who also created and hosts "America's Next Top
Model," wore the suit on a blind date. The man told her he could never
bring her home to his parents. "They'll be like, 'What's wrong
with you?'" he told her.
She later concluded:
"The
people that were staring and laughing in my face -- that shocked me the
most. As soon as I entered the store -- when I went shopping -- I
immediately heard snickers. Immediately! I just was appalled and, and
and hurt!"In a similar stunt, Banks dressed up as a homeless
person and wandered the streets with a camera crew.
Banks has
also tackled the issue of gay discrimination. Last year, she interviewed
a 16-year-old boy after showing a video of him flailing about,
surrounded by clergy who were trying to exorcise his "homosexual demon."
In March of 2009, Banks
received the "excellence in media" award from the Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
For her next act, Banks'
studio, Bankable Studios, will produce films and books, including a
series of fantasy novels penned by Banks titled "Modeland."
Although Banks is no stranger
to withering criticism, she once told The New York Times Magazine that
she thrives on it.
"I love when they think, Oh, she's just a
model, she's going to sit there and do nothing," she told the magazine
two years ago, in a 10-page spread featuring her. "When I was a model,
my biggest obstacle was that I was black and curvy. When I went into
producing, my biggest obstacle was that I was a model. But, as I say to
the girls on 'Top Model,' anybody who is at the top of anything has
taken risks and withstood criticism and hardship. I say: 'You think I'm
just a model? Well, then, let me show you.' "