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Tyra Banks Refuses to Retouch Makeup-Free Selfie: “See the Real Me”

Nothing to hide! Tyra Banks has built a career on her looks, strutting the runway as one of the most recognized supermodels and teaching Top Model hopefuls to “smize.” But on Wednesday, June 17, Banks, 41, decided to give fans a glimpse of her true self, sans makeup and retouching. 

Related: PHOTOS: Celeb makeup-free selfies

“You know how people say #nofilter but you know there’s a freakin’ filter on their pic?” the former talk show host began via Instagram. “Or maybe there’s a smidge of retouching going on but they’re lying and saying it’s all raw & real? Well, this morn, I decided to give you a taste of the really real me.”

Without a stitch of makeup (or clothing) on, Banks shared a wide-eyed selfie. She admitted that it wasn’t an easy decision. 

Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks has been a supermodel for decades.

“I wanted to smooth out my dark circles so badly!!! But I was like, ‘Naw, Ty. Show ’em the REAL you.’ So…here I am. Raw,” she continued. 

The confident, multi-talented star also directly addressed those she anticipated would have a negative reaction to the look. 

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrity Instagram Photoshop fails

“And there YOU are…looking at me, studying this picture. Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Whoa, she looks ROUGH.’ And if you are, great! You deserve to see the REAL me. The REALLY real me. #RawAndReal,” she concluded.

This isn’t the first time Banks has confronted critics. In 2008 she famously appeared on The Tyra Banks Show wearing a one-piece swimsuit that was featured in a seemingly Photoshopped image that many magazines picked up, noting a false “40-pound” weight gain. 

Related: PHOTOS: Worst celeb Photoshop scandals

“I felt like this picture is so outrageous that I wanted to do something equally as outrageous by standing here, extremely vulnerable in this same swimsuit next to this photo,” the supermodel said at the time. “And I feel that it is so sad that I have to go to this extreme, but I’m doing it to prove a point.” 

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