Telling it like it is. Tyra Banks sounded off after former America’s Next Top Model contestant Winnie Harlow said the show “didn’t do anything” for her career.
Banks, 44, responded to a caller on Thursday, November 29, while appearing on Watch What Happens Live, who inquired about Harlow’s negative comments about ANTM in May.
“Did she say that?” the supermodel asked with a confused look on her face. “I discovered her on Instagram … Well, come on, I discovered her on Instagram. And she’s on the show, so what do you think that means?”
Six months prior, Harlow, 24, told WWHL host Andy Cohen that her turn on the long-running reality hit wasn’t really much of a launching pad for her. “So I really started after the show, ‘cause that really didn’t do anything for my career. Which it doesn’t do anything for any model’s career, realistically.”
Harlow went on to say that while she thought the show would be a “career-starter,” it was more for entertainment purposes. “It was really like a reality TV show. That’s not what I signed up for.”
Banks made sure viewers know she has no ill will toward her former protégé, however. “I have nothing but love for my girls … a lot of times when people express themselves in certain ways, there’s a reason, and I will respect her confidentiality and her life, but, yeah, I have to give love to her.”
She doubled down, “They’re all my babies. Even the ones that act out.”
Harlow appeared on season 21 of the series in 2014. The show was rebooted in 2018 with Banks, who left ANTM in 2015, returning as its head judge.
