Following whisperings of a recent ring spotting, supermodel, entrepreneur and “Dancing With the Stars” host Tyra Banks joined the Wednesday, September 23 edition of “Tamron Hall” to lay the engagement rumors to rest. Banks also discussed the recent backlash she’s received from fans tied to “America’s Next Top Model.” Check out the video clip inside…
Back in August, paparazzi photos surfaced of Banks wearing a ring with a very large stone on her left hand. Rumor had it that Banks was engaged but Tamron cleared up any questions about the supermodel’s status at the very top of the interview explaining: “I wish I had it on right now, Tamron. The ring is a crab. It’s shaped like a crab, literally, like a crab. It’s an opal, not a diamond so…” Banks continued, “It is not a crab, opal engagement ring. It is just a ring.”
On living life in the public eye, and referring to the number of times that she’s been described by the press as engaged, Banks explained, “The press gets it right sometimes but a lot of the times they, you know, they’re bored. Some days they like, ‘Ain’t nothing happening in the news, so Tyra’s got a crab ring on, let’s make it blurry and call it an engagement ring.”
On why Tyra thinks negative social media comments tied to beauty inclusivity and racially charged episodes of her previous show, America’s Next Top Model, re-emerged this past summer, she said: “I think what happens is, it’s generational so that generation didn’t see me apologize, that generation didn’t see that.” Banks added, “Also, the new generation is benefiting from all of the hard work of people even before me that are breaking down the beauty barriers. And so now they’re saying, ‘the world does not exist like that, you know, we are accepting and all-loving.’ And it’s like yeah, well us older people knocked down the doors for you guys.”
On what she thinks about this next generation, Banks said: “What I do love about the younger generation is that they have social media to open their mouths and be heard. I really feel like all of this change that’s happening, when it comes to beauty inclusivity, it’s because of social media.”
Tamron credited Banks with pioneering a push for beauty inclusivity to which Banks responded, “Oh yeah, well we opened the door… I will take the credit…We bursted those doors open. The younger generation doesn’t know that, but now they do.”
Images provided by Tamron Hall Show
