Drama, Boys & Models with Tyra Banks, America's Next Top Model

Amongst the frenzy of lights, cameras and various models from the 20th cycle of the CW’s hit show America’s Next Top Model getting ready for their first public fashion show since this season aired, I had the pleasure of talking about all the romantic drama and emotional storylines from this season with the show’s creator, Tyra Banks.

Drama, Boys & Models with Tyra Banks, America’s Next Top Model

JTH – This new season you are bringing the guys on, there is a little bit of fun, flirty friction, romance and some frustration going on. As a female model, host and celebrity, you have been through it all. How do you mentor the male models? What is that process like?

TB – You know what is really interesting? I think thought the process would be very different. I have male models in this cycle which you will see, crying to me that they don’t feel that they are good enough. Crying in my arms. And I am holding them just like I hold my female models. I just realized they are all young and impressionable, they all have insecurities, all come with baggage and all are here and recognize this is a huge opportunity and a dream that could be snashed away very quickly. They react very similarly which is a surprise to me because I thought they, the boys, were going to be shut down and I think they were going to be like ‘dude I don’t care’ – ‘Tyra send me home, I am surfing next week dude.’ Not the case I have boys shaking and there is one guy that shakes when he is in front of me and shakes like a leaf.

JTH – Intense.

TB – Now in terms of modeling poses, Rob Evans, our male model and judge, we fight because I tell one of our boys I think this picture is great but you don’t have a neck. Rob is like ‘Tyra, he doesn’t have to have a neck. That for girl poses. I like him to smile.’ So Rob and I agree on the smiles and we don’t agree with the neck. I call a model with no neck in the picture a ‘no neck monster’ if she doesn’t have her neck showing in the picture. So I think boys should show they have necks too. Rob and I fight about that.

JTH – Last question – what is the one moment you are completely excited about for this cycle that you want to share with the fans?TB – I have a talk… Is that too boring?JTH – No, no.

TB – I have a talk with the models who are still left in the show in Bali, it is by candle light. It is very emotional, it was so emotional that I had to hold back my own tears over some of the things that they were saying and opening up about. We haven’t done that type of deep Top Model talk since Cycle One.

JTH – So you are going back to the roots with that.

TB – Back to the roots. In fact I was really stressing out a year and a half ago, so I went to Bali, personally by myself for two months. I brought Cycle One of Top Model with me, I watched every single episode, to say ‘that was magic, how can we get back to that?’ So I came back to the team and we all studied Cycle One and said the magic was the stories… Not so much the photo shoots and the challenges, true, that’s the back drop.

JTH – The narrative.

TB – The narrative, the story, so we got back to that. That moment in, with me holding back tears in Bali, us all sitting on the floor by candle light. I was like ‘wow, this feels like Cycle One.’ So raw and so real.

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