America’s Next Top Model icon recalls ‘danger’ of Tyra Banks outing her as lesbian
Ebony Haith was outed as a lesbian by Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model. (Bennett Raglin/WireImage)
America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) icon Ebony has recalled the “danger” she felt after Tyra Banks outed her as lesbian on the show.
On Monday (16 February), Netflix documentary Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model debuted, leaving viewers flabbergasted by the show’s overwhelming lack of sensitivity towards its competitors.
Included in the documentary are interviews with creator and host Tyra Banks, creative director Jay Manuel, runway coach J. Alexander and photographer Nigel Barker.
One interview saw cycle one model Ebony Haith recount how she was outed without her consent, leaving her feeling she was in “danger”.
‘That’s how the world found out…’
At the very first audition, Banks referred to Haith as a lesbian without considering how she felt about it being filmed for the show.
She recalled in her interview: “When I first auditioned for the show, the first thing Tyra says to me, she goes, ‘We see that you’re gay’.
“That’s kind of how the world found out I was gay and how the world met me.
“I hoped at least they’d pull me to the side and say, ‘How do you wanna approach this?’ They forgot the danger of that.”
Comments online united in fury over how Banks carelessly outed Haith.
“They played with ebony so bad, she should’ve won. Gorgeous and fierce, with a mean face card. Literally made a fool of her for views, so evil,” one person wrote in response to a post sharing “heartbreak” for how she was treated on the show.
Later, during the makeover, Haith faced further distress when three hair stylists laughed as they tried to figure out how to do their jobs and shave her short hair clean.
She shared: “When I went on that show, I knew people would be against anything I represent, being a Black woman that’s gay or whatever it is. But I did think that I would be protected.
“I thought the first episode was fabulous, I was so excited to be a role model, but then when I saw the makeovers… that’s when I felt the full disappointed of the way I was represented.
“I’m sitting there and I have three of the top stylists over my head, laughing at my hair texture, it was really just frustrating.
“People did not have the correct clippers, everybody basically said they didn’t know what to do. They ended up giving me three bald spots.”
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is streaming on Netflix now.
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